I am sitting in a warehouse in New York as intricately placed incandescent tube lights flicker to life on what was then the Diesel Black Gold Fall 2013 show. The models hit the catwalk in waxed wool and lacquered studded pieces that screamed early 90’s. It wasn’t like anything else I’d seen that season and I knew it was going to be popular. I left thinking that hiring Andreas Melbostad as Diesel Black Gold’s new creative director was a perfect idea and after tweeting madly and Vine-ing the finale, I strutted off to find myself a slim-fitting pair of waxed pants. I went to a number of stores, but ultimately found what I was looking for at H&M. I squeezed into them, tore off the price tickets, paid and wore them out... no questions asked. One thing I noted was how many other obvious fashion enthusiasts were hunting for waxed denim, glossy finished leathers and studded body-con dresses - all in the name of achieving the trends that hit the Diesel runway that very morning. I took the liberty of asking one of the girls (a young fashion blogger) who was buying a leather studded skirt—in the name of market research—where she got the drive to buy such an impractical item from? Her answer... “Diesel Black Gold.” So there we were, literally a half year before the pieces we saw this morning will even hit the shelves, wearing out the trend. And I DID wear out that trend! I wore those pants to World MasterCard Fashion Week in Toronto, I wore those pants to Europe when I went with my family on vacation, I wore those pants to the movies, the club, the after parties. I WORE THOSE PANTS! Six months after the show, the pieces from the collection hit stores. I was excited to check out the clothes in the flesh and there they were. The studded calf skin pants, the fitted dresses, the unforgiving slim knits, all of it was there. But... I was over it. I was tired of the collection pursed under the “New Arrivals” sign. I’d seen it on every fashionable Instagram account, on every Facebook News Feed and Fanpage that had anything to do with fashion. From Style .com and WWD I relived the show taking notes on styling and how to emulate the looks from the runway; not to mention that the colours, the fabrics, the silhouettes... they were all available and ready to be picked up at a moments notice. All I had to do was go out and buy them at the nearest fast fashion retailer. Not the same as the ready-to-wear collection by a long shot, but conceptually they lacked difference, aesthetically they were more consubstantial than they were contrasting and so I went for it... and so did everybody else. The shows were nearly too accessible with livestream viewing, bloggers blogging on location (like myself) via social media sites like Instagram, Vine and Pinterest; then there were the traditional media sources like: Huffington Post, Vogue and the Telegraph. So not only did you see the shows, you were bombarded with images, gifs and videos of them from HD video to the lowest quality blurred images of models walking down the runway sloppily snapped up by Anna Dello Russo or Bryanboy, from the instant the pic was taken to long after the show had finished. By the time the product is in stores you are overexposed to it. And if there’s something I’ve learned about fashion... it’s that it needs to be needed, it needs demand. Overexposure kills demand. Social media creates a buzz about certain items like the Bambi Givenchy sweater or the Chanel Lego clutch, which we love to love (and love to buy). But aside from the one offs, we are becoming numb to the industry’s seductive pull because every Man Repelling, Blonde Salad, eating, Cupcake and Cashmere, wearing blogger out there is tweeting fashion’s bottom line to DEATH! The solution? Couture darling! The only way to stop the cycle is to go back to basics and invest (heavily) in the building blocks of fashion. By going to the source, we cut out the wait because couture is shown on the runway, sold right after the show, then made for each buyer and finally shipped to their abode. There is no hype, there is no chance to be “popularized” and more importantly, there is no wait. We have become such a “buy now wear now” society that the only way the fashion industry can keep up is to show their collections closer to the shipping date and by so doing, give stylish people the opportunity to buy the pieces they see on the runway almost instantly. Or the designers could just emulate what Burberry did... Fast forward to the Fall 2014 Burberry Prorsum menswear collection, which showed in early January. The collection was unique in that you could buy the pieces on their e-commerce site right after the collection showed. How inventive and lucrative. This endeavor, though challenging for the tailors at Burberry (constructing the items as the orders come in), was revolutionary in that it afforded customers the opportunity to wear the pieces immediately after they walked the runway. Christopher Bailey and his team should all win medals. This model may have shattered the prestige factor for a great many fashion lovers and will most definitely hinder in-store sales when the Fall 2014 products finally hit stores in June or July, since everyone who REALLY wanted those pieces will have already bought them and worn them to death. It’s better for Burberry if a buyer wears the Burberry Prorsum scarf rather than an extremely similar, slipping under copyright law by a hair “Burrberry” scarf on sale bundled up in a ball, or better yet on the dusty floor of your local Zara. If you love fashion, you will justify the piece, the price and the wait, but what if you didn’t have to wait? With this new model you may not have to, but in the mean time... hold onto your cash and try to wait for the real deal otherwise designer fashion may not make it into the next generation.

