On Thursday, October 13 and Friday, October 14, Paola Fullerton Inc.’s TheShowsTO focused not only on fashion, but art as well.  Featuring designers as well as fashion-related film and speakers on art and trends, the two-day event, held at the Ritz-Carlton on Wellington Street.  Unlike LG Fashion Week, the “official” Fashion Week for Toronto, no consumer tickets were sold.  As it was invite-only, the event was much more intimate and perhaps even cozier, despite being no media work area.

Dress from Jean-Pierre Braganza’s Spring/Summer 2012 collection

One of the most interesting collections was Jean-Pierre Braganza’s. He has the ability to make geometric looking pieces look elegant, which was clearly seen at the presentation.  Though many of the pieces were either cream or black, the touch of pinks and salmons gave the collection a nice, spring feel.  A good number of the pieces looked like it could work on non-tall and skinny body types (especially with some minimal alterations), a plus coming from a very petite woman who is often frustrated about how looks are styled on the runway (can’t blame ’em – with the exception of celebrities, designers aren’t going to use short people, especially ones under 5’4″ on the runway unless they’re presenting a petite collection).   A favourite of mine is a simple little white shift dress – whimsical and great for warm weather.

Vanilla braised veal and butternut squash

Though I was only able to attend one day of shows, I found that it was very well-organized and guests were well-treated.  There was even delicious catering, with selections such as breaded shrimp, duck confit summer rolls and vanilla braised veal.  There was also coffee, tea and water available, all complimentary.  I hope that The shOwsTO will be able to repeat this next season!

Jean-Pierre Braganza picture by Steve Aioki

Vanilla braised veal picture by Cynthia Cheng Mintz