ABOL Eco Couture

Our third and final show at Montreal Fashion Week was ABOL. The Vancouver native showed her “eco couture” line in Montreal for the first time. The collection, named “dream” was influenced by Surrealism and included haute couture wedding gowns, gowns, corsets, jackets and skirts. Each piece is a translation of images and ideas from paintings and sculptures into wearable art.

“I’m creating a collection where each piece has an identity, defining a certain character to existence out of something that’s in [my mind],” says Abol. “That’s surrealism.”

All of Abol’s pieces are made mainly from raw organic wool and reclaimed silk in her studio in Vancouver, BC, so she not only designs and makes the clothes, she makes the fabrics! Impressive! The Eco-friendly designer even visits the farms herself from time-to-time to examine the sheep and ensure the method is safe and animal friendly. She prides herself on collecting raw wool from local farms, supporting the Canadian market and ensuring that the quality of the material is top notch. Even her dyes are environmentally friendly and obtained from boiled onion skins and other organic sources. Talk about a conscious designer!

The enchanting looks on the runway consisted of a color palette of rich neutrals like beige, white, brown, black and gold as well as shades of burnt orange and purple. The models had distinguished Victorian-inspired hair and makeup with dark smokey eyes and contrasting pale lips with their hair in large, theatrical, teased up-dos. The look provided a luxurious and mysterious aesthetic that truly spoke to Abol’s artistic inspiration. There was certainly an element of fantasy and royalty in the presentation with creative, whimsical pieces that looked as if they came straight out of a fairytale.

If you’re in the market for amazing, one-of-a-kind dresses or an eco-friendly bridal gown, be sure to check out Abol’s website. Her romantic designs can be quite costly, but if you value the quality and uniqueness of her handmade pieces, they will be worth every cent!

Abol’s presentation was a great way to end our evening at Montreal Fashion Week. "As far as I'm concerned, Montreal is No. 1 for fashion in Canada," Hamideh Abol said and we couldn’t agree more! À la prochain!

 

Photos: Hugo Trottier - Superstarphotos

Samuel Dong

For our second show at Montreal Fashion Week, we had the pleasure of seeing designer Samuel Dong’s all-new collection, SAMUEL DONG RED LABEL. The mood of his latest collection was quite sophisticated, romantic and elegant. Samuel Dong mentioned that his muse was the 1960s European woman and you can feel that vibe throughout his entire presentation. He used lots of exclusive Italian and French fabrics and they were to die for! The jacquard blazers were really gorgeous and we can definitely see a modern working mom adding one to her wardrobe. "Accordion pleats are especially important next fall," says the designer, "I also used them at the shoulders of some garments to exaggerate the shoulder line."

The models strutted their stuff down the runway in amazing pieces that were accented with feathers, faux-fur and organza. Their accessories were minimal but classic, we love the simple pearl earnings! The make-up and hair suited the atmosphere. They kept it dark but chic with red lips and dark black winged eye-liner - Amy Whinehouse style. The hair was pulled back into sleek and shiny pony-tails with rolled bangs à la 1960s pin-up! Absolutely gorgeous!

If you're loving the line and can see yourself sporting some these looks make sure to head down to one of his boutiques here Montreal, there is one in the Rockland Shopping Centre and the other at the Cours Mont-Royal in downtown Montreal. Parfait!

 

 Photos: Hugo Trottier - Superstarphotos

Ça Va De Soi

As you all know, Montreal Fashion Moms had the pleasure of attending Montreal Fashion Week again this season. We started off the evening with Ça Va De Soi, a luxe knitwear collection designed by Montreal veteran Antoine Nasri and his daughter Kinza. The daddy-daughter duo showed plenty of soft, simple and sophisticated looks with lots of pencil skirts, twinsets, color-blocked dresses, leggings and turtlenecks. The color palette was monochromatic with plenty of gray, beige, camel, crimson, burnt orange and a hint of mint. They completed the look with Parisian chic, barely-there, fresh-faced makeup and hair pulled back in a ballerina bun. Oh la la!

While the minimalistic presentation didn’t bring the wow factor we generally like to see walking down the runway, (besides one model’s rock-hard breast implants that were noticed by pretty much everyone) their pieces were simple, classic and most of all wearable. The collection is ideal for those looking for high-quality, every day basics perfect for layering or mixing-and-matching. Lysanne Pépin, owner of the successful boutique Espace Pépin in Old Montreal, said it best in her interview with The Gazette’s Eva Friede – “Avant-garde is nice, but we need clothes that are wearable on the streets."

Check out the pics below and let us know, would you wear any of these luxury knitwear pieces?

