Exhibition: Politics of Fashion | Fashion of Politics

When creating a collection, fashion designers often like to take inspirations from the world culture. Sometimes, they like to bring out social messages through their designs. If you don't believe me, then this exhibition will be my prove.

Currently, Design Exchange is hosting a fashion exhibition called "Politics of Fashion | Fashion of Politics". It is curated by Jeanne Beker and Sara Nickleson, and the display is created by Jeremy Laing.

The exhibition is divided into 5 themes: Ethics/Activism; War/Peace; Consumption/Consumerism; Campaign/Power Dressing; and Gender/Sexuality, and some of the key pieces on display include Margaret Trudeau wedding dress, Jeremy Scott's fast food inspired look from the Moschino F/W 2014 collection, and the crystal mask from Maison Martin Margiela.

Courtesy of Eugen Sakhnenko

The exhibition runs from September 18, 2014 to January 25, 2015, so make sure you drop by Design Exchange before it is over.

[On]Air: Calvin Klein Collection Menswear S/S 2015 Live Stream

As fans of the Calvin Klein Collection, we are excited to announce we will be streaming live the men's S/S 2015 runway show, Sunday June 22nd at 7:30am EST (1:30pm CEST) right here on a la mode. Watch the show with us live and get in on the conversation. Tweet @fusionofeffects with #CalvinKleinLive.

For F/W 2014, creative director Italo Zucchelli brought oversized sweatshirts, featuring iconic Calvin Klein fragrance names, to the runway. This quickly became a hot topic during the F/W 2014 Menswear Milan Fashion Week. We are curious to see what Zuchelli has in store this year. Watch live and experience the unveiling. We cannot wait to hear what you have to say!

[On]Air: Calvin Klein Collection Menswear F/W 2014 Live Stream

If you are a Calvin Klein Collection fan, then you will be happy hear this news!

On January 12 at 8:00am EST (2:00pm CET/Milan), I will be live steaming the Calvin Klein Collection F/W 2014 menswear collection on this site. Please make sure you book mark this page to view the show.

Feel free to let me know what you think about the show by either leaving me a comment here, or you can tweet me at @fusionofeffects on twitter! 

Hope you enjoy the show!

[On]Air: Decked Out: Fashion Playing Cards

I have constantly featured Connie Lim's works on both this site and Draw A Dot., and today, I hope you can support her latest personal project.

If you are a fan of Connie's works, you should know that she has been developing the playing cards series in the past few years. Good news is, the deck is more than 80% complete and now she is planning to make these illustrations into physical playing cards. Here is how you can help out.

Connie has just launched a Kickstarter campaign and will require $10,000 to create 10000 decks of cards. The things you can get by sponsoring this project include postcards, signed prints, tote bags and of course, the deck of cards. I always believe in this artist so I really hope she can turn this dream into reality.

Once again, please visit Connie's Kickstarter campaign page to read more about this project.

[On]Air: Dream Sequence Indiegogo Campaign

You all know I am a huge fan of Madame Peripetie's works, and now one of her projects is turning into a book!

In early 2014, Madame Peripetie will release her Dream Sequence book, which has taken her over 3 years to complete. But before that, she needs £10,000 to support this personal project and the fund will be using for proof-printing, printing, book-binding, font licensing, professional text editing, perks, shipping costs and the indiegogo / credit card / PayPal fees.

If you are going to support this campaign, at different levels you will receive different gifts such as signed books and prints from two of the images. If you are a a fan of Madame Peripetie's works, then please visit this Indigogo page and support her!

[On]Air: Burberry 'Live at 121 Regent Street' launches with Kaiser Chiefs

Yesterday when I was on instragram,  I saw a lot of images from the Burberry account about a certain concert but had no idea what was happening in London. Then I received a press release and everything makes perfect sense now!

