Fall Style Guide

FALL STYLE GUIDE

CHINEDU UKABAM

Designer, Chinedesign
www.chinedesign.com.

You were born in the UK, raised in Nigeria, lived in Dubai and are now based in Toronto. What does Toronto's style have that all these places are missing?
Toronto is like being everywhere in the world at the same time. Everyplace I lived is contained in Toronto anyway. It feels like the logical last place to make my base, because it's an accumulation of everything I've been through.

Four years ago, you were MC/producer of Eye + Eye, and it was your “Love. Life. Music.” single that inspired the first line of graphic t-shirts for Chinedesign. How does the local hip-hop scene resonate in your clothing?
I don't believe there is a mainstream urban scene in Toronto. Therefore, urban artists feel more freedom to do what they want to do because there's not much money to make anyway. It frees you from having to water it down. So that rebel attitude, I definitely bring it to my clothing.

In some of my t-shirts, I've decided to use a lot of old-school hip-hop quotes and then illustrate the actual words. So for example, I have Black Sheep's “The Choice Is Yours” with three different hands making a different gesture. So one is a fist, one's a middle finger and the other is a peace sign.

I don't really think too hard about who wears my clothing. A lot of the local hip-hop artists are like that – Kamau and K'naan make music first and worry about it later, and I'm the same way about my clothing.

What pieces are you depending on to get you through the fall?
Definitely hats, especially from Big It Up. Also ties – I have a line of classic ties coming out called Deez Knots with my partner Sophia Ha. [A tie] really goes well when you're layering as an extra accessory and also a lot of the designs that I have on my t-shirts are gonna be put on the ties. So even if the weather's cool, you can still make a statement with what you're wearing.

What's your favourite neighbourhood to shop in?
Definitely Queen West. Five on Spadina (96 Spadina Ave.) carries my stuff, and I love the vintage in the area. But the Goodwill on St. Clair – I love it! It's not so crowded, and I like to shop there on the weekends.

ROBIN KAY

President of Fashion Design Council of Canada and executive director of L'Oréal Fashion Week
www.lorealfashionweek.ca.

What should we look out for during Fashion Week?
Project Runway Canada's three finalists' collections are pretty exciting, because of what it will do for fashion designers in Canada and [how it will] wake consumers up to the fact that we have a strong design industry.

We need to get people to understand designers as artists who need to be encouraged from a trade and star aspect for what they're doing for culture. The Ontario government doesn't recognize fashion as a part of culture, so designers are non-entities. What happens to the university students that graduate in fashion? They become waiters, go to the States or take jobs in retail.

I think Toronto feels its power, being the fashion capital in Canada. I am hoping with Fashion Week the gift of the designers can be taken to trade. We have to earn livings and be self-supporting.

What pieces are you depending on to get you through the fall season?
I am madly in love with my Stuart Weitzman fall boots – they are about four or five inches of stretchy suede above the ankle that are nice and high and super-super-comfortable. I love that. I bought a red vintage knee-length coat from I Miss You (63 Ossington). I'm mad for vintage. And Lucian Matis (see My Place page 18) – one of my favourite designers – made me one of the cutest little riding suits that has a ridiculously tiny hat plonked on my head that I will wear at opening night.

What's your favourite neighbourhood to shop in?
Apart from Kensington Market? I live in Parkdale and there are a lot of wonderful shops like Common Cloth (1233 Queen W.). I would have to say Queen, really west. Not as far as Roncesvalles, but between Dufferin and Lansdowne. But I do find shopping extremely relaxing, very Zen. Of course I love Holt Renfrew; it was my first job in Winnipeg. I think I run the gamut. It's been said of me that I can shop anywhere.

ZAKI IBRAHIM

Hip-hop and soul singer/songwriter.
www.myspace.com/zakiibrahim.

How do you define your personal style?
It's a fairly plain style, but I'm a comfort junkie. Sometimes I'll layer up shirts so they can work as a dress or I'll do shorts with coloured tights. I like to wear my leopard-print tights fairly often. I don't think my style is too crazy, except for performances. 69 Vintage (1100 Queen W.) lends me clothing for shows, and I've worn crinolines with marching-band jackets. I like to rock things differently.

I obviously express myself in music, but I also like to express myself through dressing. Usually I like bold colours, but I prefer bold accessories rather than wearing an entire jumpsuit made out of gold. [Laughs.] However, it has crossed my mind to wear gold jumpsuits.

Obviously when you're on stage, you're conscious of being a performer and putting out that cult of personality. Does it coincide with your own style?
I like showmanship and wearing costumes, but I haven't always been comfortable with that. I sort of plan out what I wear, but there are certain items I pick out because I might be feeling what kind of show it'll be. One time, I bought five [pairs of] work goggles and asked the whole band to wear them with hoodies for the performance while I wore a silver tutu pretending to be a doll type of thing. It's fun to be in fantasyland, and when I'm performing I definitely enjoy doing that.

Street style blogs have popped up all over the net, and these organic trends are beginning to infiltrate the runways. Do you find Toronto street style to be inspirational for you?
People in Toronto are quite experimental with their style. I love people-watching, but I also realize that not everything looks the same on everyone else, so when it comes to styling myself, I go with what is comfortable and looks good on me. Some of the time, I don't always get it right and then I'll leave the house definitely feeling like a fashion victim, but most times I'm inspired by all the different styles around me.

