WORLD MASTERCARD FASHION WEEK SS 2014

By Eva Fydrych

Catwalk Report - Day 1 

David Dixon, Pink Tartan, Beaufille (Photos by George Pimentel)

TORONTO - Three Canadian designers: Beaufille, Pink Tartan and David Dixon, showed their Spring/Summer 2014 collections on the first day of World MasterCard® Fashion Week. The elegant venue at David Pecaut Square was quickly filled up with a fashionable crowd, local and international journalists, buyers and photographers.

All three designers presented toned colour palette, featuring mainly black & white (David Dixon, Pink Tartan) and cream & grey (Beaufille). The only bright accent was lemon green at Pink Tartan - young and refreshing!

David Dixon

Photos by George Pimentel

The Spring/Summer 2014 collection was inspired by the children's story book "On the Night You Were Born" by Nancy Tillman. Strong contrasts and bold designs are perfect for a confident and stylish woman who likes to be in the centre of attention.

Photos by George Pimentel

Photos by George Pimentel

ABOUT THE DESIGNER

Founded in 1995, a year after graduating Ryerson University. David Dixon remained true to his vision and focused on what he felt was a gap in the Canadian Fashion Industry – Women’s contemporary evening wear or event dressing. Interpreting the marriage between the classics and the modern, David Dixon’s clothing combines luxury with the functional, and the aspiration with the sensible. All of Dixon’s designs are manufactured in Canada, utilizing the best of imported fabrics sourced through out the globe with the overriding theme of luxury.

Today, David Dixon’s designs are sold across Canada and in select boutiques around the globe. Dixon possesses a modernist openness towards emerging design while rejecting the notion of radical change from one fashion trend to another. His innovative designs have won him a following among the elite communities of film and fashion, including to name a few: Meg Ryan, Meagan Follows, Jeanne Beker, Noot Seear, Linda Evangelista, Coco Rocha, Wendy Crewson, Daria Werbowy, Sarah Polley, Jann Arden, Nicole Kidman, Jennifer Love Hewitt, Allanis Morissette, Kristin Booth, Allana Zimmer, Nelly Furtado, Suzanne Rogers, Catherine O’ Hara, Katie Holmes, Iman, and our honorable Canadian first lady, Mrs. L. Harper.

David Dixon has been featured in such publications as; Vogue, Marie Claire, Town & Country, Elle, Elle Canada, Flare, Fashion, Zink, The Globe and Mail, and WWD to name a few. Dixon has also appeared on such media programming such as Fashion Television, Fashion File, Celebrity Style, MTV, and Project Runway.

Source: WMCFW

Pink Tartan

Photos by George Pimentel

Pink Tartan presented bright white & textured jacquards along with an overall nod to pop-art complete with optic prints and highlighter accents. Helping bring Kimberley Newport-Mimran's runway vision to life, in-demand stylist and fashion editor Zeina Esmail added signature elements to the runway giving this collection a creative contemporary art edge.

Photos by George Pimentel

Photos by George Pimentel

ABOUT THE DESIGNER

Kimberley Newport-Mimran is the President and Head Designer of Pink Tartan, the womenswear line she co-founded in Toronto in 2002. The New York showroom opened in 2004, and the line is now carried at Saks Fifth Avenue, Neiman Marcus, Bloomingdale’s, Holt Renfrew and The Bay as well as specialty stores across North America, Dubai and Seoul. Newport-Mimran has also designed sleek uniforms for Holt Renfrew, Porter Airlines, 60 Thompson in New York City and Hollywood’s Roosevelt Hotel Tropicana bar.

Kim studied fashion merchandising and manufacturing management eventually moving into a career in the buying office at the Hudson Bay Company, North America’s oldest retailer. Kim’s style philosophy was clear: “simplicity is the secret to elegance.” She went on to product development and merchandising and specialized in denim and menswear at Club Monaco. That is where she learned the importance of structure and tailoring. “Execution is key,” became her lifelong mantra.

Newport-Mimran later moved to Caban where she further exemplified, “sourcing is an art: finding fabric and manufacturing makes the difference in luxury design.” There she met and married the CEO, Joe Mimran. Today the pair are viewed as Canadian fashion royalty; Mimran launched the Joe Fresh mass fashion phenomenon after the selling of Club Monaco to Ralph Lauren. The couple’s daughter, Jacqueline, was born in 2001.

Source: WMCFW

Beaufille

Photos by George Pimentel

For Spring/Summer 2014 this sister designer duo Chloé and Parris Gordon channeled Renaissance Mobsters. Simple and wearable, these designs will look great on the city streets next summer.

Photos by George Pimentel

Photos by George Pimentel

ABOUT THE DESIGNER

Beaufille is a Toronto, Canada based womenswear and accessories brand founded by sisters Chloe and Parris Gordon. Beaufille is a contemporary line that references historical design elements within a modern context to create a sophisticated tough girl aesthetic.

“Beaufille represents every girl who has an eye for sophisticated construction and who appreciates the juxtaposition between old and new. The name Beaufille, In English translation, means ‘handsome girl’ and symbolizes the contrast between masculine and feminine elements; the combination of hard and soft,” says Chloe.

“Throughout our collections we have been inspired by French culture, art, and history,” says Parris. “We wanted a name that plays on our personal style, I tend to prefer feminine touches, while Chloe approaches fashion from a menswear point of view.”

Both Chloe And Parris attended the Nova Scotia College Of Art And Design in Halifax, Canada and through their exposure to all forms of art, including painting, drawing, filmography, design, photography, textiles, jewelry and fashion, have created a brand that draws on their collective experience. Beaufille combines Parris And Chloe’s love of jewelry and textiles with Parris overseeing jewelry and accessory design and Chloe concentrating on the brand’s ready-­to-wear.

“Through our different trainings it was logical for us to divide responsibilities that play to our strong points,” says Chloe. “It’s a very real collaborative process. I find an inspiration point in history that speaks to me, and then Parris comes up with a modern inspiration. We combine these two aspects and then layer them and strip them back into something very loose and not obvious.”

Source: WMCFW

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