Yesterday, Kaiser Chiefs kicked off the Burberry Live at 121 Regent Street music series (a series of ticketed music events) and you guessed it right, it happend at the 121 Regent Street flagship store. Burberry has once again become the pioneer of creating a trend by turning a store into a concert hall. Over 1000 guests attended this event yesterday night and I believe the guests must have had a great time.

This Burberry Live at 121 Regent Street will be open to public in the future so keep an eye on Burberry.com. If I am going to London in the near future, I guess this event will be on my must do list!

[On]Air: Island Life

Yesterday, I went to Izzy Gallery to see an amazing photography exhibit featuring works by the award winning photographer, Michael Dweck.

The title of this show is called Island Life and there are  two series showing side by side in the gallery. First series is called the Mermaids and all photos are taken in Montauk, Amagansett and the vicinity of the Weeki Wachee River in Florida. Up till this moment, the images are still stuck in my head because Michael has really captured the beauty of a woman underwater. With the help of the water swirls, the photos just become some beautiful art pieces.

The second set is associated with his new book Michael Dweck: Habana Libre and the images are about the secret life in Cuba. The series basically shows you the hidden side of the Cuba society and the images are sexy and provocative. I still cannot get over the huge photo in the gallery! Stunning!

The exhibit will be showing at Izzy Gallery from now till December 10. I truly recommend you to pay a visit to see these amazing photos shot by Michael Dweck! Below is a little taste of what you will expect to see in the exhibit.

[On]Air: Burberry Vogue Tokyo Fashion's Night Out

This past Saturday was huge for the Tokyo fashion scene as 17 Vogue editors in chiefs from around the world gathered around to celebrate the Fashions' Night Out. Burberry was part of the line up and of course Christopher Bailey was there to host the event at the Omotesando store. He invited The Crookes to perform that night and you can watch the video below.

That night was also very meaningful for the brand because part of the sales made that night was going to charities supporting the relief effort of the Tohoku earthquake and tsunami. Any of my readers were in Tokyo that night? I would like to know what you saw that night!

Rosalie Huang(Editor In Chief of Taiwan) and Chirstiane Arp(Editor In Chief of Germany)

Christopher Bailey with Mitsuko Watanabe (Editor in Chief of Vogue Japan) and Eva Hughes (Editor in Chief of Mexico and Latin America)

[On]Air: Burberry Body Celebration in Beverly Hills

Yeah, I am a bit jealous here but I will still hope Mr. Bailey will come to Toronto to host an event at the flagship store.

On Wednesday, Burberry Chief Creative Officer Christopher Bailey and British actress/model Rosie Huntington-Whiteley hosted a cocktail party to celebrate the release of Burberry Body in LA. There were over 400 guests attended the event and Kate Bosworth, Sir Patrick Stewart, Serena Williams, Luke Evans, and Cat Deeley were some of the celebrities whom were there that night. Judging from the photos, the event was very successful and the guests were having so much fun in the store (and I am sure Solange Knowles did an amazing job as a DJ).

Now, I am hoping I will get a chance to meet Mr. Bailey one day...

[On]Air: An Appointment With Johnny Ramirez

Since this blog is all about hair this month, I would like to use this opportunity to share this event with you.

Johnny Ramirez, a celeb colourist whose clients include Victoria Beckham, Gwyneth Paltrow, Kristen Stewart and Britney Spears, is coming to Toronto  (at Hair on the Avenue) on October 13 and 15 and you can make an appointment to experience the amazing colour treatment by him. You may wonder why he is coming to Toronto and the Q&A below will give you all the answers you need.

Why Toronto?
I never can get inspired here in LA, I am constantly searching for other places to inspire me, New York has and consistently does every time I visit. I feel that Toronto will be the same way. All of my clients from Toronto have such great style that moves me. I knew it was a place I wanted to visit. Luis and I connected and we could both identify with each other, as we have similarities in the way we approach hair. I'm so passionate about coloring hair and I could sense that from Luis as soon as I talked to him. I feel so blessed to be able to do what I love and add Toronto underneath my belt.

