Princess Diana

   

Over this past weekend I had the opportunity to drive down to Minneapolis and see Princess Diana: A Celebration. The exhibit has been traveling around the USA, always returning to the Althorp Estate every summer. Every piece is from the Althorp Estate (the Spencer family’s home in England) and the 150-piece collection of objects ranges from Princes Diana’s Wedding gown, to personal mementos of her childhood.

         

I am always a fan of seeing historical exhibits, but for me, this was on a very personal level, as I have been a fan of Princess Diana since I was a child. After reading four biographies, it was a dream come true to see a lot of these pieces up close. When you first walk into the exhibit, it is all about the Spencer family, and it truly sets the tone of Royalty. Next was a gallery of childhood photographs and videos of Diana, all taken by her father, along with her personal Diary, agenda and many other tokens from her childhood.

   

As you move through the different galleries, you begin to realize it is sequenced with the stages of her life; so naturally after the joy of her engagement, comes the Wedding dress. Designed by David and Elizabeth Emanuel, the Wedding dress had its very own room, paired with one flower girls dress. To stand there and be able to get within a foot of the dress and see the details had only seemed a dream before that day. In a room with the well known 25-foot train, is hard to wrap your mind around the fact that you are in a room with one of the most well known wedding dresses in the world.

Absolutely breathtaking.



With little about William and Harry, the years fast-forwarded and soon enough I was in a darkened gallery playing “Candle in the Wind.” Anyone who had watched her funeral knows what that song means, and each time it is heard, shivers run through my spine. With her funeral playing on a screen and her brother’s original tribute on paper, there was a reason for tissue boxes. There was also a separate room with books, on top of books of condolences, sent from people around the world. After her passing, many cities and towns set up books for people to write their personal condolence to the Princess of Wales; all of which are now a part of the exhibit, the amount of condolences collected is overwhelming.

Then I saw it, ‘Her Style’, excitement busted through me like a child in Christmas morning. I knew the next gallery would be nothing short of fantastic, and I was absolutely correct. The gallery consisted of over 20 pieces of clothing she had owned in her lifetime. Although she auctioned off 79 of her pieces before her death for charity raising 7.6 million, there were still many iconic Princess Di pieces (including 13 that were originally auctioned off).



Many pieces in the exhibit were designed by Jaques Azagury and Catherine Walker, two British designers in which she had been faithful to her entire adult life. There were two pieces I was excited to see, one being the Chanel suit, being a fan of Princess Di and Chanel, it was spectacular. Also my other favorite was the midnight-blue silk velvet gown she wore at the 1985 White House state dinner, when she danced with John Travolta.

    

In the exhibit there were also pieces from her shoot with Mario Testino, in Vanity Fair 1997, which was published just a month before her passing. To walk through the gallery of all her clothing was like a story, you begin at the beginning of her life, as an insecure newly married young woman, all the way to a sophisticated single woman in her 30’s. From beginning to end you can truly see the mesmerizing transformation of her style.

                 

The end of the exhibit finished off with visuals of all of the charity work Princess Diana has done around the world. It also explains how the proceeds of the exhibit will be given to the The Diana, Princess of Wales Memorial Fund. Which is a charity that the Spencer family is still running, in which funds are divided up amongst all of the parts of the world Diana felt needed the most help. The gallery allows you to see the changes she made in the world of those in need, and is the perfect ending to an extraordinary exhibit.

       


From beginning to end, the exhibit was nothing short of astonishing. I recommend to anyone that has the opportunity to go see Princess Diana: A Celebration, to take the time and go see the exhibit. I guarantee it will not disappoint, as I had high hopes and it exceeded my expectations beyond my own imagination. Princess Diana has always and will always have a special place in my heart.

xxx

(all photos from people.com)

Eco Fashion Show

On April 15th, 2012 Fashion Takes Actions hosted an Eco Fashion Show, at the Green Living Show. It showcased the best eco-friendly designers in Toronto, as well as accessories, shoes and handbags. Booth #507 was buzzing the entire weekend, with clothes for sale on site, completely eco-friendly, made designers from all across the country. There was also a display with many of the green designer garments, allowing people to be able to view the clothing on a mannequin instead of on a hanger (that’s if they missed the show!).