 Twenty-four year old Hayley Wright has a unique goal: to bring back the frequently ignored and forgotten art of fashion illustration. Trained in fine arts at the University of British Columbia and holding a diploma in Fashion Marketing and Merchandising from Vancouver’s Visual College of Art and Design, she’s doing a stunning job. A clear vision is apparent from her artwork; her signature use of ink and watercolours tie her range of work together. Hayley’s fashion illustration strikes a charming balance between capturing detail and concept, and expressing fluid movement and emotion. The subjects of Hayley’s artwork seem like they would be the charismatic cool girls working the room; with cheeky pouting faces and impeccable outfits, they ooze confidence from the paper. As she builds a stunning portfolio, selling prints and other interpretations of her art online on Society6 and independently as Paper & Ink Art, Hayley is becoming increasingly more popular. A simultaneous, albeit small, renaissance of fashion illustration spurred on by independent, art-friendly magazines and rising popularity of illustrators like Danielle Meder is helping to make fashion illustration a household word again. Artwork with personality, like Hayley’s, offers a beautiful alternative to static photography—sacrificing some accuracy captures the emotional essence of their subject. And isn’t art, and fashion, about feeling?  

  Watching the bustling intensity of the film award season as it came to a close with the Oscars on March 2nd left me in a reflective state. The films that stick out in my mind as gripping and moving have always incorporated strong, standout scores to support the storytelling process and impact the audience’s senses, heightening the experience. Regardless of the genre, a well-crafted, cohesive film score brings deeper dimension and feeling to each scene, and gives the audience a fuller understanding of the tone of the film. Danny Elfman, Alexandre Desplat, John Williams, James Newton Howard and James Horner are a few of the big names that come to mind when we talk about film music composers. A common theme we find amongst these composers is the great breadth and diverse involvement they’ve had with music over the course of their careers. Many of “The Greats” are multi-instrumentalists, producers, orchestrators or conductors, and often more than one. They’ve had the opportunity to experience music in various ways: listening, creating and arranging. This profound understanding of music and exposure to it in different forums is paramount to composing moving music that will coalesce with a scene. Think of the ominous and thunderous nature of “The Imperial March” in Star Wars. If John Williams was tasked to compose a piece of music to strike fear in the hearts of men (and aliens), I’d say he certainly succeeded. Three soundtracks that find their way into my rotation frequently are Amélie, Pan’s Labyrinth, and About a Boy. Amélie There is much to love about Jean-Pierre Jeunet’s 2001 release, Amélie. The sweetness of this film lies in the depiction of life in the Montmartre arrondissement, Amélie’s imaginative and whimsical nature, and of course, the fantastical compositions of Yann Tiersen. The Amélie soundtrack is comprised of accordion and piano rich instrumental pieces that capture the eccentricity and loneliness that is Amélie Poulain. The closing scene of this film, which is one of my favourites, is a great example of music and imagery working in tandem to convey a feeling. We see Amélie and Nino, two endearing misfits, riding through the streets of Paris, carefree and totally in love to “La Valse D’ Amélie.” For the viewer, there is feeling of relief when Amélie and Nino finally get together. Amélie’s ultimate display of courage to let love into her life is a triumph for her that is fervently felt by the audience. “La Valse D’ Amélie,” with its playful yet romantic accordion melody, contributes to these emotions of triumph and freedom, not only for Amélie and Nino, but also for many of the film’s characters that have overcome hurdles of their own. It is actually somewhat reminiscent of “J’y Suis Jamais Allé,” which