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.

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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

Toronto’s alternative fashion week, FAT is a unique series of runway shows of the recent collections of alternative designers mostly from the Toronto area.  Some of the designers featuring being alternative in that they are within the goth/industrial/fetish/whathaveyou scene and others being alternative in that they are small, independent designers often with more of an artistic, creative, or environmental focus. Toronto in my opinion has one of the best alternative fashion scenes.  Smaller and niche designers often get lost in the fashion industry sea of NYC, I think it’s hard for them to stay a float there.  But Toronto seems to be the perfect environment for them.  It is refreshing to see runway shows of alternative designers out of a club setting (which is often the only venue for them) and with the consideration of showing off a collection or definitive creative idea.  There were some impressive collections at FAT this year.

Starkers by Dianna DiNoble

Showing on the second evening with the theme of “Lust”, Starkers presented their beautiful corsets fully styled into complete ensembles.  The collection was sophisticated and elegant, and in line with current fashion trends by mixing different textures and materials in mostly black.  It was a collection to be worn to an night out at the opera, with an opera singer performing at the end of the runway setting the tone.  My favorite feature of the styling was the bold red eyebrows (seen in the images on the right).

photos : Billy Archos

- Jennifer Link

An upcoming event you don’t want to miss is Toronto’s Alternative Art’s and Fashion Week also known as FAT. It is taking place this week from April 21st to 25th in Toronto, ON.

Here’s a little info about FAT…

The fifth year anniversary edition of FAT titled “Made with Love” approaches fashion from the intelligence of the heart, surveying a different emotion each night.

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