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Sep 10, 2018
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Hendrixroe, Narces and Christopher Bates hit the Toronto Fashion Week runway

Published
Sep 10, 2018

On Thursday, the third edition of Toronto Fashion Week came to a close ending a three-day event where top Canadian designers hit the runway to showcase their Spring/Summer 2019 collections. 


Hendrixroe, Narces and Christopher Bates hit the Toronto Fashion Week runway. - George Pimentel Photography



This season's roster included returning designers and Toronto favourites to the main stage like menswear designer Christopher Bates, streetwear designer Hayley Elsaesser, womenswear line Narces, as well as designer Jordan McKay, from the label Hendrixroe. 
 
The event, which took place at Toronto’s luxury retail destination, Yorkville Village, joined forces with Toronto-based production agency The Collections, the founders of Re/Set, for a second season allowing a number of emerging Canadian designers to equally showcase such as Tara Rivas, Pedram Karimi, and more. 

With designer styles and offerings varying from ready-to-wear to evening wear with a mix of womenswear and menswear, the Toronto Fashion Week runway successfully showcased a large variety of some of the best designs that Canadian fashion designers have to offer. 
 
Mani Jassal 
On day one of Toronto Fashion Week, Toronto-based designer Mani Jassal chose to present her Fall/ Winter 2018 collection from her self-titled label that combines her signature South Asian heritage with her Canadian up bringing. Dubbed “Free Spirit", full length gowns and two-piece dress sets made up the collection. The designer played with lace, gold applique and bold floral patterns to create her elaborate dress designs that did not lack in detail. A dark colour palette was embraced, along with a punch of pastels and white gowns.


Mani Jassal at Toronto Fashion Week. - George Pimentel Photography.


 
Narces 
Toronto-based womenswear line Narces presented a collection of special occasion wear that shined with cocktail-style dresses, maxi dresses and jumpsuits in shimmery silver, black and gold materials. The line, founded and designed by Nikki Yassemi, is characterized by modern-cuts, and figure-flattering and feminine silhouettes. Floral applique detailing on several dresses is however what stole the show, including one yellow number that mimicked a “naked dress” style you could easily picture at the next Academy Awards. 


Narces at Toronto Fashion Week. - George Pimentel Photography


Christopher Bates 
Celebrating 10 years of design, meanswear designer Christopher Bates showcased a consumer-friendly collection that consisted of menswear staples in shades of blue, grey and the occasional splash of pink. Pinstripes made a return in suiting, while casual wear also made up a big part of the collection in the form of light sweaters and chambray suiting. The CAFA 2018 Canadian Menswear Designer of the Year Award winner was clearly a crowd favourite, with a number of show attendees, including front row viewers, sporting his signature “red lip stick kiss” on shirt collars. 


Christopher Bates at Toronto Fashion Week. - George Pimentel Photography

 
Hayley Elsaesser 
On day two of Toronto Fashion Week, it was impossible to miss on the runway the fun and colourful prints that make up Hayley Elsaesser’s signature style. She debuted a bold collection that included swimwear, athleticwear and unisex pieces that were modeled by both male and female models. Everything from coordinated track suits, colourful overalls to embellished denim could be found on the runway. The designer selected a diverse model cast and also did not miss the opportunity to make a political statement with the words “fuck Doug Ford” (a Toronto politician) written across one model's midriff. 


Hayley Elsaesser at Toronto Fashion Week. - George Pimentel Photography


Christopher Paunil 
Toronto-based bridal and eveningwear designer Christopher Paunil presented a collection of refined bridal and ready-to-wear gowns on day two of the event with the collection “Essence”. While bridal dresses made up the first half of the show, eveningwear in soft pastels and bold yellows made up the second half. Items were characterized by silk-wools, jacquards, and hand-made laces with embellishments, and topped with fur pieces from luxury furrier Herman-Sellers-Gough Furs, as well as vintage costume jewellery from TruFaux Jewels.  


Christopher Paunil at Toronto Fashion Week. - George Pimentel Photography

 
Hendrixroe 
Hendrixroe ended day two of Toronto Fashion Week with the usual bang, which included a musical and dance performance by k-os and Jazz Cartier, with DJ Unimerce. Designer Jordan McKay presented a mix of her latest menswear and womenswear collections. Designs were focused on solid colours with a range of blues, pinks, lavender, gold, and white, and a play on texture using cashmere, linen, silk, cotton, suede, neoprene, PVC, latex, and leather. Items were fashion-forward, but still consumer-friendly. 


Hendrixroe at Toronto Fashion Week. - George Pimentel Photography


Toronto Fashion Week was hosted by IMG Canada before being purchased by Peter Freed, president of Freed Developments, in December, 2016, following its cancellation. 

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