Highlights from Day 1 of Toronto Fashion Week F/W 2018

Welcome to fashion month! Toronto Fashion Week kicked off its three-day fall/winter 2018 calendar yesterday with a series of runway shows, talks and presentations at Yorkville Village. Below, FASHION’s round-up of all the highlights from Day 1.

Fashion Talks with Gersha Phillips A live taping of Donna Bishop’s podcast Fashion Talks, in association with CAFA, featured a special guest—costume designer for Star Trek: Discovery, Gersha Phillips (whose past gigs include House of Cards and My Big Fat Greek Wedding 2).

Creating costumes for a series as beloved as Star Trek, with its ferocious fan following, was “a bit daunting,” says Phillips. “I definitely felt the pressure from the fandom. I was quite scared about what they would think of our costumes!”

The new series, which streams on CBS All Access, features the cast in sleek military-inspired navy and silver uniforms as well as looks from Canadian labels like Greta Constantine and Evan Biddell.

Triarchy runway show Designed by sibling duo Adam and Ania Taubenfligel, this sustainable denim label is known for its eco-conscious approach to fashion. Their fall/winter 2018 collection features bleached white denim, fringed coats and skirts, and a dazzling array of sequins, decorating everything from the sleeves of jackets to the knees of skinny jeans. “I call it ‘white hot denim,’” Adam said of the bleached pieces, to Toronto Fashion Week backstage. “We came up with a new technique of sustainable bleaching by using an ozone process, where the strength of the fabric isn’t compromised. And sequins — I’ve always wanted to do sequins. I’m obsessed.”

UNTTLD runway show and shopping event The latest collection from this Montreal-based label focuses on sumptuous velvet in rich jewel tones—think garnet, sapphire, peridot. The silhouettes crafted by designers José Manuel St-Jacques and Simon Bélanger ranged from the sleek (longline coats and tailored suits) to the dramatic (cocoon coats and ruffled-sleeve dresses). “We were thinking about the idea of a Renaissance woman,” designer Simon Bélanger told Toronto Fashion Week. “A real contemporary woman is a woman that does everything and wears all the hats. In the Renaissance, you could be an architect, you could be a scientist, you could be an artist. It was a period of discovery. So for us, we wanted to mix together all these references and put it all together in a very modern way, with jewel tones, satin, velvet, a very rich Italian idea of luxury.” Post-show, the designers headed over to designer boutique TNT – The New Trend for an exclusive shopping event for their spring/summer 2018 collection.

Narces runway show Feather, lace, tulle, sequins—attention-grabbing ensembles defined the fall 2018 collection for this label helmed by Austrian designer Nikki Wirthensohn Yassemi. DJ Miss Tara kicked off the show in a fishnet bodysuit with bold black plumage, and the models followed suit in pieces like sequinned flared trousers, organza cropped jackets and tulle gowns.