Innholdsfortegnelse for April 2023 i FASHION

OH, VANCOUVER, TORONTO AND MONTREAL—you might think you rule when it comes to fashion. But guess what? Canada’s Most Stylish Thrifter lives in Saskatoon. Aldeneil Española, a 24-year-old university student, was chosen from more than 60 entrants from across the country. Some were, as we expected, from big cities. But more than a few were from tiny places we had never heard of. As you will read in “Prairie Fire” (page 22), our in-house team of judges were impressed by the commitment, creativity and sophistication that many of the applicants demonstrated with their photos and written submissions. But we unanimously agreed that Española stood a Gucci-scarved head above the rest. He was exactly what we were looking for: a true devotee who loves thrifting so much that they would do…

I’ve lost the ability to throw anything away. It’s not because I’m a hoarder. It’s because I can no longer toss out broken bowls and unravelling sweaters with the prelapsarian abandon of yore. So, down into the basement they go until I figure out how to repair them. While in this salvaging frame of mind, I noticed a rivulet of gold on an old brown espresso cup after dinner at a friend’s place. The cup looked like it had had a mini volcanic eruption. Gleaming 24-karat “magma” slithered down from the rim in a meandering diagonal. My friend, a ceramic artist, said: “It’s bootleg kintsugi. The cup was cracked so I just mixed some gold powder with epoxy and glued it back together.” Had any masters of the 15th-century Japanese…

I shouldn’t have been surprised that I lost my luggage. I’ve seen the news: In 2023, the whole world is collectively battling to retrieve their bags. Yet here I was at 3:00 a.m. Toronto time at the Ponta Delgada Airport in the Azores—a Portuguese archipelago of nine islands in the mid-Atlantic—with no suitcase in sight. Sleep deprived and jet-lagged, I felt the panic start to set in: Would I have to wear the same T-shirt for four straight days? What would I do about shoes? And, oh my God, my precious skincare! But a funny thing happened in the 24 hours it took to recover my luggage. Allow me to explain. In honour of Canada Goose’s Spring 2023 collection and its campaign, shot by Cole Sprouse, the outerwear brand had…

Assault survivor Judith Nyaralwi found herself with a great deal of downtime while recovering from her attack in her native Uganda. She was also eager to try new things and keep her mind off the pain. During a bus ride between the hours-apart regions of Kampala and Gulu, Nyaralwi came up with the idea for a line of vivid weekenders. The bags, which she creates and sells through Vancouver-based Obakki’s artisan program, are made of kitenge (which is Kiswahili for “African wax cotton”), a fabric that can be found in countries such as Ghana, Kenya and the Democratic Republic of the Congo. Nyaralwi learned her craft from a woman who insisted on teaching her how to sew. “At the time, she was about to retire and needed to transfer her…

Why go into the woods when you can just wear them—or so was the thinking behind Balmain’s Spring 2023 show. Models in garments constructed from materials one can find in the wild—raffia, banana leaf and, as seen here, tree bark—resembled modern woodland fairies. What’s more, the collection, which focuses on sustainability, gives a whole new meaning to the expression “bring the outdoors in.”…

1. “I don’t shop online a lot unless I’m looking for a specific piece. Clothing acts differently on different bodies. You need to be able to try it on to see if it lies properly, if it moves the way you want it to move.” 2. “Feel the fabric with your hands, and then try the item on. The more senses you bring to clothes, the more you’ll appreciate and understand them.” 3. “I wear basics that cling to my skin so it’s easier to try clothes on overtop. It also feels better to wear something underneath as you don’t know where the clothes have been.” 4. “Travel light. I sometimes bring my own grocery bags and maybe a handbag. Other than that, I rarely carry anything.” 5. “I’m not…

Parachute bubble skirts, tie-dyed jumpsuits and colourfully collaged clothing are just a few examples of the whimsical wares you’ll find on 4Kinship’s website. Another common thread? The appearance of Indigenous founder Amy Denet Deal’s daughter, Lily, who models almost all of her mother’s masterpieces. “We have a very special relationship,” shares Denet Deal, revealing that Lily inspired her to give up her fast-fashion job and start her sustainable brand. “When she was still little, I spent so much time teaching her how to be a conscious human and live a sustainable life,” says Denet Deal. “So it seemed completely inauthentic to work at a corporation actively damaging the earth. I needed to be a better mom and live by example.” Shortly after the kickoff of 4Kinship (initially named Orenda Tribe),…

