The runway shows at FAT, Toronto’s alternative fashion week.

Futurstate

Toronto designer of “dark futuristic clubwear and streetwear”, Futurstate showed their latest collection at FAT this spring.  The collection proves that Futurstate is continuing down the path of sophisticated, structured cyber and military inspired designs and aiming to offer cybergoth designs that are not tacky and candyraver-like.  The collection was entirely black and void of almost any pvc.  To make the pieces stand out designer Laura X relied on subtle details such as rows of black buttons, black mesh, and crisscrossing black cords.  My personal favorites were the puffed shoulder jacket and dress shorts combo (pictured upper right) and the simple all black geisha style dress (pictured lower left).  Items from this collection would be a great purchase because they can serve as stylish streetwear, they are not just for the club, but I did feel a bit of the fun of past lines was missing.  I wouldn’t mind seeing a hot new pvc dress or outfit!

See the men’s collection in more detail in our Junk fashion editorial in the new June/July issue.

(more…)

photography & interview : Luke Copping
dress : Tess Hinterbichler
model : Nicole Maile
makeup : Rachel Mazzie
hair : Jessica Jean

In Buffalo’s Recent Runway 3.0 event there was a standout designer amongst the students involved. Tess Hinterbichler put together a chameleonic and mutable collection of garments ranging from casual separates to fully produced dress. Unique construction allows several of her garments to literally transform elements of themselves into new pieces of both artistic fashion and wearable sculpture.  The winner of the events Nancy Belfer award, Tess is slated to begin a fashion internship in Boston shortly. But while she is still in Buffalo we had the chance to produce a small shoot for Tess and conduct and interview with this young designer whose insights into fashion and design should excite Auxiliary readers about the next generation of designers we may be hearing a lot about in the future.

Your work seems to combine a unique futurist perspective with a sense of evolution and change. Where did you draw influence from for this collection?

Since this was my senior project for Buffalo State College, all of the designers were told the theme of the runway show (Technology: progression obsession) and told to run with it.  I must admit that when I first heard the theme, I was a little turned off because my design aesthetic is more ready-to-wear than futuristic or technological; I want my clothing to be beautiful yet functional.  After months of brainstorming and working on ideas for my concept board, I was finally able to translate the technology theme to my perspective as a designer.

I was inspired by the architecture of the Musée du Louvre in Paris, which is both modern and traditional. Functionality and innovation are two key terms that come to my mind when dealing with technology. The function or purpose of my technology is transformation.  I incorporated wire into certain seam-lines of my garments so that they can be morphed into a different look.

What is your background in design, how did you come to fashion as a field of study?

I had known that I wanted to be a designer for as long as I’ve remembered. I still have my second grade, college-ruled science notebook that I would draw designs in instead of taking notes; needless to say, science was never my subject.  The thing that eventually lead me to the decision to study fashion design in college was when I attended the senior fashion show at Syracuse College.  My godmother’s daughter, Molly studied fashion design there and the show was amazing!  The show was held in one of the auditoriums, there was loud music and lots of people.  It was the most exciting this I had ever been to.  On the four hour drive back to Buffalo from Syracuse I started to draw my our fashion sketches.  I knew from that point on that I wanted to be a designer.

(more…)

Heavy Red’s Love’s Devastation Floral Cape

image source heavyred.com

I’m not normally a cape girl, in fact I am prone to turning up my nose at the idea of even contemplating admiring a cape at all! Heavy Red’s Love’s Devastation Floral Cape has made my fashion taste buds salivate! The black and red rose design makes this piece scream romance and can be paired perfectly with any of Heavy Red’s gorgeous corsets. I see elegant ladies wearing this cape to keep their bare shoulders warm on cool summer nights and can be worn as an alternative to a shrug. I really enjoy the versatility of this piece as a functioning piece of protective clothing, a statement piece in a wardrobe, and infusing old world romance once again in the modern world of alternative fashion.

The Love’s Devastation Floral Cape is available at www.heaveyred.com.

- Meagan

Highlights from Runway 3.0, a Buffalo, NY based celebration of student fashion, local designers, and style. This year’s iteration of Runway 3.0 was an amazing achievement for all involved, most notably show coordinator Erin Habes. A wonderful collection of eclectic fashions from the student designers was accompanied by a noted selection of inspiring local designers including Buffalo born fashion superstar Adam Lippes. Runway photographer Cheryl Gorski provided Auxiliary Magazine with a collection of images handpicked by her and myself, Luke Copping, to appeal to the quirky and fashion forward tastes of Auxiliary’s readers. Standouts from the show included Morgen Love, who has been featured by Auxiliary before, as well as Tess Hinterbichler who was recently interviewed by Auxiliary, stay tuned in the coming days for Tess’ interview and more images of her collection.

left Anthony Scaparo
right Morgen Love

(more…)

Retro-a-go-g0’s Gas Mask Heart Compact

image source retroagogo.com

Every gal needs to check her face while she’s out at the bar, but since it’s an age old fopaux to put makeup on in public, this adorable Gas Mask Heart Compact by Retro-a-go-go contains a mirror and no cosmetics! Not only will you be saving face (yes, pun intended!) in public, you will be able to catch a glimpse of your quaffer and makeup in style. This adorable compact also has a picture frame on the other side of the mirror, so you can keep a portrait of your sweetie or maybe even your kitty! So it’s okay to be a little vain, heaven knows you don’t want to be walking around with pieces of your lunch on your face!

