So Day 5 ended last Friday (pardon the late update; my coma got in the way) and everything went smoothly on my end. Caught the Lucian Matis show in the evening (gorgeous delicate fabrics with some sporting a very cool pixelated print):




The Mellinda-Mae Harlingten show was nice and had a nice little surprise at the end... or front... whichever end you're looking at...


And how else to wrap up Fashion Week then a cozy chat with our fashionable personalities: Mary Kitchen, Glen Baxter and Jeanne Beker.


My ranting and raving over Fashion Week is far from over but in the meantime, Phillip Block says:
"Say good night, Jeanne!" "Good night, Jeanne!"

A whole new world is open to me with this little gold sticker. One minute I'm being wrangled with the media folk, the next I'm being wrangled with media, sponsors, and industry folk toward a bar.

The V-Lounge is small but I had one mission. A drink. I don't even feel like drinking (I mean, of course I'm not drinking... I'm on the clock!) And they only had beer left which I'm not really into... that is to say, I don't drink beer ever. But I took it. Why? 'Cause the little gold sticker told me to!

Onto work-related stuff: up next is Afshin Feiz in The Studio. It's By Invite Only... not that that stopped me before. What stopped me was my claustrophobia... and this beer which I intend to coddle for an hour when the final show of the night AND the week kicks off. Until then Denis Gagnon, bottoms up!

I don’t normally do runway reviews. When I was first introduced to this fashion world, my perception of a fashion show told me fashion shows did one thing: display clothing. Through the years and through the countless runway shows from around the world that I’ve seen FT cover, I’ve learned that fashion shows can be theatrical presentations, even a form of storytelling. And sometimes they can be just down right entertaining!

Such, I find, is the case of gsus sindistries. The high-energy, ultra-sexy show was there to entertain and entertain it did! The crowd immediately started cheering as the show opened with SYTYCD judge Blake McGrath wowing everyone with insane flips. MuchMoreMusic’s Traci Melchor even graced the runway.




There were gang sign-sprouting kids that stole the show, male models that stole a kiss from a female model (I’m being very modest when I say “a kiss”... they made out BIG TIME). And there was a sweet bike that stole the catwalk. True story.

But Michelle, were they wearing clothes? Most of the time:

... And suddenly everything is on time and organized. An efficient show is a happy show. Don’t get me wrong, I’m not saying fashion shows are a chaotic mess… well, my word are saying that, sure, but the term “fashionably late” didn’t come from nothing. Tonight’s shows were on time with a jaunty omniscient voice announcing when the next show is starting (“… in 5 minutes.” “… in 3 minutes.”) and whether or not it’s a By Invite Only show (granted, he made a mistake with the gsus show but he soon corrected himself).

Top drawer to that! Now if only they can find someone for crowd control outside of the runway tent. I wouldn't mind having the announcer guy tell what's the best route to take to get to the FT Lounge.

Guest blogger: Jill Klausen | FT Intern

Whenever I’m out and about, I’m always on the lookout for new trends. And there is no better place to look for what’s happening now in fashion than at L’Oreal Fashion Week. But I’m not just talking about what I see on the runways; I’m talking about what I see on the fashionistas in the front row. So far, I’ve noticed a few key trends these fabulous people have embraced.

Number 1: Fascinators
On Day 3, I saw fascinators everywhere! Fascinators, for the uninitiated, are like adorable little hats, usually made of feathers of flowers. Think Sarah Jessica Parker at the London premiere of Sex and the City. I have seen all kinds of fascinators here, ranging from delicate bands of peacock feathers to large clusters of white lilies. But the one(s) that stood out the most were the two women who were wearing matching arrangements of emerald and sapphire (respectively) netting with plastic birds perched in the mesh nests. While fascinators like that may not be for everyone, I guarantee you’ll be seeing these headpieces on the street soon.

Number 2: Ironic glasses
Ironic glasses are tougher to spot. I’ve made the mistake of asking someone about their ironic glasses only to have them say “These are my real glasses. I can’t see without them.” Oops! But for the majority of ironic glasses aficionados, they are merely an accessory. I have seen all types of ironic glasses, from black plastic nerd frames, to clear grandma frames. One Fashion Week volunteer told me her glasses came all the way from Halifax.

Guest blogger: Jill Klausen | FT Intern

One of the many perks that come with interning at Fashion Television is that we get to use our downtime at L’Oreal Fashion Week to watch the shows. While my fellow interns and I are looking forward to ALL the shows, we were especially excited about Carlie Wong’s Day 3 show. And we were not disappointed. The clothes were gorgeous, elegant and girly without being precocious. I heard one fashionista exclaim, “Every single thing I saw, I wanted in my closet. I would wear all of it!”

And not only were the clothes amazing, Carlie was as well. At the end of the Joe Fresh show that capped off Day 3, another intern and I decided to wait in the runway room for the crowd to thin out before making our way back to the FT set. When we were finally able to leave, we spotted Carlie talking to a few people. As we were so enamoured with her collection, we decided to approach her to tell her how much we loved the show. She thanked us and then told us that she had spent the hours since her show ended crashing other designers’ shows.

The shots that didn't make the gallery:
Quel dommage! Why so glum, chum?


I was actually questioning whether this model's hair was fake...


...Among other things.


I'm going to chalk this up to bad lighting at an awkward angle, it makes this lovely model look like a caveman.


Looking at this model's knees and footing, I am genuinely concerned for her well-being. Do you feel pain? How can I help?

Starting off Day 3 of Fashion Week in the office... and will also likely end the very late night in the office as well... filled with more office work in between. So what can I possible share with you guys that might make this experience worthwhile? Well for starters, runway video from yesterday's show is now online. GO WATCH! We have some awesome galleries to boot. GO LOOK! Plus a recap of yesterday via photos. SCROLL DOWN SLIGHTLY!

Secondly, with it being the mid-way point, I thought now would be as good a time as any to take an invetory of my week, let's call this my Fashion By Numbers:

• Number of times I was asked for my business card: 4
• Number of times I was asked who am I with: 6
• Number of times I got an "Ohhhh..." from my response: 7 (yeah, you try out the math there)
• Number of show gift bags I've received: 3
• Number of show gift bags I was expecting to receive: 0
• Number of Quattro Schick shavers I've collected: 5
• Number of firemen that are usually at these events handing them out: 0 :(
• Number of perfume samples that came in the David Dixon/The Bay gift bag: an unnecessary 4
• Number of double-cheek kiss greetings I witnessed when trying to make my way from the FT Lounge to the media lounge: Way too many considering how insanely crowded it was. Move it along people, you'll see Gorgeous McGorgeous in the tent.

Glen interviews the Queen of Fashion Week, Robin Kay.

He's a jaunty chap, he is :)

Offstage the FTeam has their "Go" faces on:

NADA Show (so very pretty):

Can Stacy McKenzie BE any more fabulous? (Just before the Bustle show)

The Jesus Shot

Glen with "Sophie" star, Natalie Brown. He made a funny!

Another adorable shot of Stacy, this time with our very own equally adorable Mary Kitchen!

So once again, I decided to skip out on one of the shows. Figured since I do plan on going to the bustle and David Dixon (the latter being a show I ALWAYS miss out because I get sick mid-way through the week. So far so good... ), it was a good idea to step out and enjoy an empty media lounge to collect my thoughts... annnnnd we're done....