 

 

Photos: Hugo Trottier - SuperstarPhotos

The 22nd Edition of Montreal Fashion Week

Montreal Fashion Moms, got all dressed up, made sure the babysitters were in place and hit up day 3 of the 22nd edition of Montreal Fashion Week presented by Sensation Mode. It was nice to have a girls night out full of great local fashion from designers ranging from the established to the aspiring as they unveiled their inspired interpretations for the fall/winter 2012‐2013 season.

When we first arrived at Marche Bonsecours, our first order of business was to grab our media passes and logon to Twitter and Facebook to let all of our loyal readers know we arrived! We were lucky enough to catch three really great shows: Ca Va de Soi, Samuel Dong and Abol. In between shows we sipped champagne in the designer lounge, chatted with our fashionista friends and even had the pleasure of being interviewed by Lolitta Dandoy. The interview streamed live on the Ustream, which was a little nerve racking but she made us feel very comfortable. Check us out after the 01:27:00 mark!

After, we snapped photos on the Rowenta Canada red carpet and even strutted our mommy selves down the runway for some cute pics! We have to send a huge shout out to our photographer, Hugo Trottier of SuperstarPhotos for always being such a great sport and getting us all the perfect shots!

We weren’t the only fashion Mamas out that night either! Check out this super cute pic of Lisa Sim of SIM MINERALS with her adorable daughter in matching Masabni dresses! She definitely sets the bar high when it comes being a fabulous Montreal Fashion Mom!

Be sure to keep reading Montreal Fashion Moms for our individual coverage of the Ca Va de Soi, Samuel Dong and Abol fashion shows!

Suri Cruise Is Way To Young For Red Lipstick

I just came across this picture of Suri Cruise out and about in NYC. All I can think of, when I see these pics, is why the hell is Suri Cruise wearing lipstick? She is FIVE years old. I think it's totally creepy. I know little girls love to put on their mommy's makeup, but usually they have no choice but to wash it all off before they step one little toe out of the house. Suri drinks coffee, refuses to wear coats in the winter, is spotted wearing heels more often then not and now red lipstick. Ugh. Red lips are usually associated with being sexy and it really creeps me out. Also, doesn't it look like someone else put in on for her? Like there's not one smudge... oy.

I really wish parents would put more effort in letting children be children. It's such a short period in their lives, and there really is no reason to speed the process up even more. Do you think it's weird or is she just being a kid?

Image: Spalsh News

The 21st Edition of Montreal Fashion Week

This past Tuesday night, Montreal Fashion Moms, hit up day 2 of the 21st edition of Montreal Fashion Week presented by Sensation Mode. We got all glamed up from head to toe, and were excited to be back in the fashion scene once again. 

Montreal Fashion Moms
Yussie & Joanna

We arrived just in time to see the Barilà SS12 presentation. The collection was without a doubt, a cool, suave vision of summer. For Barilà, their inspiration was obvious; a bohemian vibe combined with Japanese culture. The collection was flowy, beautiful, casual and best of all, totally wearable.

 

We saw fabulous long shirt dresses, jumpsuits, skorts and wide leg pants.The feel was light and flowy which was a perfect combo with the soft pastel colors and floral prints. We loved the Kimono style inspired cut, seen on the wider sleeves and pants. 

We could just picture wearing the clothes in an open field, picking fresh wild flowers and putting them in our hair. In all, the Barilà SS12 collection was ultra feminine and wearable for many body types. We loved it! We do think, however, that the collection would have been brought to life a little more on the runway, but at the same time, it was nice for a designer to do something a little different and create a presentation in the middle of the cocktail lounge. It also made for great looking photos.

  

 

The beautiful Claudia Barilà (right)

After Barilà, we sipped some champagne in the designer lounge before heading to see Anastasia Lomonova's debut runway show. The Ukrainian born designer decided to reinvent her label by leaving her usual florals and pastels (typical of the spring/summer seasons) at the door and brought in more sculptural dresses, draped tops and elaborate voluminous pieces. And the change definitely worked! 

 

 

The looks she presented were unique and fabulous. She showcased a color palate full soft tones of bronze, beige, coffee and charcoal grey, and we can't forget that pop of neon yellow she threw in for some pizazz. The materials were flowy, transparent and almost weightless. We saw lots of chiffon, linen, jersey and some multi-textured materials. The collection was strong and powerful, but not taking away from it's femininity. We can't wait to see what she will bring to the runway for the next MFW.
 

 

Designer Anastasia Lomonova

After the show, we hit up the Denim & Diamonds charity event, but we'll tell you all about in another post. Meanwhile, enjoy all the fabulous pics! Cheers!

 

All the beautiful fashion photos are courtesy of our fab photographer Hugo Trottier of Superstar Photos.

First MFM photo credit: Rowenta Canada