Why Hair On The Avenue?
A year ago, I had an amazing conversation with Luis over the phone, about what we do [hair color]. I have sat here for 20 minutes, trying to answer this question and get out in one word the fact that I eat, sleep, & shit what I do, but I couldn't find anything to describe it better than that. And, I know Luis feels me on that. So, I knew Hair on the Avenue would be a perfect fit.

If you want to have a fantastic hair colour treatment with this amazing hair colourist, you better hurry up and give Hair on the Avenue (416.922.0112) a call to make an appointment.

[On]Air: the shOws 2012

I think this is probably one of the most anticipated fashion events for this season as this event will showcase 4 Canadian designers who have made it big in the international fashion industry!

On October 13 and 14 (Thursday and Friday), there will be a 2 days event held at The Ritz Carlton Hotel. 4 runway shows will be presented during the event and the designers are Calla Haynes, Jean-Pierre Braganza, Thomas Tait and Todd Lynn. I have had the chance to see the Todd Lynn's retrospective earlier this year and his works have definitely blown me away. That being said, I know this line up is going to be awesome. Since this is an invite only event, for those of you who will not be able to see the shows at the hotel, you will be able to see the show live on the site here. I am not too sure what you are planning to do between 4-6 during those two days but I wish you now have this event invaded your time slot.

Here is the schedule for the event. If you want more information, please click here. Let the excitement begin!

Courtesy of the shOws

[On]Air: Art of Fashion Choreology 2011

Nuit Blanche is going to be on t his Saturday and if you are looking for fashion related event, I have one for you here.

The 13th annual Art of Fashion is going to be held at the Pantages Hotel in Toronto from 7pm to 1am that  night. There will be a fashion design competition and also designer sale. This year, the finalists of the competition are Albert Yuen, Christy Litster, Denise David, Elissa Contino, Joobo Shim, Katherine Laird & Jennifer Murtagh, Meghan Erin, Rebecca Collins, Seema Patel and Tiffany Briseno. Each contestant will be showcasing 6 pieces for the event. You can click here for more information.

Aside from that, you will also be able to purchase some fashion items from Canadian designers such as Tetiana K Clothing and House of Eenah. I believe you will not want to miss this chance.

One last note, as an attendee, you are also eligible to win prizes and here is the game rule:
"As visitors strut the red carpet to enter the night of fashion and fun on October 1st, photographers will snap their photos and post them to Twitter. The most re-tweeted fashion-fab shots with hashtag #AOF11 will be calculated to win a two-night stay with any of the Skyline Hotels properties, including the evening’s host Pantages Hotel. The winner will be announced on twitter at @ArtOfFashion and on Facebook the night of at www.Facebook.com/Art.Of.Fashion.Designers"

I definitely recommend you to drop by this event during Nuit Blanche!

Below are some amazing sketches from the finalists.

Courtesy of Arts of Fashion

[On]Air: Burberry Prorsum S/S 2012 Runway LIVE!

It's here once again!

It is our privilege and pleasure to once again live broadcast one of the most anticipated runway shows in London Fashion Week- the Burberry Prorsum S/S 2012 womenswear runway show. The show will start at 4:00pm London, England time (11am EST in North America). After we saw the menswear S/S 2012 runway show, we have a very good feeling this show is going to be as amazing as the last one. Be sure to come back here to check out the show LIVE!

We will also be live commenting about the show on our twitter page! Follow us!

You can pre-order some products right after the show on Burberry website or your nearest Burberry flagship store!

UPDATE: We will also be live streaming on our Facebook Fan Page too! Do not miss it!

#BURBERRY

[On]Air: eia Photography Project!

Here is a very cool creative project, brought to you by Everyone Is An Artist (eia)!

You are invited to participate a cool tasteful photography which involves nude photos. I am sure you would love to click the X button right now but this is not the type of photos you think it will be. Instead, you only need to provide a part of your body for this black and white shoot and at the end of the shoot, there will be an exhibition and they promise your face will not be attached the body part (well, you can tell the world about your body part and this is entirely optional). To learn more about this project, please read the letter from Kyle Kofsky, the founder of eia below. Have fun!