plays during the opening scene. This lighthearted but sassy piece is immediately switched to “La Dispute,” a sad, foreboding piano instrumental for the opening credits. In this way, we are introduced to the multi-dimensional nature of the film within the first five minutes. In 2013 it was announced that Amélie will be made into a Broadway musical. However, Tiersen’s music will not feature in the adaptation. Pan’s Labyrinth Guillermo del Toro’s Pan’s Labyrinth takes place in a tumultuous post-Civil War Spain and spirals between a dark, bleak reality and an even darker world of fantasy. There are a multitude of happenings and moods conjured up by this tale: the malevolence that marks this era, the cruelty and callus of Captain Vidal, and the spirit and bravery of the rebels and little Ofelia. Javier Navarette, who also composed the score for Guillermo del Toro’s earlier film The Devil’s Backbone, creates a haunting yet magical musical backdrop for the film. Writing a score to mirror a film with this much juxtaposition is likely no easy feat. There is the contrast between the innocence and determination of young Ofelia and her sinister but equally driven stepfather Captain Vidal. There is also this fantastical dark fairytale imagery, coupled with the captain’s macabre killings. Navarette’s score achieves this balance between the wonderful and the sad by employing a wide range of stringed instruments and the chilling hum in the lullaby “Long, Long Time Ago,” probably the most recognizable piece on the Oscar-nominated soundtrack. Through the storyline and graphic imagery, the film naturally evokes a lot of emotion from the audience. I recall leaving the movie theater completely awestruck. Years later, listening to just a few seconds of any track on the soundtrack instantly brings into mind the same harrowing emotions and images as if I had just seen it. About a Boy The UK’s Damon Gough, better known as Badly Drawn Boy, had already experience a great deal of success prior to scoring the film adaptation of Nick Hornby’s novel About a Boy. The original sound of his 2000 album The Hour of Bewilderbeast, an eclectic collection of indie, folk and experimental songs, garnered Gough a lot of attention and an expanding fan base, which included directors and brothers Chris and Paul Weitz. About a Boy centers around the development of a friendship between a very unlikely pair: Will, a seemingly self-absorbed and emotionally detached man who lives a life of leisure as he collects royalties from a popular song his father wrote, and Marcus, a quirky delight of a boy who contends with bullies at school and copes with a depressed mother at home. While there is a strong comedic presence in the film, there is also an awareness of the seriousness of the issues that Will, Marcus and his mother Fiona are facing. Each of the characters has this lovable peculiarity and it was important for the accompanying music to reflect this. Badly Drawn Boy’s score captures the beauty and friction involved in the burgeoning friendship, off center characters and events. The soundtrack is a mixture of dreamy instrumentals and songs that are more similar to the composer’s style found in his other works that feature his modest husky vocals. One of the most notable scenes is when Marcus’ mother Fiona returns home from the hospital after a suicide attempt. Observing her first interaction with her son after the tragedy and seeing her faced with readjusting to life, “A Minor Incident” plays and as the only real audio in the scene, is absolutely touching. You can just feel the fear and suffering; the lyrical content is spot on. There’s nothing I could say To make you try to feel ok And nothing you could do To stop me feeling the way I do And if the chance should happen That I never see you agai Just remember that I’ll always love you —“A Minor Incident,” first verse, by Badly Drawn Boy A good film score will provide accompaniment and an enjoyable background. Great and unforgettable scores intensify tone, emotion and imagery, as well as illuminate each scene’s narrative. Those are the ones that stick with you long after the ending credits have rolled off screen.

