August 2007
ELLE Canada
Runway Photography: Paul Toogood
The who’s who of Toronto’s fashion elite gathered on April 17 for one of the biggest shows of the season: the TFI New Labels Fashion Design Competition, an event that helps young Canadian talent break into the industry. Six aspiring designers showcased their fall 2007 collections to a panel of select judges. Before the show, more than 1,000 guests mingled at an A-list cocktail party hosted at the Carlu in downtown Toronto. The winners, Kelly Dowdall and Sarah Nicol of Quelques Filles, set the trends for fall with their bold use of saturated colour and ultra-feminine details.
Picture Perfect
Celebrity hair and makeup artist and Cover Girl makeup pro Paul Venoit was tapped to be the creative director of the runway makeup for the TFI New Labels show. With more than 18 years’ experience in the industry working on some of the world’s most famous faces – Claudia Schiffer and Kate Moss, to name a few – the Toronto-based beauty guru was a natural fit for this year’s competition. “I was thrilled to be asked to participate,” says Venoit. “The creativity and professionalism expressed by the designers were nothing short of spectacular.” Having met with the finalists a month before the show, Venoit was able to preview their collections to get a sense of their creative direction. The end result? Models graced the runway au naturel with polished neutral faces, pale-pink glossy lips and, to complete the overall look, eyes were played up with a glossy finish. “I had to create a look that worked for all the shows as we weren’t able to change the makeup in between,” he says. “It was a challenge, but I think it worked out perfectly!”
Captions: Left page: Designers Kelly Dowdall and Sarah Nicol Quelques Filles opted for the theatrical with their bold silhouettes and luxurious fabrics. This olive silk and lace blouse with ruched sleeves is a nod to the Victorian era yet looks modern when paired with super-skinny chocolate-brown leather tulip pants. “We wanted to create wearable luxury with a strong focus on detail and embellishment,” says Nicol. Right page from top: Runners Up: Malak by Kalam Lee Lee’s fall 2007 collection, Passage, played with all things girlies, from the super-sweet dark-blue chiffon baby-doll tops to the pleated wool dress with a ribbon crochet collar. “Luxury refined” was Lee’s mandate with the use of sumptuous cashmeres and sheer mercerized cottons; 1.618 by Engelbert Gayagoy 37-year-old Gayagoy drew inspiration for his fall 2007 collection from the father of surrealism, writer Andre Breton. Emphasizing clean lines and tailoring, this Toronto-based designer used high-tech fabrics like ultra-thin patent leather and aluminum paneling to create an au courant look; OZEN by Phoebe Gao and Enfys Zhuo Urban with an edge, Haunted Melody fused monochromatic classics, such as cropped wool jackets and silk charmeuse tuxedo blouses, with more contemporary details, like its wrap-around cinched leather belts and double-collared noir wool capes. Bottom: Some of the beauty product used by the finalists for their runway presentations.
