I Love Media

// The Fur Council of Canada launched two ad campaigns as a part of their International branding strategy to counter-act their negative industry image & promote the higher quality of Canadian made fur clothing. The ‘Beautifully Canadian’ campaign pushes a line of clothing identifiable by a red and gold label, an assurance of authentic Canadian furs and the Fur is green campaign, equipped with a facebook page & twitter handle, states,” At a time when we are all trying to be conscious of how our lifestyles affect nature, fur is an excellent choice. Like leather, suede and shearling fur, is a natural product, a true gift of nature…” Really? Apparently fur prices are reaching record levels and emerging as a dominant trend in some designers’ collections I love media loves animals.

Lauren Bagliore

// (pronounced “bal-your-ray”) is a native New Yorker, traveling between her home in Calgary with her husband and the big apple. She showcased her spring 2011 collection last night at LG fashion week. Her story struck a very personal cord with me, she also experienced personal tragedy recently. “This season I contemplated life and death as I endured more than one family tragedy. I almost did not create this collection,” says Lauren Bagliore, who studied at the Fashion Institute of Technology in New York before working with designers Vivienne Westwood, Zac Posen and Canada’s Paul Hardy. I am so grateful she found the strength to pull through and express her feelings through the art of fashion. Her 2011 collection was full of chalk white, muted grey, jet black and strong metallics shown on skin tight and hooded dresses, tons of leggings and freeform trousers. Flowing asymmetrical shapes and outlines were set to recent, yet reminiscent pop songs, creating an intense mood for her show. Lauren dubbed her latest line “La Risurrezione: Dalla Scura alla Luce,” the Italian translation that means, “The Resurrection: From the Dark to the Light.” Bagliore is also working with an organization that is fighting to help end child sex trafficking. A percentage of each piece of her collection that is sold goes toward ending human trafficking globally. Amazing.

Comps of Fashion Magazine (batteries died!)

//Designer Jennifer Waters is quite charming, she tells me about the inspiration behind her new 2011 collection called House Of Groves, “it’s Annie Hall meets the 70′s meets Wallace Simpson, meets me”, she says. She’s debuted her collection at LG fashion week in Toronto, offering complimentary cupcakes branded with her label. I got chills down my body (always do) when the music starts and the very first designs are displayed, partly excitement for Jennifer, coupled with my own.  Her profile describes her line as “epitomizing understated luxury combined with meticulous tailoring of mens-wear”. I have to say, Toronto has featured an exceptionally talented breed of designers that appear at fashion week, some new & some repeats, but the market in Canada seems too small to really grow a brand.  House Of Groves 2011 Spring / Summer collection used only natural or eco-friendly fabrics, and was full of feminine, life-giving qualities of elegance, embracing beige, white, black and my personal favorite, coral, colours. BlogTO has great video and photo coverage of some of the highlighted shows, but not all of the designers showcasing this week.

Comps to photographer Steve Carly

//This year, Rethink Breast Cancer hosted another amazing Boobyball to raise more awareness on breast cancer. It was all about paying tribute to the world’s most iconic nightclub, Studio 54. As Rethink puts it, “we’re mixing seventies disco Kings and Queens, Warhol Factory artists, glam rock royalty and urchins of the night. The event is going to bring glam back in a big way!! And did it ever! Young and old philanthropists showed their support, and just came out to play, in some pretty inspiring costumes. Rethink partnered with MTV again to produce a new commercial spot (cameo by MTV news host Aliya-Jasmine, also the co-chair for Rethink’s annual Boobyball) to promote the event, and were on site to cover the whole bash. Photos were being sold as a part of the auction this year, photographers had 1 hr with the same group of people to get their shot. Here is a look at some of the Studio 54 inspired photoshoot. Look out for more disco diva pics of the event, sure to pop up on http://www.boobyball.com in the next week.

Update: Pics are up @ http://rethinkbreastcancer.com/events/boobyball-flash-2010

// Gap changed their logo on Oct 6th, apparently without any heads up to media or consumers. The traditional look and feel of the once preppy logo is now replaced with Helvetica font and small blue corporate square circa the 70′s. For what it’s worth, the rebrand has fueled quite a bit of controversy and therefore, publicity. Gap’s official facebook page responded with: “Thanks for everyone’s input on the new logo! We’ve had the same logo for 20+ years, and this is just one of the things we’re changing. We know this logo created a lot of buzz and we’re thrilled to see passionate debates unfolding! So much so we’re asking you to share your designs. We love our version, but we’d like to see other ideas. Stay tuned for details in the next few days on this crowd sourcing project,” listing nearly 800 comments. You can still find solace in their old logo on facebook and twitter…so far.

// The TFI (Toronto Fashion Incubator) Press and Buyers Breakfast, hosted by Faulhaber Public Relations Inc. (FPR), did an amazing job organizing a networking breakfast where you could preview the latest and greatest from a breadth of  original Spring 2011 collections from designers. Or, you could simply opt to peruse apparel and accessories that will be presented to retail buyers and media from across Canada, kind of like an informal trade show. Actually, the event was a pop-up shop the night before, magically transformed into the annual press & buyers breakfast in the AM (delicious). If you’re a designer, be sure to get involved next year by filling out an application here. Also, did you know the TFI was established in 1987 & was the 1st official fashion incubator of its kind in the world?! Amazing.

// This is a phenomenal film by the National Public Radio (NPR) and Radiolab with Will Hoffman and Daniel Mercadante. It was created to accompany Radiolab‘s Words episode (http://www.radiolab.org/blogs/radiolab-blog). Radiolab has an impressive site and describe themselves as a company that “believes your ears are a portal to another world. Where sound illuminates ideas, and the boundaries blur between science, philosophy, and human experience. Big questions are investigated, tinkered with, and encouraged to grow. Bring your curiosity, and we’ll feed it with possibility.” Brilliant. Each take actually made me react emotionally, I think my EQ is pretty high…it’s traced to Darwin’s work on the importance of emotional expression for survival and second adaptation.

Comps: ZenoShuffle YouTube channel

// Back in February I promoted some of Zeno Motion‘s incredibly groundbreaking OOH work in the ad space, when they installed their first creative Canadian motion ad display at the CN tower. President Karen McGuire commented, “People walk by it, it grabs their attention, and they don’t get it, but in a positive way,” McGuire said. “It’s like when you were a kid at the fair and you were in front of those mirrors that make you short, tall, skinny or fat. [People] stop and play with it.” I noticed the subway is filled with new interactive zeno ads, good stuff. The vid above is fairly long and slow, to get a real sense of the advertising check out http://www.zenomotion.com/#/showcase.