I did hairstyling for six years of my life and my styling was to the person. So if someone brought me a magazine and said, “I want that style,” I'd say to them, “Actually, we're gonna give you your style,” because wearing your style is how you trend-set without even knowing it.

JOHN TACCONE

Hairstylist, NAVIGATESPACE
250 The Esplanade, ste. 123. 416-427-6020.
www.navigatespace.ca

As a hairstylist who's been in the game for 15 years and worked editorial for magazines such as Flare and Chatelaine, what do you see as the obvious connection between one's hairstyle and personal fashion style?
It's the one thing you can manipulate at will, but with the wrong advice you can be set up for disaster. It's very rare when you find a woman who's in touch with her sensuality, which I think is in fashion now. It's a statement, referring to the body, making reference to how it moves – how it gets caught.

I think one of the best compliments I received was, “Wow, this is the way my hair is supposed to look.” I think that's the trend, finding a quiet but powerful connection between the woman and the projection.

The general consensus is that Toronto has a very loose and relaxed style, where we're not afraid to mix the traditional with the modern. Does this relate to our hairstyles?
I think Torontonians are a good-looking bunch. We're taking traditional and retro hair and making it more architectural and engineered. I say this carefully, but we're also looking at women moving into areas that are looser. My iconograph is the “Sicilian Whore” – I'm not referencing Dolce & Gabbana, but I love the moist skin and hair that's loose and tumbling and needs to be wiped from the face.

Clothing is all about texture and there's now a subtle change in the shape. Elongation is important, and I see that trend spiking men's wear. The things that change in the sartorial world are the biggest changes because they're so steadfast. But that's loosening up, and that stoicism is becoming a lot more modern.

Traditional and modern are really contradicting. They're very classical ideas. We spend a lot of a time pretending we're redefining things but I think we're stuck.

Fall is that transitional period where we must accept the dry climate. Can you offer any tips to help make the change easier for our hair?
I think anything to do with moisture is a good thing and in the same way that you're really pissed off that you have to leave your off-the-shoulder bubble shirt – you gotta cover your shoulders now – you can no longer resist protecting yourself. [Add] moisture, deepen colour, even cut off the hair. Fall is about getting closer to yourself.

JACLYN GENOVESE

Co-owner of jacflash. 1036-58 Queen W. 647-408-4451.
www.jacflash.net

Jacflash, the 2,500-square-foot storefront that you co-own with your dad, just opened up in Parkdale last month. What's the concept?
Fashion, music and glamour is basically our concept and we're mainly targeting artists and locals on Queen. I love this area. It's so edgy and has a real community feel. Usually it's fashionable trendsetters, but we're for people of all ages, cause I help my dad with the buying.

It's great working with family, because you can trust each other and it's a lot of fun. We've always been close – we did a lot of travelling together and my dad has always been into fashion since [he was] my age, so he loves doing this with me.

My mom and I share clothes – she's the exact same weight and height. And my brother and dad share wardrobes. Since [my brother]'s moved to Boston, he's so upset because he doesn't have my dad's closet, so he's always stealing things.

When we Googled your name, we found you also have a MySpace music profile. How are you ever going to balance rocking out with a clothing boutique?
There is an independent music section in the store where we have 20 Toronto-based independent artists and my brother is one of them. Within a month or so, I'll put my CD out with six of my demos. But I'm taking it easy from the music scene until the store gets going.

[Still, there] is a great correlation because so many artists are fashionable and need to wear something onstage. I feel everyone loves fashion in some way and wants to be unique, so even if you're not a celebrity, you still want to... stand out in a crowd. So I hope jacflash can [help people] do that.

What pieces are you depending on to get you through the fall season?

There are two beautiful Alice and Olivia dresses – one is a gold-sequined dress a little above the knee, short-sleeve. It's so comfortable and looks great on everyone. There's also a black dress that I wore to the [store] opening – it's stunning. I saw it in US Weekly last week.

SHAUN MOORE

Co-owner, Made Design. 867 Dundas W. 416-607-6384.
www.madedesign.ca

How do you define your personal style?
I definitely have a little bit more of a focus on my home space rather than fashion. I wore a tie for the first time in four years last year and I actually really liked it. I'm leaning a little more back towards that type of fashion again – tidier and tighter looking. And I started wearing blazers more, which was something I would never do in a million years.

Last year, you and curator Julie Nicholson opened Made Design to showcase contemporary Canadian designers who mash up the traditional with the modern. Is this analogous to Toronto's messy and eclectic style?
I would agree with that – I don't know if messy is the right word. It's a more loose and relaxed approach. The ideas of mixing – that you can have something stark and minimal with something over-the-top ornate or [that] references classical ideas. I think a lot of Toronto fashion does the same type of thing, so people aren't so much about “I need my bare white box” – that's definitely not the customer we deal with. It can be a lot of mix and match, with precious pieces that are vintage, inherited or found.

What are design junkies and makers after this fall?
We're seeing a lot of people moving back towards home items for storage. People are getting their spaces organized and a big part of that is where they're hanging their coats, where they're hanging their shirts. The Utilitile Thout design is great for smaller spaces and the hooks drop out of a panel but can be retracted back again so they're not interfering with your space when they're not being used. They're beautiful pieces made out of solid walnut and when not in use they're a blank panel that's an attractive piece.

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