"Hey Artists,

Everyone Is An Artist is collecting BODY PARTS!

That's right, we are looking for all types of people for this amazing FINE ART FASHION PHOTOGRAPHY CREATIVE!

Here is the basic idea, we are looking for models (all shapes and sizes) for a Body Part Photo Shoot. We are looking to capture every body part from the neck to the ankle, including genitals, fronts and behinds. How else do you type that?

We want you to let us photograph whichever body parts you like. Your face will never be in the photograph with the body part, these will be cut out and used on their own in a Fashion Line and a Fine Art Exhibit. We don't want any faces, that is not the point of the project. This is the first photography creative/art project that I have done (as the artist) in over a decade and I am ready to bring my vision to life.

Those who are interested will be given more details. Again any body parts or all your body parts are acceptable. We will have you in the studio (on a closed set) for the pictures, you will also be given the photos to be used at your discretion.

This is a nice way to get your nude done

Feel free to recommend friends and the such, we are open to all people and would love to get a big mix. Have them email a photo (just to organize the different looks) and their contact information.

We will be taking the majority of the pictures July 23-30, so if you can let us know when during that week is good for you, we can schedule you in. Day or night works. Expect about 1 hour of time for the photos to be taken.

Let us know what body parts you would like to share with us.

I assure you everything is in good taste and with a classic approach. The end result will be very classic black and white photographs of the body parts, all in good taste.

Full discretion assured, no one will know which body part belongs to who and no one but me will know the model list. If you want people to know that is up to you and what you do with the photos we give you.

This is about embracing our bodies, at no time will anyone's body be depicted in a negative way. This is a creative, and so there is no payment (other then the photos) however if this project goes well and into phase 2, there will be compensation fo sho!"

[On]Air: Burberry Beijing Show Review

It has been a day and I am still having the Burberry Beijing event fever...

Yesterday was fortunate enough to be one of the 250 media partners to broadcast the event live and if you have missed it, you can always go back to our Beijing event page to see the show for the next 30 days.

Christopher Bailey & Fan Bing Bing

Here, I will have a little recap for you about the event. The event took place at the Beijing Television Center and there were more than 1000 guests attended the event. Some of guests included Maggie Cheung, Fan Bing Bing, Won Bin and of course Christopher Bailey and Burberry CEO Angela Ahrendts.

One of the main features of this event was the virtual show which it "took viewers through the distinctive four British seasons of weather with a choreographed stereoscopic audio, visual and sensory experience connecting the physical and digital worlds." I was very impressed with the animation and trust me, I was "wow-ing" the whole time, especially the night scene of London!

One stunning virtual show!

Then there was this amazing hologram show where virtual models were mixed with real life models including Cara Delevingne, Edie Campbell, Jourdan Dunn, Charlie France, Seb Brice and Shupei. That was a very surprising segment and I could not get enough of the transformation effect "where models transformed into snow and disappeared before returning in interchanging outfits."

Hologram Show

Keane, one of my favorite bands of all time, was the special musical guest for this event and they had played some of my favorite songs. That 40 mins was definitely a golden moment for the band and for me to see them perform in Shanghai!

I hope you enjoyed the show as much as I did yesterday and below I have some photos from the event for you to see! Thanks for watching the show with me and I hope I will be able to bring you more videos from Burberry in the future! Once again, click here to check out the show if you haven't done so. I have also have a 3 minutes edited video for you to see the highlight of this event!

Courtesy of Burberry

P.S. I would really love to meet Christopher Bailey one day and do an [Un]Discovers interview with him. I hope my wish will be granted soon!

Maggie Cheung

The Hologram Show

The Beijing Store

Keane

Courtesy of Burberry

[On]Air: Burberry Beijing Show LIVE!