FTA is the only none profit sustainability organization in Canada (with a focus on fashion). They focus on educating people on what type of difference they could make by reducing their personal carbon footprint. With a pledge up on there website, it allows people to realize how many loads of laundry they do a week, or how it takes an obscene amount of water, just to create on cotton t-shirt. Fashion Takes Action also raises awareness about labor laws, waste, chemicals and toxic energy used by the fashion industry.



The founder of the FTA, Kelly Drennan, during the opening remarks of the Eco Fashion Show, admitted that it can be tough on wallets to be eco-friendly, her answer is to “buy second hand and vintage.” Also she spoke about slow fashion and paying attention to the detail of a garment, “we need to slow down the production” (tailoring). And overall she summed it up saying, "As consumers, we need to slow down our consumption."

The Eco Fashion Show had make up done by Green Beauty and hair was styled by World Salon, both the greenest in their fields, in the Toronto area.



The designers in the show started with Aime, known as the queen of slow fashion in Canada. Local Buttons was 2nd, with vests made in Haiti, paying the seamstresses 5x minimum wage of the country. Yes Lifestyle Organics and Ayla also sent looks down the runway, showcasing the use of recycling fabrics and great organic clothing. Jool’s had three looks which demonstrated upcycling, which is taking vintage clothing and making them look fashion forward. Pre-Loved showed three looks, which proved they were the pioneers in Canada when it comes to upcycling fashion.



Device displayed their love for using sustainable fabrics in there three looks, with the use of bamboo and organic cotton, as well as reusing fabrics another designer is throwing out, to save it from the landfill. The 8th designer to send looks down the runway was Chartreuse Style, a well-known store in Toronto for eco-friendly fashion, with their location on Queen St W. Funky Buddha Yoga also sent down three looks, all made from organic cotton or bamboo material. The 10th and final look was by Ethik Eco Boutique, from Montreal, they help up and coming sustainable designers. Many of the shoes were provided by Shoe Rebels, a few bags provided by Totem and accessories by Eco Bling and Ayla.



The show was a success, and truly opened the eyes of many people as to, being eco-friendly, and sustainable is possible in fashion.

Grace Kelly Exhibit

Today, after waiting for many weeks, I finally decided to venture with a good friend, to see the Grace Kelly exhibit at the TIFF Lightbox. Unsure what to expect, I went in with an open mind and walked out in pure bliss.



When I first walk in, the larger than life photo of Grace is breathtaking and the wall of magazine covers, immediately grabs my attention I then, get a rush of excitement, as I am about to see items of a historical fashion icon. Not only was she a fashion icon, known for wearing a lot of Dior and Yves Saint Laurent, but she was also known for her poise and grace. She had a quality that still managed to differ her from other icons of her time, like Audrey Hepburn and Marylin Monroe.

Letters from her past, were very sentimental and showed how much people enjoyed and adored her in their life. There were many photos placed all over the walls, many of which you would not be able to find elsewhere. As well, movies played clips from some movies she starred in, and also some other footage around her life as a Princess. The gloves, the hats, the glasses and the jewelry were all exuding an essence of her character.

Grace Kelly was known for many different dresses, the “Oscar” dress, the “Engagement” dress and her own Wedding dress were only a few of which they had at the exhibit. The Wedding dress had its own personal room, with video footage of her marrying the Prince of Monaco. To top off the wonderful Edith Head original, that Grace wore to the Oscars in 55’, there was her actual Oscar won for her role in “The Country Girl”.

The very last part of the exhibit is home video footage, which was taken of Grace Kelly and her family, at home and on vacations. It really opens your eyes and makes you realize that this woman truly lived the life everyone wants. She made a career for herself and successfully settled down and had children, all with her classic poise and grace.

Grace Kelly

These past two days I have had the splendid opportunity, to help fit and dress for a spontaneous Grace Kelly inspired show at the Ritz Carlton. A show with 16 vintage pieces (The Cat's Meow, Vintage Couture and Vintage 69) with 4 gorgeous gowns from Ines De Santo, all together to create a feeling of Grace.

The clothing was phenomenal, Balenciaga, Dior and of course a Kelly bag, just to name a few. A classic Grace Kelly dress (photo below) was recreated in platinum by Ines De Santo and it was the show opener. With all of the models hair blonde and done up in a 50's style, the feeling of Grace truly came alive.




