We’ve always appreciated the beauty and hard work that goes into creating a David Dixon line because David is one extremely talented designer. However we have never really categorized a David Dixon collection as something we could see ourselves wearing – until now.  Usually David’s pieces are a little too polished, too pristine, too feminine for us to put into our daily wardrobe rotation, but for Fall/Winter 2010 David went a little wild.  Crushed mirror tiles overlayed wool shifts and pencil skirts, beaver fur was wrapped tightly around the bodice, silver and gold chains nipped in the model’s waists while origami pleats finished off the skirting.  Even the evening wear had us swooning.  The heart-like folded satin bodice and the cut silk feathers that adorned the lower half of his gowns left us wanting more, especially when paired with little black booties.  His poetic seat liner stated that David sees a new World emerging and we’re happy to see that this new World incorporates a side of David we want to see a whole lot more of!

When we first perused the schedule for LG Fashion Week, we were surprised to see Lucian Matis slotted for a 5pm show.  Usually Lucian, one of fashion week’s most watched designers, commands one of the later time slots since everyone and their brother can’t help but fight for a seat on the side of his runway.  But we were disappointed to see a few empty seats at his usually jam packed show (we blame the FDCC’s scheduling, not Lucian).  Despite the smaller attendance, Lucian delivered one of the best shows of the week, as we expected.   Pushing ready-to-wear aside, Lucian went with more of a haute couture feeling for his Fall/Winter 2010 collection.  And even though we wrote a ton of notes while watching the models strut in his Victorian-like dresses (accessorized to perfection with Jewellery by Karen), the best way to describe the collection is with one hyphenated word: jaw-dropping.   All we could think about was how many hours went into producing a collection of this calibre and how his pieces would look quite at home in a museum of fashion.   Backstage we overheard Lucian mention that he was all about “fighting gravity” with his peplum hip puffs, peeked shoulders and oversized silk bow collars.  We’d have to add that he was also fighting the status quo.  Lucian raised the bar with this collection and we have a feeling not many will measure up.

We always love a Rudsak show because the line, like Joe Fresh and Michael Kors, is a lifestyle brand and not just an apparel company, meaning everything you see on the runway including the shoes, bags and accessories are all part of the same collection.  This results in a picture perfect image on the catwalk and helps to really set the tone for the season.  For Fall/Winter 2010 Rudsak designer Evik Asatoorian presented a tight, cohesive collection of outerwear inspired by a “jet set, aviation and urban lifestyle” (think pilot caps, aviator goggles, fur earmuffs…) that obviously was heavy on Rudsak’s signature leather but also managed to incorporate great knitwear and fur pieces such as the ribbed knit cape with leather trim and the asymmetrical fur vest worn over a leather jacket.  The nylon puffer trench with grey knit waistband overlayed with a leather belt and trimmed with a fur collar was our top pick as were the luxe leather backpacks that we can’t wait to see on the backs of Canada’s style set come fall.   Rudsak’s jet set lifestyle is one we can certainly get used to!

Designer Brandon Dwyer is in disguise for Fall/Winter 2010.  In addition to concealing his models under platinum blonde wigs, Brandon Dwyer is no longer Brandon Dwyer.  Following in the footsteps of Madonna and Cher, Brandon is doing away with his last name (didn’t you know last names were so Fall 2009?) while shedding his Project Runway roots with his latest collection, Basch by Brandon Dwyer.

Having been privy to watching Brandon’s last 3 collections, we’re proud to say that Brandon proved he is all grown up this season.  Having graduated to working with luxe materials like fox fur, lamb leather and Alpaca yarn, Basch by Brandon was a classic Brandon Dwyer collection featuring body con dresses, criss cross striping and short hemlines but it also showed off the more mature side of Brandon.   We were thrilled to see that the collection was heavy on the workwear including a few tweed and wool sheaths with black leather insets but we were sad to see not as many evening gowns as seasons past.  While we understand that seperates and day wear sell better than a floor-grazing chiffon number, we’ve always felt that Brandon designs evening wear better than most.  Let’s hope his new identity doesn’t mean an end to his beautiful gowns.

Being a fashion website with a focus on affordable fashion, we are never ever disappointed with a Joe Fresh fashion show, especially when the show embraces models who are of legal drinking age and are larger than a size 2.  In typical Joe Fresh style, their Fall/Winter 2010 collection shown last week at LG Fashion Week included two models with not so typical attributes – size 12 model Crystal Renn opened the show and was followed by 39-year-old model Kirsten Owen.  Whether or not designer Joe Mimram is taking a page out of VAWK designer Sunny Fong’s book or he really wanted to show his collection on women with similar characteristics as those who actually buy his clothes, we applaud his choices. 

But back to the clothes.  What can we say about a collection so well-styled (and so well-priced) that we would literally buy everything on the spot if we could?  From the $159 leather stud boots and the $99 faux fur peacoat to the $29 ponte jodphur pants and the $49 sequin dress, we are always in awe of Joe Mimram’s ability to source actual silk for $39/shirt and mohair for $69/dress while still creating classic designs with an updated twist.  Half the time we have to remind ourselves that we are looking at clothes found in our grocer’s aisles.  And since we already know what we plan to pick up, like the leopard print short sleeve top with camel pencil skirt, the black and white sequin striped shirt and the harem-style capri pants, we have a feeling we’ll be making plently of trips to the grocery store this fall.