Every watch in my collection comes with a story or memory I appreciate. That goes back to my first, which I’ve had since I was 20 or 21 years old. I had moved to New York City for work, and my next-door neighbour was having a garage sale. In a box of costume jewellery, I noticed this cool-looking watch—a Tissot. I didn’t own a watch at the time; this one didn’t work, but I thought it was really pretty. It was only $5, so I figured that even if nobody could fix it, it was still worth it. Not long after, I took it to a jewellery store that did watch repairs. The guy took it in the back, and a few minutes and $3 later, my watch was working…

ACE That BASE Saie’s 36-shade Glowy Super Skin Weightless Hydrobounce Serum Foundation ($54) is a skincare-makeup hybrid formulated with hyaluronic acid, polyglutamic acid and squalane to treat skin while providing medium coverage. And the packaging is fully recyclable: Once the glass bottle has been thoroughly rinsed out post-use, it can be placed in your everyday blue bin, and the cap and pump (both made from 50 per cent post-consumer recycled plastic) can be sent to Pact Collective, a non-profit that sorts through hard-to-recycle smaller beauty items. IN ALL HONESTY Being able to trace where the ingredients in products are sourced, harvested and produced is key for a greener planet, and it’s a level of transparency that Clarins is on a mission to provide. Via blockchain technology, the French skincare brand’s…

In the fall of 2019, I attended a panel discussion hosted by the British Fashion Council on the last day of London Fashion Week (LFW). Centred on the topic of sustainability and fashion, it included designer Phoebe English; model and environmental activist Arizona Muse; and Bel Jacobs, a former fashion editor who now works with the environmental protest group Extinction Rebellion. I was eager to hear what the informed and illustrious speakers had to say about how the industry can do its part by being more sustainably minded. (I’ve started using this phrase instead of the word “sustainable” since success is hard to measure or even define.) I listened patiently while the usual factoids were listed off. You know the ones—like the 2018 study stating that the fashion industry contributes…

CARTIER The latest update on Cartier’s Tank Française, introduced in 1996, offers a sportier feel while still exuding the details beloved by fans of the house. Available in three sizes in either yellow gold or stainless steel, the small-model Tank ($36,600, at cartier.com) is seen here in gold with diamond accents and features a quartz movement. TISSOT Founded in 1853, Tissot has classic styling that extends to this Bellissima Small Lady ($625, at tissotwatches.com), a quartz timepiece that features a 26-millimetre round steel case on a two-tone steel interchangeable quick-release bracelet. Roman numerals adorn the guilloche-patterned dial. GUCCI In a diminutive rectangular case, the iconic Gucci stripes—employed by the brand since 1951—are highlighted on the mother-of-pearl dial on this G-Frame watch ($1,885, at gucci.com) with an interchangeable yellow gold PVD…

“Journey” gets used a lot these days as a way of describing life’s unfolding, but for social media sensation Gabe Adams-Wheatley, it’s a deeply accurate descriptor in so many ways. The Brazilian-born influencer has Hanhart syndrome, a condition that can lead to missing limbs at birth; his birth mother abandoned him, and his birth father “had already left her for another family.” Plans were put in place to send Adams-Wheatley to America for medical treatment, but what actually came next was an adoption by a family in Utah. And he hasn’t stopped since, pushing himself to evolve from teenage dance enthusiast to motivational speaker and, more recently, makeup-tutorial maven. “I first got into makeup because I used to be a dancer in high school,” says the Salt Lake City-based entrepreneur…

Hair, Ryan McGovern for P1M.ca/Unite. Makeup, Brittany Sinclair for P1M.ca/Shiseido and Hermès. Photo assistant, Nicolas Emas Varone. Model, Yunsu Kang for Elite Toronto.…

In the minutes it takes me to ring the buzzer of Steve Karas’s New York City apartment and walk up a few flights of stairs, he purchased a Jean Paul Gaultier dress—specifically, a cyber-dot number from the ’90s that recently re-entered It status thanks to Kim Kardashian and Cardi B. “The print has gotten so hard to find that if I come across it, I have to buy it,” the hairdresser turned stylist reveals. “And once you have one, of course, you need two and then all the different colours.” This thinking explains how Karas (known on social media as @lordwarg) has compiled a collection of over 500 Jean Paul Gaultier pieces, all of which line the walls of his small Chelsea living room. “I like to see everything,” he…