- Photography by Javier Ortega India is traced with an intricate lace-work pattern of roadways that cover 3,516,452 km (2009). Essential to the growth and survival of rural areas, these roadways provide a link between villages or small farming communities and booming metropolitan centres. However, despite the importance of roads and land transportation, India largely lacks consistent driving regulations and road upkeep. Without regulations and funding, roads are very rough and narrow, major highways are only two lanes, and a significant part of the rural population does not have access to all-weather roads. Even so, travelling around India can be a very enjoyable and exciting thing to do. Public transportation, particularly India’s fast and efficient bus and train systems, is a very popular way to travel, especially through mountain regions inaccessible to car or motorcycle. Buses offer a fast and inexpensive way to travel, even taking regular stops for passengers to go to the washroom or get a snack. Some drivers do take riskier maneuvers though, particularly on quieter night routes, so it’s wise to travel during the day if possible. You can book tickets on state-run buses up to a month in advance, but it’s advised to nab a seat in between the axles to minimize bumping and shaking due to road conditions.  India’s train system is an exciting way to travel, following extensive routes though the beautiful country. With approximately 17 million passengers travelling by train every day, in addition to freight, the Indian Railways is one of the world’s largest employers. The railways are always bustling, but the system is thoughtfully designed and quite efficient. While renting cars and hiring drivers is quite common, particularly in metropolitan areas, more flexible forms of transportation are often more well-adapted to India’s roadways. Bicycles and motorcycles are very popular forms of independent transportation, as they are nimble enough to dart through the congested roads and avoid rough patches. It’s a common sight to see several members of a family riding together on a motorcycle, as well as tourists taking advantage of this flexible form of travel. In response to the popularity of cycles, bicycles and motorized, parts and other related services can be easily found throughout the country. Although less common now because of the dominance of motorized vehicles, traditional rickshaws and other carts, sometimes pulled by animals, can still be found in quieter roadways and communities. Practical and simple, this long-standing way of travel makes up for speed with its endurance and the opportunity it gives to truly recognize the beauty and warmth of the country. Autorickshaws and their variations, the vikram or tempo, marry the traditional rickshaw with a motor, a hybrid able to carry more passengers and achieve greater speed. India is a bustling country; whether you are riding a train, zipping through the streets, or chugging along on an autorickshaw, the vibrant web of transportation provides a lovely window into the daily life and customs of different regions. While moving from place to place can be made more calming with a book and earplugs, taking the time to observe can show little snapshots into the daily life of someone else.

  – Photography + Digital Art by studio-e.ca and C Side Photography – Article, Makeup + Art Direction by James Kershaw - Model Lauren at PHABRIK model + artist management   Fringe Benefits Each season, cosmetic houses launch new items in an attempt to fulfill everyone’s desire to find their ideal lash enhancing product. This season is no exception. Elizabeth Arden Prevage Clinical Lash + Brow Enhancing Serum contains a triple peptide complex that claims to support the lash’s natural renewal cycle to promote lush, healthy revitalized lashes when applied daily. Many houses offer a variety of mascaras that contain lash enhancing ingredients. Lise Watier’s Dramatique Lash Booster Mascara utilizes the benefits of apple staminal cell derivatives to strengthen and regenerate the eyelash structure to achieve faster growth, while Clarins’ Be Long Mascara contains a complex of matrikine, a peptide to stimulate lash growth combined with panthenol for strength. Elizabeth Arden’s Beautiful Colour Lash Enhancing Mascara is also peptide rich and claims an increase in lash volume and density. The formula instantly lengthens, curls and colours the lashes and is available in a limited edition pearlized brilliant blue this season. Clinique’s Lash Power Feathering Mascara offers an innovative formula with an advanced thermal technology initially developed for humid Asian environments that is resistant to tears, rain, perspiration, chlorinated and salt water. However, it is still able to be removed with warm water (39°C/103F). The mascara utilizes the benefits of Pullulan, a polysaccharide with a honey-like consistency to help stretch lashes during application. Temporary false lashes such as the examples from Lise Watier and Ardell are a tried and true standby for those seeking lush voluminous lashes on a temporary basis. All Bases Covered A successful makeup application depends on having a smooth even base on which colour is applied. Cosmetics applied on a properly primed complexion will have greater longevity. Lise Watier’s Base Miracle, available in two formulas, one for normal/dry and one for combination/oily skins, decreases the appearance of fine lines and pores. It also imparts a soft matte finish and prepares the skin for a perfect makeup application. Her Luminous Correcting Primer adds a glow while colour correcting, Banane (shown) illuminates and helps correct moderate redness, and Rose Lilas corrects a sallow skin. Abricot restores a healthy glow and Vert neutralizes ruddiness and blotchiness. Both products may be mixed together to form a custom blend ideal for the particular needs of the skin. Clarins Paris, famous for their Instant Smooth Perfecting Touch primer, launches Instant Light Radiance Boosting Complexion Base. This new product restores vitality and radiance, while correcting small imperfections. The complexion base contains katafray bark extract, which encourages the skin’s natural hydration mechanisms, and white tea to aid the skin’s defense from pollution and environmental aggressions. Radiance Boosting Base is available in three tones: 01 Rose, which adds radiance to all skins, 02 Champagne, which reduces redness, and 03 Peach, which adds adds warmth and radiance to deeper skin tones. Clinique debuts their new CC Cream Compact SPF25, an alternative to liquid CC creams. This product corrects and reflects light to neutralize perfections and hydrate the skin.  Once the complexion has been primed for makeup, the next very important step for those wearing foundation is, of course, to chose the correct finish and colour. Clarins launches four new global shades to their Skin Illusion SPF10 Natural Radiance Foundation line. The house launches, as they do each season, a limite d edition face compact. The Opalescence compact has an ultra-fine, soft powder texture that illuminates and matifies with a lightweight finish. Elizabeth Arden New York introduces Flawless Finish Perfectly Nude Liquid Makeup SPF15 with hydro-pigment technology. Pigments are enveloped with moisture rich, plant based emollient that mimic the skin’s flexibility and smoothness, providing a lightweight, colour true, long lasting, flawless finish. The company’s new Flawless Finish Correcting + Highlighting pen is the ideal companion; this item erases signs of fatigue, restores radiance and masks imperfections, dark circles, blemishes and ruddiness.

