Picture Perfect: Hunting Season

Few days ago, Shot by LoveLost invited me to his studio and collaborated on a fashion editorial. Because both of us are photographers, this final product has the best of both worlds.

The theme of this editorial is about the relationship between hunters and preys. We portrait the preys as lost souls because some of the hunters love to disguise themselves and hunt these animals down. At the end of these hunting games, the lost souls will arrive at a different world, whereas the hunters will continue to be the kings of the food chain. In these images, can you define the preys and the hunters?

For this series, I have chosen accessories from Canadian designers Breeyn McCarney, VAWK, NobelSole, Krane and Baffi Collection to collide with Alexander McQueen, Valentino, Louis Vuitton, Brooks Brothers, Bench, G-Star Raw, Cor Sine Labe Doli and Cole Haan. In my opinion, this is one of the best shoots I have ever done!

Who says Canadian designers are not good enough in the International fashion hunting ground?

Photos: Shot by LoveLost (instagram)
Style: Marcus Kan

Cage 

Dragonfly print tie by Alexander McQueen; Zipper tie by Krane

Destroyer 

Tie by Valentino; Jacket by G-Star RAW

Walk the Walk: VAWK F/W 2015 Collection

Sunny Fong presented the latest VAWK collection at World MasterCard Fashion Week yesterday and called it Dot Du Jour. As the title suggested, most of the clothing were inspired by dots and circular objects. Aside from black, the designer used pop colours to lighten up the mood of the collection. Some of the outstanding pieces were the mirrored polka-dot jumpsuit, the magenta & red dot coat, and the cocoon sleeves mini dress.

As a fan of this brand, I am once again amazed by the collection! Congratulations Sunny!

Pros:
- From silhouette to embellishments, the collection is inspired by circles.
- Love the colour palette, the 2nd half of the collection is just very cheerful!
- The mirrored polka-dot jumpsuit is going to be an editorial hit!
- The entire collection is just so cohesive

Eye Candies:
- The magenta, red and beige coat
- Jumpsuit with mirrored studs
- Black gown with plunging neckline
- Cocoon sleeves mini dress

Dots[Connection]: Fashion Week Madness

This week has been a madness since it is the World MasterCard Fashion Week in Toronto. For this season, I have once again curated a special project and teamed up with IMG and Sony to show you the illustration world of fashion week. Please follow this link to see all the amazing works created by Lisa Nishimura, Stephanie McKay and Octavio Contreras!

VAWK by Lisa Nishimura 

Pink Tartan by Octavio Contreras

Rudsak by Stephanie McKay

Wish[Granted]: VAWK for eBay Duo Leather Tie Giveaway! (Result)

Thanks for all the entries and congrats to Garrett Tonge on winning the VAWK for eBay duo lather tie!

---------------

Many of you may know that VAWK has once again teamed up with eBay to produce a special holiday capsule collection and you can now buy or bid the items on eBay Canada (if the link redirects you to the home page, please try this link). But because this is the holiday season, à la mode has teamed up with eBay to give away one of the products from this collection to a lucky winner.

In the last collection, the duo leather tie was the first piece that was sold out on the site (thank god I bought it in the last minute!), so this time Sunny has created another version of it. For this contest, I am giving away this stunning tie (value at $79) to a lucky winner and you have until December 8 (Sunday) to enter this giveaway! What you need to do is simple:

Fill in the form below and follow both @fusionofeffects & @eBayCanada twitter accounts. For bonus entries, you can tweet and like à la mode's Facebook Fanpage.

Winner will be announced on December 9. Good luck!

Note: This contest is for residents of Canada only.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Trendology: Krane, Philip Sparks & VAWK for The Bay

The perfect winter coat is always hard to find for men, but for this season, you might like what the Bay has to offer.

VAWK

The company has recently collaborated with Krane, Philip Sparks and VAWK to create a capsule collection on coats. While Krane and Philip Sparks are well known for the menswear, it is very refreshing to see a menswear piece from VAWK. All 3 pieces are now available at a few The Bay locations and you can also purchase them online.

For more information on this collection, you can visit B-insider.

Which one is your favourite?

Philip Sparks 

Krane

Courtesy of The Bay

Wish[Granted]: eBay Gift Certificate [Winner is announced!]

Thanks to everyone who entered the contest and now it's time to announce the winner!

Congrats to Summer Plewes for winning this contest and you will be receiving $50 gift certificate from eBay Canada. Thanks to RANDOM.ORG for helping to us generate the random result. (1st comment is assigned as number 1, and the last comment is assigned as number 14)

Once again, thank you so much for your support and stay tuned for another contest in the future!

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

By now, I am sure many of you are excited for the VAWK for eBay by Sunny Fong collection! It won't go on sale till August 12, but right now, I have a special treat for you.

à la mode has teamed up with eBay Canada to give one of our lucky readers a $50 gift certificate. It can be used on any of the items on eBay but I am sure most of you will be leaning towards the VAWK for eBay collection.