The Gas Mask Heart Compact is available at www.retroagogo.com.

- Meagan

The runway shows at FAT, Toronto’s alternative fashion week.

Pippa

Latex, I get excited anytime I see it used in ways one would not expect.  Pippa’s collection at FAT consisted of country club sports inspired latex outfits in a range of pastels.  I have always loved latex in pastels and I love the idea of a seaform green, latex tennis outfit with the texture of a cable knit sweater.  I am very curious to see one of the knit textured waist cinchers from this collection up close and see how that effect is achieved.  There are a handful of designers out there currently using latex in creative and new ways, from the look of this show, Pippa is one of those up and coming latex designers.  The stand out piece of the show was definitely the pink ruffled bikini (shown in bottom right photo).  Latex is a great material for a swimsuit and this piece is the perfect suit for an intimate, risque pool party with friends.  Pippa’s collection shown at FAT was fun and sexy, looking forward to seeing more from them.

image source flickr.com/photos/alternativeartsandfashionweek

- Jennifer

The runway shows at FAT, Toronto’s alternative fashion week.

Wrath by Asphyxia

Asphyxia is the fashion creations of designer Alexandra De Francesco of Toronto. It does not appear to be a fully developed brand but more a fashion collection by an artist.  I would guess however that the designs seen in this runway show are available as custom pieces by request through the email found on Asphyxia’s website.  It was a beautiful collection of white and black textures, lace and satin that was in line with De Francesco’s focus on textiles. The long flowing dresses were the backbone of the collection, but I personally really enjoyed the short dresses for the stripes and sections made through the stitching together of different textured fabrics. I do wish the collection had been shown with a more diverse range of footwear. Each look was shown with stack platform boots and I would have rather seen the dresses paired with heels and boots that better fit the mood of the collection.  The platform boots did fit quite nicely with the short dresses as a contrast to the detailed lace, but they were a distraction with the long dresses.  It does point to the fact that new styles, trends, and takes on alternative fashion are emerging much faster in clothing than footwear.  It is always a struggle to find good footwear to compliment newer looks and this was a collection of fresh looks and dresses. I hope to see more develop from De Francesco and Asphyxia soon!

image source flickr.com/photos/alternativeartsandfashionweek

- Jennifer

The runway shows at FAT, Toronto’s alternative fashion week.

Fashion Whore

The collection Fashion Whore showed at FAT this year was a surprising departure, the entire collection was pvc instead of the cotton print fabrics normally used.  Fashion Whore is known for fun and playful dresses and this entire collection was just that, a group of bright, monotone, pvc dresses clearly inspired by the story of Alice in Wonderland.  I am getting a bit tired of all the Alice out there due to the recent movie release, but as I watched this show I began to think I was tired by the other cases, as it fits perfectly for Fashion Whore.  Opting for pvc was a good choice for a stand out, conceptual runway show, but if I were looking to buy any of the dresses shown I would opt for the pattern to be made in one of their signature cotton prints.  It was refreshing to see curvy and full figured models, Fashion Whore makes awesome dresses for all women to confidently strut down the runway (or down the street) in.

image source flickr.com/photos/alternativeartsandfashionweek

- Jennifer

The runway shows at FAT, Toronto’s alternative fashion week.

One Of Us Swimwear

I had not heard of One Of Us Swimwear until I was looking into all the designers showing at FAT. As soon as I saw their designs on their website, I was excited to see their runway show.  Good swimwear can be a tricky thing to find, often an “alternative” looking swimsuit means it just has skull print on it. And if one goes to chain stores like Hot Topic for one, mostly their options look cheap and rather tacky. One Of Us Swimwear offers unique stand out swimsuits in a variety of fun patterns and prints all with creative cuts and details. The clipped together two piece and turquoise two piece with stripped hood were my favorites. Another stand out were the suites  that look like two different patterned suites sew together, as seen in the lowest photo on the left. While looking polished and stylish they have a fun diy feel to them. The runway show was filled with great suit options for this summer, in the spirit of beach parties, backyard tiki barbecues, and hot rod car washes.

image source flickr.com/photos/alternativeartsandfashionweek

- Jennifer

The runway shows at FAT, Toronto’s alternative fashion week.

Artifice

The tone for Artifice’s collection was set with music that was a refreshing change from the typical music one would expect to hear at a runway fashion show, no beat just crescendoing waves and eerie whispering, glitchy babble. It was fetish fashion meets medical oddities with a touch of insane asylum horror. It was more than a collection, it was a glimpse at an artist’s vision. The audience was in awe while watching a model very slowly hobble down the runway in ballet fetish shoes with crutches, two models walk strapped together as twins, and metal blades crafted into angle wings emerge from the final model’s back as she posed at the foot of the runway. The pvc appeared masterfully crafted when viewed on the runway, one can only hope that items purchased from this collection are given the same attention, as all of Artifice’s designs are handcrafted. The exaggerated silhouettes created by structured shrugs and skirts made this another trend conscious collection.

photos : Billy Archos

- Jennifer