For her Autumn/Winter 2014 menswear collection, British fashion designer Vivienne Westwood turned once more to Earth for inspiration. However, instead of delving deeply and closely into the environmental issues that have preoccupied her lately, Westwood looked at the bigger picture by studying the Earth from space before paying closer attention to its ethnic and cultural manifestations throughout history. The influence of science fiction and of 1970s pop culture futurism pervaded the collection in the form of geometric shapes, symbols and patterns, as well as in coated and plasticised fabrics where a predominant colour palette of black, grey and burgundy was accentuated by dashes of white, red and gold. Similarly, contrasting images of masculinity as constructed through sartorial and cultural embodiments of the past couple of centuries were brought together in the juxtaposition of a nuanced biker aesthetic with sportswear, urban subcultures and a reinterpretation of suave dandyism. To illustrate the fusion of influences, leather trousers and jackets with embossed patterns were aligned with track suits, bomber jackets and hoodies. Lace-trimmed garments, bow ties and turtle necks coexisted with trench coats and layered outerwear. In addition, Vivienne Westwood trademark bulbous silhouettes were engendered by combining asymmetrically fastened coats and trousers with wide pleated pants and shorts that came in tightly belted or tapered versions.

The Walker Tower is one of the most significant examples of Art Deco architecture in New York City. Inaugurated in 1929, it has reopened after extensive restoration by architecture firm CetraRuddy for developers Property Markets Group and JDS Development Group. Located in Chelsea at 18th Street and Seventh Avenue, the 24 storey building, named after its architect Ralph Walker, has been attracting the attention of celebrities. Actresses Cameron Diaz and Blake Lively, have shown interest in its ample 47 apartments with 14-foot ceilings, two-foot thick floors, underfloor heating and bedrooms of unusually large proportions for New York City. Some of the residences in the Walker Tower allow 360-degree views of the Manhattan harbour, and more than half have private terraces. Amenities for residents include a 24-hour doorman, concierge, library lounge with bar, children’s playroom, fitness centre, sauna and a common decked roof terrace.  

The Armani Group announced their first residential project in China. They have partnered with the Mind Group to develop a luxury residential project in Chengdu in southwest China. Known as “Art Residence,” the development will be located near the city’s fashionable Jinjiang district and is scheduled to be completed by the end of 2016. The project will comprise of two 65-story towers with apartments and common areas designed by the Armani/Casa Interior Design Studio, the division also responsible for other Armani residential ventures such as the Maçka Residences in Istanbul, the World Towers in Mumbai and the Century Spire in Manila.  