Video of the show will be released by Tiff later.

Zareinu

Wednesday night was an amazing evening; I dressed for the eighth annual Zareinu Fashion Show hosted by Jeannie Beker. The show was very fast pace due to five or six looks per model, but it was also quite enjoyable because it was for charity. Some of the designers featured included Danier, Divine Decadence, EDIT by Jeanne Beker, Seventy and Shenkin West. A personal favorite of mine was Divine Decadence, a collection of clothing from a vintage couture store in Toronto.

I always enjoy going to these events, paid or unpaid because it allows for the connection between people who have a strong common interesting in fashion. As well I got to see some familiar faces from LG Fashion Week, which was delightful.

The Toronto Bridal Show

After working at LG Fashion Week for 8 days straight I assumed I would be completely prepared to dress a two and a half-day bridal show. My assumption was inaccurate; it was way more intense than your typical runway show. Instead of two or three looks, there were six or seven per model and many of the dresses needed to be laced up, making them very time consuming. At first I was taken back by the challenge but then I met my model, and she was a sweetheart so I knew we could work well together to ensure she got on the runway fully dressed.

“10 minutes till we start the show, everyone please take you seats.” The sound of the announcer made my face cringe, I was only half way done lacing the back of my model’s first look. Then soon enough the beats were blaring on the system and my model was perfectly dressed and dancing, yes dancing (it is hard not to with the volume of the music). Showtime started off with Vogue by Madonna, without a doubt put everyone in a great mood and the models were sent down the runway in their first looks to strike a pose.

When a button pops off, you sew it on.
A bra is showing, you tuck it in.
The dress won’t stay up, you pin it.
A hairpiece is falling out, you do what you can to fix it.
If the shoes are the wrong color, you help the model into new pair.
The train of the dress is really long, you help carry it to the runway.
When Beyonce comes on the sound system, you have start dancing…

After the finale I was a mess and my model was exhausted but we were both content, she walked the runway seven times perfectly dressed head to toe. We worked well together so I decided to stick with her for the rest of the weekend. I think consistency is good in these types of situations, and it allowed me to relax and enjoy the shows because I knew exactly what to expect (same dresses every show). After five shows I had perfected a method to button up and down the backs of Wedding dresses and safety pins had become my new best friend.

My Encounter with Denis Gagnon

Knowing the name from the fine print on editorials, bios on the Internet or the website, never truly allows you to feel the presence of a designer. I had the sudden opportunity of meeting one of Canada’s finest designers and I did not pass up the opportunity. It is not the typically introduction you are thinking of, I can assure you.

I was told that Denis Gagnon needed help unloading his truck, so doing as I was told, I immediately ran outside to see how I could help. Without allowing my inside joy to show, I turned on my professional mode and asked if there was anything I could do. As I helped carry in the last of the boxes of shoes, bags of clothes and accessories, I was sent on a mission to find another steamer. Successfully finding a second steamer for the designer got me something I thought I would never hear, ”Thank you very much for you help” in the kindest French accent. For him to take the time out of his very busy day preparing for the upcoming show, to say thank you to a simple volunteer like me, was more than gratifying.

As the hours flew by I later found myself dressing for the David Dixon show and no sooner as the rack of clothes flew out the room, in came the Spring/ Summer 2012 Collection by Denis Gagnon. My main position was a dresser, so I took a rack, with a models name and two outfits. There was little time in between the last show and Denis Gagnon’s so, the designer and his assistants were flying around the room getting everything arranged, so we could start the show on time. In the midst of all of the commotion (mostly in French) Denis comes straight to me with a white bag. “I remember you. I trust you. This is $100,000 in Birks jewelry. Guard this.” He said in broken English, but I got the message loud and clear, don’t drop it or break it or loose anything! So that was exactly what I did until his accessory assistant took it off my hands, and the show began.

The show was one of the best during LG Fashion Week; I truly believe it was because the amount of the small details in the garments. He used fabric paint to decorate many of the outfits, and the floral print was fresh in my eyes for spring. Overall the experience I had that day is one I will never forget, I guess it just goes to show that it only takes the simplest acts to have a feeling of fulfillment.