Credit: Pimentel (Wireimage)

Fashion tycoon Joseph Mimran’s design crew did it again. Blasting back to the seventies with turtlenecks, colour blocking, wide leg trousers, and an overwhelming selection of mini skirts, it’s almost hard to believe that this is the cheap and cheerful wonder mixed between housewares and bulk food.

Striking combinations of kelly green, cobalt blue, honey mustard, and the namesake Joe orange came down the runway in brilliantly styled combinations of knee length dresses, neoprene overcoats, minis, and classic shirts styled with gold, gold, and more gold. Even the fashion elite will be looking for those laceless gold oxfords!

Highly adorned with beads, fringes, feathers, and appliques, these mini skirts were impressive. Certainly not what you would expect from a simple budget label like Joe Fresh, giving pause over how much they will really cost come fall 2011. Surely, not $29.99?!

Those with a keen eye will be jumping on the items that aesthetically speaking looked like they belong on a Jil Sanders runway. We’re pretty sure that nothing actually fell off of a turnip truck and accidentally landed on the Joe Fresh catwalk, but you never know.

Interestingly enough, what was talked about even more than the collection were the New York writers brought in to sit in the front row, including well-known fashion writer and New York Times best-selling author, Derek Blasberg. If that doesn’t say US expansion, I don’t know what does. Rumor has it Joe Fresh Style will be opening a stand-alone store on Fifth Avenue this fall.

Credit: Pimentel (Wireimage)

Brightly coloured sphere and rhombus shapes exploded onto the runway of LG Fashion Week as sibling design duo Alia and Jamil Juma presented their Fall/Winter 2011 Kaleidoscope collection.

Parading a plethora of prints, the collection included breezy tunics, pleated pants, tailored jackets, full-piece jumpers, and, most noticeably, a body-hugging dress affixed with a cloak-like hood in an undeniably acid tripping print.

With mainstay blacks and androgynous underpinnings, the most succinct way to describe the collection is hippie grunge colliding into the psychedelic 70’s. Overall, it was another successful collection for the Canadian designers who are slowly but surely taking the fashion world by storm.

Find out more about Juma at www.jumastudio.com

Click here to see Juma on Vimeo.

Credit: Pimentel (Wireimage)

Alexander McQueen was to fashion what Michael Jackson was to music. He was an icon who created a path free of restrictions, blurring the line between fashion and art, and then blending the two to evoke emotion just the same.

And while comparing Alexander McQueen and Evan Biddell is nonsensical, washed between Biddell’s graphic print staples were undeniable moments of greatness at the Fall 2010 show.

Take the runway openers – with their larger than life silhouettes and outrageous Alice in Wonderland like proportions, they were a dream. A lovely couture dream!

A stiffly structured bell skirt juxtaposed with a rough yet feminine strapless shredded leather number. And then, the coat of the century with its calming earthiness, pre-historic texture, and over-sized petal sleeves. An architectural dream!

The collection, a tribute to Alexander McQueen, was full of risk. A breath of fresh air in an industry polluted with the safe choices. We are so proud Evan Biddell is Canadian. To find out more about the collection, visit www.evanbiddell.ca.

Spotted on the likes of Blake Lively, Katy Perry, and Kim Kardashian, Canadian label Smythe has more going for it than just celebrities. The line of coats, blazers, and boyfriend blazers are perfectly tailored by Toronto designers Andrea Lenczner and Christie Smythe.

Try the Slouchy Boyfriend Blazer ($525) in heather grey, the Dickens Jacket ($495) in blue plaid, or the dressier Tuxedo Jacket ($595) in black. Smythe is available in Canada at select Holt Renfrew locations.

Boring is one word that Toronto siblings and designer-duo Alia and Jamil Juma would never be described as. Their collections are androgynous, daring, and pique curiosity with tucks and pleats that create interesting textures and dimensions to make Juma stand out.

A great piece for holiday parties is the Pleated Wrapped Back Dress ($300), made out of wool and cotton and available in black, blue, and grey. Find this dress online at www.juma.ca.

There are few who can master sophisticated looks with downtown style, but Vancouver-based design house Jacqueline Conoir has done just that. Designed by Canadian born RozeMerie Cuevas, Jacqueline Conoir collections continue to innovate the “power suit” year after year. Cuevas’s apparent tailoring skills mixed with her eye for trends both in and out of the office have found the label success on local, national and international stages – not to mention the honour of opening for this year’s BC Fashion Week.

A long-time staple with the Canadian fashionistas, this season one can expect Conoir’s signature pant and skirt suits in chic blacks, greys, browns and khakis, cut to provide a sleek, modern silhouette. Those hoping for more colour in their wardrobe will be pleased with the collections billowy tunics and floating silk dresses shown in bright pinks, bold violets and icy blues.

Shop Jacqueline Conoir Studio (by appointment only www.jcstudio.ca) or find the collection at Wear Else locations across the city (www.wearelse.com). For a sneak peak at new collection pieces, Wear Else will also be hosting a Jacqueline Conoir trunk show on October 15th at their Park Royal location.

As a prelude to the beauty of nature, Lisa Greenbaum, designer of Toronto’s Greenbaum Clothing, creates a worldly collection for fall. Inspired by a long drive through the farmlands in North Toronto, the collection favours earthy hues like gold, olive and forest green.

“The corn fields had turned golden and the grass was still green,” recounts Lisa. “The sun was shinning and the air was crisp – the whole day seemed to encompass how Fall feels to me, and even though I have never been to the countryside of Eastern Europe it seemed that this it what it would be like.”

Perfect looks for the working woman, try the Vienna Top and Moscow Skirt, Soho Top and Prague Skirt, Brigid Dress, or Munich Blazer and Warsaw Pant. Stay warm by completing the look with the Berlin Coat.

Thankfully, we don’t have to travel to Europe to shop for this Canadian line! Find out where to buy Greenbaum Clothing at www.greenbaumclothingco.com.