Picture this: You pull into work ready to start your day, reach into your pocket to check your cell phone…and it’s not there. What do you do? Panic? Go through your day feeling like you’ve lost a limb, not knowing if someone is trying to reach you? Emerging designer Zebina Masse explores this attachment we as a society have to our electronic devices in her latest collection: a thesis project that explores the outward, tangible expression of the human soul. “I imagine our souls as being housed in our electronics,” said Masse. “It’s like a part of us is living in that object and when we’re separated from it, we almost feel physical pain from it.” Masse is an Apparel Design major in her final year at the Rhode Island School of Design (RISD). Interestingly, Masse didn’t always know she was going to pursue fashion. Prior to RISD, she received an associates degree in liberal arts with a concentration in visual arts from Cape Cod Community College. It was there that personality tests kept pointing her in one of two directions: a math teacher or an artist. While technically good at math, art was a path that “just made sense” for Masse. “I was always one of those weird, quirky, artistic types,” she said. “I’ve been making clothes since I was pretty young, just as a hobby.” Well, that hobby is starting to turn some heads. For her final thesis project, Masse is creating a collection of six looks with matching handmade shoes that keep with her clean aesthetic. The looks feature lots of natural, nude colours and a combination of delicate knit-work and resin. “I let the knitting machine guide me,” said Masse, who prefers to be hands-on in her design process. “I don’t like to just concoct things in my head. I like to work with materials; I’m very moved by fabrics.” The collection is inspired by the book His Dark Materials, particularly the concept that people’s souls are housed inside animal demons that morph with them as they grow older and change and eventually mature. “I really love animals, and I love the idea that you have this animal character that’s connected to you so strongly like that,” explained Masse. “I love the idea that the soul is housed outside of the body too.” Masse built on that core concept, exploring the idea that our souls “live” in our electronic devices. The resin in her pieces—a synthetic material—represents that digital and plastic place our soul resides in the digital world. “When we lose our phones, it’s almost painful,” she said. “I saw these intense connections to my concept.” For more work from Zebina Masse, visit her website at zebinamasse.squarespace.com.  

- Photography by C Side Photography - Article + Art Direction by James Kershaw - Model Lauren at PHABRIK model + artist management Each season, fragrance houses launch new scents to entice the consumer, and this season is no different. All new scents exciting are new versions of top sellers, and this year, a rediscovered one enters the marketplace. Calyx, originally debuted in 1986 as a fragrance for Prescriptives, a cosmetic line in the Estee Lauder portfolio that has since been discontinued. The scent, which will now live on now as Clinique Calyx, was quite the departure in the mid 80’s when fragrances were anything but subtle and fresh. The name comes from the term used for the protective covering of a flower bud, the green leaves that wrap around the petals before they bloom. Top notes include grapefruit, guava, green leaf and mango; heart notes include freesia and neroli, finishing with notes of oakmoss, orris and vetiver. The house of Burberry launches Burberry Brit Rhythm for Her, the companion scent to their very successful men’s version that launched last fall, housed in a clear glass flacon of the same design. The scent, described as sensuous, feminine and irreverent, is a powdery floral with notes of English lavender and pink peppercorn, warming to notes of orange flower and blackberry leaves, finishing with vetiver and vibrant woods. Calvin Klein adds another version of the house’s very successful line of Euphoria scents. Endless Euphoria was created as the daytime counterpart of the first. The scent opens with notes of mandarin and cherry blossom with uplifting violet at the heart and finishes with sensual bamboo and bare musk accord. Another house adding to their collection of fragrances is Marc Jacobs, this time with a pair of limited edition scents. Daisy Marc Jacobs Delight is described as a luminous bouquet of fresh picked florals with a burst of quince flower, and iris with crisp red apple, sun-ripened woods and musk. Daisy Eau So Fresh Delight is a twist on the original, combining blood orange with exotic tiare Tahiti, raspberry and apricot leaves. Both scents are housed in the now iconic chunky glass bottle topped with a bouquet of brilliantly coloured daisies. The venerable house of Elizabeth Arden adds to their portfolio of Green Tea scents with Yuzu. The scent blends yuzu zest with green tea vapors, lemon tree petitgrain, spearmint and wild thyme that warms to notes of white birch and ambrette seed. Bottega Veneta debuts Essence Aromatique, described by the Italian fashion and fragrance house as “a perfect balance between fresh aromatic and lasting character.” It is a reinvention of the cologne combining precious essences bergamot, coriander, patchouli, rose absolute and sandalwood, housed in a simple, chic frosted glass bottle. Juicy Couture Malibu embodies the attitude of free spirited California girls combining watermelon, black currant and pink passion fruit merging with sparkling jasmine petals and frangipani, drying down to creamy musk and precious woods. Couture La La channels the cool, sun-kissed L.A. girl with sparking mandarin, red currant and wet flower petals, warming to middle notes of orange blossom and white peony, finishing with base notes of white musk and blond woods with a hint of pink sugar crystals. Both scents are housed in chunky glass bottles embellished with painted swaying palms, topped with faceted caps adorned with neon bright coloured heart charms.