It's here! The Burberry event will be live very soon! For this coming 1 and a half hour, you will be seeing a spectacular event involving high end technology and also the performance by Keane! Of course, I will also be live tweeting on twitter during the event.

Click here to read the description of this event!

I hope you are as excited as I do right now!

[On]Air: Burberry Beijing Show April 13 2011

We cannot tell you how excited we are to share this news with you!

On April 13 2011, Christopher Bailey, the Chief Creative Officer of Burberry, will be hosting the most innovative event in Burberry history at Beijing Television Centre. The purpose of it is to celebrate the recent opening of the brand’s most technologically advanced flagship store at Sparkle Roll Plaza in Beijing which is designed by Christopher Bailey. This event will mark Burberry as the first luxury brand to use "groundbreaking virtual image technology, combining live models with animated footage and life-like holograms with a fully immersive audio, visual and sensory experience connecting the physical and digital world".

It is also announced that Keane will be performing that night and this will be the band's first trip and performance in China. We are always fans of Christopher Bailey and Keane (trust us, we would really want to meet them in person one day) so this is such a great news to us, but the fun does not stop here...

Christopher Bailey + Keane

Now this is the big news for all of our à la mode readers. We are excited to let you know we will be live streaming the show on our blog on April 13 at 8:30am EST. Since we do not want you to miss the show, we will have the entry up at 6:30am (or before, keep an eye on this blog!). Are you excited yet?

Below we have a video of Keane talking about the show on April 13. Enjoy!

Courtesy of Burberry

[On]Air: FOOLS GOLD

As you know April 1st is April Fools' day and in order to celebrate this day (well, people do celebrate this day at some point), 36 Chambers is going to host a party.

DJ GNAT will be spinning the disc that night with some amazing 80's and 90's hip hop music and there will be a "beat street" photo shoot to keep your memory fresh about the 80s and 90s! Also, if you have participated the BBQ event last month, the photos will be up on that night so you can see how amazing you looked at that event.

For more information, please click here. Trust us, you will not want to miss this event.

[On]Air: Logan Loves Co-Op

Are you ready for Spring and Summer? Are you ready to get some new clothes to add to your wardrobe at a low price? If you answer YES for both of the questions, then read this.

On March 25 -27 (Friday to Sunday), Logan Loves is going to have a pop up sale at Organic Metal Gallery. You can purchase items range form Chanel to Elie Tahari and other brands that fall in between at a fraction of the price. A fraction of the sales will go to the Red Cross to help the people in Japan. I think this is an event you should go and get something nice for yourself (and at the same time help out the people in Japan!). Please click the image for more details.

[On]Air: Success is Chic: Making it in the fashion industry

Are you planning to break into the fashion industry and want some advices from the industry people? If so, you need to mark down March 24 on your calendar as this is the event you must attend.

On March 24,  Direct Engagement & CityEvents are presenting an event which invite a few experts from the fashion industry in Toronto to give advices to the people who are interested in entering this industry. The guests include:

Ben Barry, Founder & CEO, Ben Barry Agency

Glen Baxter, Host 'In Fashion' & Reporter, Fashion Television Channel

Cynthia Florek, Brand & Trend Director, Sears Canada

Susan Langdon, Executive Director, Toronto Fashion Incubator

Sean Stanleigh, Editor, Your Business, The Globe & Mail, Canada’s National
Newspaper www.globeandmail.com

Julie King, Publisher & Managing Editor, CanadaOne.com

In order for you to participate this event, you will have to go to Directengagement website and register. Registration fee is as followed:

$20 registration for members

$25 advance

$30 at the door for day of registration

The location of the event will take place at the Drake Hotel (1150 Queen Street West, Toronto, Ontario, M6J 1J3) and here is the schedule:

5:00 pm – 6:00 pm: Registration

6:00 pm -7:00 pm: Panel Q & A and Live Interactive Webcast

7:00 pm-8:00 pm: Networking

We hope you will take this opportunity and talk to some experts if you are interested in entering the fashion industry.