Montreal Fashion Week: The top hits from day three including CIN Tailleur, Ça va de soi, and Abol
Day three was a lull in the Montreal Fashion Week storm. Fashion mavens, it appeared, were saving their most spectacular looks for day four’s finale. Today was a time for investment shopping.
Since I met Cinthya Chalifoux, the scissor whiz behind CIN Tailleur, I’ve enjoyed her feminine approach to made-to-measure. Having learned her trade from an old-school Montreal master tailor Roger Paquin, she’s been carving out a nice little niche for herself, crafting quality, fitted clothing. The short-but-sweet collection she presented in the cocktail lounge totalled about a dozen looks (for both men and women), all of them showcasing a suave English-countryside sophistication in tweed and cashmere, but amped up with black over-the-knee platform boots—for the women, that is.
Next up was Ça va de soi, a luxe-knitwear collection designed by Montreal veteran Antoine Nasri and his offspring Kinza. Knit pencil skirts, body-hugging colour-blocked dresses and turtlenecks, drawstring leggings, and vest tunics. The pumped-up R&B soundtrack gave considerable energy to an otherwise flat presentation—save the one model whose breast augmentation was noticed by everyone. Nevertheless, what the show lacked in emotion or performance it delivered in quality basics that I know I’ll be stocking up on.
A complete 180-degree turn on the wow-factor spectrum, Samuel Dong showed a striking collection of colours, textures, and patterns. Dong was followed by Vancouver-native Abol, whose fantasy eco-couture line featured organic wool, recycled silk, and earth-friendly dyes.
