Arthur Mendonça’s standout Fall/Winter 2012 show. Image courtesy of Jenna Marie Wakani. 

Star power Only Arthur Mendonca could command a packed audience at four in the afternoon. The Toronto-based designer, who was a last minute addition to the Fashion Week calendar, showed a stunning collection of patent leather jackets and dresses, hammered silk blouses and llama wool coats that were styled with jaunty bowler caps. But it was his finale ballgowns that got the biggest reaction, with oohs and aahs heard as one model emerged in a silk crepe drape skirt with patent leather details reminiscent of Angelina Jolie at the Oscars.
Rebel yell "I’m trying to perfect my unisex canvas," Rad Hourani told ELLE backstage after his superlative RAD by Rad Hourani show. Hourani’s artistry was on full display in sharply cut military-style jackets, coats with voluminous folds and lots of luxe leather. Lately, Hourani has been mixing colour into his signature dark palette, and for Fall/Winter 2012, he played with two shades of green: khaki and forest. Both hues, he said, were inspired by the forest near his country house in the south of France: "Nature is very powerful, no?"
Golden girls  We’re pretty sure that peplum is one of Joeffer Caoc’s favourite things this season, given that the playfully fanned cut dominated most of the designer’s Fall/Winter 2012 collection—though
The Sound of Music show tune blasting as models came down the runway was kind of a giveaway. Dubbed "Remix", the ultra-feminine collection dazzled with copper jersey tops, gold and black sequined dresses and gilded tweed suits—much like the regal fare we saw emerge from Dolce & Gabbana and Moschino during Milan Fashion Week earlier this month. One of our favourite Joeffer things for fall? Wide-collared coats in deep mustard and rich plum.
Until the world ends Montreal designer Travis Taddeo admits that his  “doomed generation” collection was inspired by social chaos and recent global turmoil. It’s fitting then, that his palette consisted of smoky greys, charcoal blacks and soft creams, with unexpected pops of cerise. “I imagined this woman who is not happy or sad about the world, which is about to explode,” says Taddeo in a pre-show video. “But she’s not going to give up.”
Fashion with heart At Dare to Wear Love—an event held in support of the Stephen Lewis Foundation—Trish Stratus proved that she can work a runway as easily as a wrestling ring. Harkening back to her WWE days, the wrestler-turned-fitness guru effortlessly picked up a seated audience member and tossed him over her shoulder while sporting a Cydelic by Choryin-designed dress. Do we even need to mention she was in heels?