Here is how you can enter the contest:

1) You must like both eBay Facebook Page and à la mode Facebook Page

2) Leave a comment and email address in this post by telling us which piece is your favourite from the VAWK for eBay by Sunny Fong collection. You can only enter this contest once. (If you do not want to publish your email address, you can leave your comment here and send your email address to info@fusionofeffects.com. The reason we need your email address is because if you win the contest, we need to have a way to contact you.)

The contest will last from August 1st to August 8th and the winner will be announced on this post on August 9th (random draw)!

Good luck!

Note: This contest is only open for Canadian residence.

Trendology: VAWK for eBay Capsule Collection

If you are a fan of VAWK, you are going to love this post!

Zebra-spiral Print Silk-blend Scarf $99

Sunny Fong from VAWK has partnered up with eBay Canada to product a capsule collection in this coming F/W season. There will be 7 limited edition items such as scarf, dress, cuff and tie. All items will be under $120 and they will be on sale from August 12 - September 15. I personally am in love with the skinny tie so I will probably buy it right on the first day.

Now take a look at these images and see which one you want to buy on August 12.

Duo Leather Skinny Tie $69

Lizard Embossed Collar with Fox Fur $79

Lizard Embossed Cuff with Fox Fur 

Walk the Walk: VAWK F/W 2013 Collection

Sunny Fong presented an amazing VAWK F/W 2013 collection on the 4th day of World MasterCard Fashion Week and at this moment, I am still drooling over some pieces.

Nordic Fauna is the title of this collection and as expected, there are so many great outerwear pieces for the ladies. I really like how Sunny applies the pleats on some of the designs to give a modern look to the pieces. The tree branch (Winter Camo) print is very nice and it adds a cool vibe to the dresses and trench coat. Of course, the biggest surprise is the debut of the menswear and quite frankly, I still cannot get over that wolf howling sweatshirt and the tree branch print blazer!

Now I hope Sunny will continue to produce a capsule menswear for next season. This show was probably one of the most exciting shows of this season!

Pros:
- I love the theme of this collection and how every piece is connected to it.
- The moose head sweatshirt and wolf howling turtleneck are must have for next season. Fun and stylish!
- The biggest surprise is of course the menswear and the 3 looks are very masculine and strong.
- I am in love with the tree branch print. It gives off a very cool winter vibe, but very classy at the same time.
- Pleat is a major element in this collection and it looks great on many of the designs.

Cons:
- If there is a tree branch print (Winter Camo) suit for both men and women, that will be fantastic!

Eye Candies:
- Navy wool Holmes coat
- Black turtleneck with moose head graphic
- Wolf howling sweat shirt
- Tan wool jacket
- Winter Camo coat
- Tree branch print trendcoat with fur sleeves
- Tree branch print blazer

Ray of Inspirology: VAWK F/W 2012 Promotion Campaign

Toronto Fashion Week starts today and if you are a fan of VAWK, you should be excited for the show on Friday evening. In order to build up the hype, today I would like to share this amazing F/W 2012 collection promotion campaign from the brand.

These campaign images are shot by Chris Vassalos and the location is at  Cheltenham Badlands Trail in Caledon, Ontario. Ishie is dressed in a few iconic pieces from the VAWK F/W 2012 collection and she looks elegant. I also really like her expressions as she can really show what a sci-fi samurai should look like. Last but not least, the beautiful landscape has enhanced the image composition and at some point, I feel like Ishie is posing in Mars.

Bravo to the entire creative team and I am now hyped for the S/S 2013 show this coming Friday. Are you ready?

Photographer: Chris Vassalos
Model: Ishie
Style: Tricia Hall
Beauty: Adrian Carew

Fashionist[On The Go]: Canadian Power

Typing this log entry makes me very happy and the reason? Well, the answer is just below this paragraph.

This past Sunday was the annual MMVA and all the Canadians in the fashion industry were wondering what would the celebrities wear on the red carpet. It was a pleasant surprise to know Katy Perry was wearing a VAWK gown from the resort collection. Also, Nelly Furtado wore a Lucian Matis dress for her performance and Shenae Grimes wore a custom dress designed by Amanda Lew Kee. I am happy to see Canadian designers are finally getting recognitions from the international entertainment world. [Read Here]

Katy Perry and Selena Gomez looked beautiful on the red carpet. Well, when I looked at Carly Rae Jepsen, I could only think of "Call Me Maybe" (source: the Fashionist)

I bet a lot of my readers are fans of both South Park and Marc Jacobs. Well if you have watched that 1% episode, you should remember there is a "Muscle Man Marc" doll. If you are hoping to get one in real life, then you are in luck because Marc Jacobs has produced it and you can now get it on the Marc Jacobs website!

Maybe Marc needs to make a lace dress version later too. (source: the Fashionist)

Fashionist[On The Go]: Toronto Fashion Week Round Up

Since I am once again covering 2 of my favourite shows (Caitlin Power and Ashtiani by Glonaz Ashtiani) for Global News this season, I have no plans to make any big reviews on any other collections here. However, in order to satisfy your Toronto fashion appetite, I am going to briefly drop a few lines on some memorable runway shows. For full details, please visit The Fashionist.

