Thursday, March 19, 2009

Fashion Week: The Year of Plus Size?

Well, I know that this was supposed to be up a few days ago, but better late than never, right friends?

Okay, Toronto Fashion Week, it's here and it's in your face! You really can't miss the big white tents staked out at Nathan Phillips Square, there's even a red carpet to go with them. Stylish. As Fashion Week celebrates its tenth year, somebody else who was celebrating a big birthday opened the show: BARBIE. Well, okay, not the real Barbie, I'm sure she was just too busy to attend (being 50 and all), but David Dixon's new line was the opener this year and it was like watching a retrospect of Barbie's trademark fashion walk down the runway (there was even some Ken action in there).



The interesting thing about David Dixon being chosen to open the show this year is that he designs for "real women", meaning that his sizes don't stop at a 10 and he actually thinks about this when he designs. This got me thinking, is there anyone else out there, rocking the plus size fashion scene?

On Tuesday night the Alli team was invited by Linda Lundstrom and Eleventh Floor Apparel to attend her show (her first showing at fashion week since the 80's she says). I was surprised at how Linda has been able to overcome all the troubles she has had in the past few years and produce a really interesting line.

The collection was a great comeback for Linda, you can really tell that she has the time to just design again. The collection was full of amazing basic pieces that I can tell will be very popular come this fall. The big news is that she has relaunched her signature LaParka, in a big way. The show ended with JUST the parka (the theory around here is that the model may have forgotten her undergarments). But hey, it's a great way to end the show: a huge billowy parka with some stunning colourful detailing on the back. Very impressive Linda, I can say that I'm very happy to be working under the same roof as you at Eleventh Floor Apparel.



The last thing I want to say about Linda Lundstrom is that her line DOES cater to the bigger ladies out there. The line is available in sizes up to a 20 (it may have been hard to see this from the size of her models, but such is life in the fashion industry).

ANOTHER event that was all over the press this year happened last night, they revealed the winner of Canada's Next Plus Size Model. This is such a great step in the right direction, it's just too bad that I was hard pressed to find anyone showing at fashion week who would actually use the plus size models that were in the competition. So, who won? Brittney Fisher, a 24 year old waitress from Vernon, BC.




I could go on and on about how I'm really torn over this, but I think that I shall save it for another day and end this post here. I'll be back tomorrow with my favorites from the week. Stay tuned!

Monday, March 16, 2009

Fashion Week and Blog Relaunch!

It's Fashion Week here in Toronto, so what better week to relaunch the AlliStyle Inc. blog than now?

We have planned a pretty big re-vamping. In addition to AlliStyle Inc. updates, we are also going to be having some regular features and special topics. Regular features are going to include profiles on Plus-Size Fashion Icons, What to Wear - a guide to living plus and pretty, tips and tricks on living an eco-friendly lifestyle, some helpful guidelines for health, fitness and wellbeing and lots of other topics, guest bloggers, contests and much more along the way! Oh yes, and regular updates!

This week, AlliStyle Inc. will be keeping you posted on Fashion Week, giving you our perspective on what is happening and paying particular attention to events that feature plus size, women positive and/or eco-friendly fashion and beauty.

Tomorrow's topic: Linda Lundstrom pre-show post. The AlliStyle Inc. team will be heading to the Lundstrom show on Tuesday March 17th. Lindsey will put in her input of the show and provide a post show review on Wednesday.

Stay tuned - lots of positive changes to come! And, as always, comments and feedback are always welcome!


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xoxo