I was fortune enough to attend the Lucian Matis runway show on Monday and besides the grand ballroom, the collection was probably the most memorable one for this season. Even though I feel like this collection is more commercialized than the previous seasons, I appreciate the handcrafted lace and the feathers details. The feather gown is truly my favourite piece in this collection. [Read Here]

My only concern? Some models really need to gain a little weight to fit into those pieces. They remind me of Mara Rooney in Givenchy Haute Couture at the Oscars - aka cannot present the piece well (source: The Fashionist)

Everyone was talking about Adrian Wu before his show on Tuesday afternoon. Maybe because I had expectation on him, the collection did not blow me away entirely. There were a few cool polka dots pieces and I have to admit, his sewing skill has improved a lot. However, when I looked at the pieces, they did not entirely translate to the collection's theme. [Read Here]

I have to be very honest, if Adrian Wu can take a course to refine his skills and vision, I promise his next collection will be a big jump. (source: The Fashionist)

Chloe Comme Parris was another brand I was looking forward to see on Tuesday afternoon. Studs became the major element of this collection and the last triangular studs gown was my favourite. Also, the jewellery pieces were pretty edgy which stayed true to the brand's image. However, I was slightly disappointed because this was a highly commercial calculated collection. I really miss the good old days where there was rawness on the clothes and the S&M vibe. [Read Here]

No doubt, the brand has really evolved, but in a different way than I had first imagined. (source: The Fashionist) 

On day 3, I went to see VAWK and I was impressed with the collection. The Samurai touch made the collection really stand out and I am still thinking of the black gown with koi detail, which I think is the most stunning piece of the collection. Of course, seeing The Backseat Stylers on the runway for VAWKKIN, the diffusion line of VAWK, was also refreshing and cool! [Read Here]

Sunny Fong had presented a solid collection, a lot of good looks I must say! (source: The Fashionist) 

Fashion Week will be over today and I hope you will have enough Toronto fashion fix! What's your favourite show?

Graphicology: VAWK F/W 2011 Illustrations By Lisa Nishimura

After doing series of illustrations for some of the high end European and US brands, Lisa  Nishimura has decided to do a series on one of the most famous Canadian fashion brands, VAWK. As I said before, I am in love with the knit detail and I am so happy that Lisa has captured that element and showed it nicely on her illustrations. What do you think? Do you want to buy the collection more after seeing these amazing illustrations?

Walk the Walk: VAWK F/W 2011 Collection

This is probably one of the most enjoyable shows during LG Fashion week!

The F/W 2011 collection of VAWK is all about mixing leather, wool with knits and furs. By observing the details on the pieces, you can totally see Sunny Fong's amazing craftsmanship. The color palette (cream, burgundy, black, teal) is simply amazing, especially the teal color is giving a kick to some of the pieces. At this moment, I still cannot get over the knit sleeves on one of the wool jacket, that piece is simply a piece of art!

Without a doubt, this has to be one of the best shows in this  LG Fashion Week season and I am glad to be able to watch this runway show live!


Pros:
- It's a state of art to see Sunny infuses the knit element on the virgin wool jacket. It's such an eye popping piece.
- Pieces are simple in design at first glance, but the subtle details are simply breathtaking.
- I really like the use of Teal color to the make the collection looks very fresh.
- I am totally in love with the black Fair Isle turtleneck dress. I like the silver fox fur a lot on the piece.
- How can you not love the knit collar on many of the pieces?

Cons:
- I don't think the last piece is the strongest piece to close the show.
- Not a big fan of the leather shirt, it some how reminds me of another brand.

Eye Candies:
- Black Lhasa vest
- Black Lhasa trench
- Black Fair Isle turtleneck dress
- Tan knit sleeve jacket
- Teal jacket

Fashionist[On The Go]: Toronto Fashion Showdown Part 2!

First off, I just want to say Happy Birthday to The Fashionist! It's the blog 1st anniversary just past this Monday and you can click here to read some of the best posts from the blog!

Now let's get back to business. This week is officially the Toronto Fashion Week and I am honored to be able to watch some of the shows. Here are some of the highlights of the week.

Before LGFW officially kicked off, VAWK has showcased the S/S 2011 collection at the AGO in Toronto. Spain and African is where Sunny found his inspiration for this collection and I am liking some of the looks. The leather jackets and the beige zebra print gown are my favorites. [Read Here]

Time to make a trip to Africa for some inspiration! (source:The Fashionist)

OR by Angela Chen was definitely one of the shows I was most looking forward to see during LGFW. The pastel color palette is so fresh which you can instantly associate the collection with beach.  Asymmetry cutting and big pocket pants are the signature elements in this collection but what I like the most are the knit dress and the gradient dress. A highly wearable collection. Bravo Angela! [Read Here]

Don't you want to go to the beach right now? (source:The Fashionist)

Come back next week to see what I will find on The Fashionist!