At long last, spring is here. And with it comes the opportunity to shed our puffy coats and salt-damaged boots and elevate our style game with fresh spring 2021 fashion. Sure, given the ongoing pandemic we’ll probably spend most of the season wearing what we have for the past year (i.e. our comfiest, slouchiest sweats), but we can dream right? Here, we’ve rounded up some of the sweetest new items from Canadian designers that are sure to spark joy. Whether worn on a socially distanced walk or on your couch for the latest round of Zoom trivia, these pretty pieces — including pastel hues, playful patterns and sheer details — are sure to fulfill all your spring style fantasies.
What do you get when you combine dreamy florals, crisp denim and the world’s most inclusive size range? The highly covetable new collab from Erdem and Universal Standard.
Launching online on March 31, the eight-piece capsule is a denim-forward collection that brings together the Canadian-British designer’s trademark bold femininity pioneering brand’s commitment to making fashion more accessible to everyone. It also marks the first time Erdem is working with denim in a major way.
Sizes range from 00 to 40. Last year, Erdem revealed plans to extend its own in-house sizes, starting with its pre-Spring 2021 collection.
“There’s a beautiful universality in denim and with careful design you can achieve a wonderful permanence,” says designer Erdem Moralıoğlu in a press release. “Fashion for everyone means designing consciously beyond the boundaries of shape or trend.”
Starting at around $157, the collab includes a wide-legged jean, a high-waisted skinny jean, a floral cotton shirtdress with ruffle trim, a deconstructed denim skirt and a denim boiler suit with contrasting panels.
This isn’t the first time Universal Standard — which launched in 2015 with the mission of “fashion freedom,” crafting elevated essentials for all sizes — has partnered with a bold-name brand for a collection. They’ve previously worked with Adidas, Gwyneth Paltrow’s lifestyle brand Goop, J.Crew and California fashion house Rodarte.
“We want the industry to keep witnessing that size equality is the only way forward, says Alexandra Waldman, the Canadian co-founder of Universal Standard. “Access for all doesn’t end with US. Together with Erdem, we aim to change the way fashion looks for all of US and the way we look at fashion. This is to the benefit of the industry, the consumer, and the idea of fashion equality.”
“This year, the public becomes an Expert of the LVMH Prize” – that’s what the prominent accolade’s press release promised this morning with its announcement of the 20 brands vying for a €300,000 endowment (plus a one-year mentorship program provided by a dedicated LVMH team). In addition to consumers having their say on who will go on to receive the top honour, several new industry names have joined the Committee of Experts for deliberations including Bella Hadid and Vogue China’s newly minted Editor-in-Chief, Margaret Zhang.
And who will we choose from? An eclectic mix of creatives is tapped this year, many boasting a genderless approach to design. Christopher John Rogers – the New York-based talent who took home the CFDA/Vogue Fashion Fund Award in 2019 – is in the running, as is French designer Charles de Vilmorin, London’s Saul Nash and Shanghai’s Shuting Qiu.
This year’s LVMH Prize also gives a nod to names-to-know like Cynthia Merhej, who designs under the brand Renaissance Renaissance and is based in Lebanon, and Kika Vargas from Bogota, Colombia. Lukhanyo Mdingi’s eponymous label reps Cape Town, and Nigeria’s Adeju Thompson has made the cut for their line, Lagos Space Programme. The roundup of semi-finalists, who are also competing for the Karl Lagerfeld/Special Jury Prize of €150,000 and a mentorship program, was pulled from a list of candidates from over 110 countries.
2021 also sees the return of the Prize, as last year’s competition was transformed into the creation of a fund to benefit a range of young fashion designers feeling the effects of the emerging pandemic (including Montreal-based Lecavalier, a finalist for the Prize in 2019).
COVID-19 restrictions are cited as the reason for why this 8th edition of the Prize will run as a digital platform from April 6th to April 11th, and the selection of semi-finalists speaks to another prominent issue that continues to affect the fashion world – sustainability. All of the competing brands have an ethos that manifests in the use of recycled/upcycled textiles, artisanal craft techniques, and local production. A worthy lot, no matter who emerges as a winner.
Keen to have your say on who should win this year? Here’s a full list of semi-finalists:
AGR
BIANCA SAUNDERS
CHARLES DE VILMORIN
CHRISTOPHER JOHN ROGERS
CONNER IVES
FEDERICO CINA
KIDSUPER
KIKA VARGAS
LAGOS SPACE PROGRAMME
LUKHANYO MDINGI
MIDORIKAWA
NENSI DOJAKA
POST ARCHIVE FACTION (PAF)
RENAISSANCE RENAISSANCE
RIER
RUI
SAUL NASH
SHUTING QIU
TAAKK
WED
Schitt’s Creek icon Moira Rose once said that awards season is her favourite season — and it seems there was a good reason.
Once again, the beloved Canadian sitcom earned the most nominations at the Canadian Screen Awards, which were announced on March 30. The final season of the series earned an impressive 22 nominations, appearing in just about every category you can imagine. Schitt’s Creek is up for best comedy series and best writing (Dan Levy, for the finale), while Eugene and Dan Levy, Catherine O’Hara, Annie Murphy, Emily Hampshire and Noah Reid all received acting nods — just to name a few.
At this point, the cast and creative team behind Schitt’s Creek are no strangers to accolades. The series swept the comedy categories at last year’s Emmys, winning a record-setting total of nine awards. They even picked up a couple of awards at the Golden Globes earlier this year: O’Hara virtually accepted the best actress statuette and the show was also crowned best comedy series.
Elsewhere on the TV side of the Canadian Screen Awards noms, CBC sitcoms Workin’ Momsand Kim’s Convenience (which is currently in its final season) both received 11 nods each. The two series will also be competing against Baroness Von Sketch Show and Crave hit Letterkenny for best comedy.
In the drama categories, CTV crime drama Cardinal and CBC’s Trickster each earned 15 nominations. Following controversy surrounding director/co-writer Michelle Latimer’s claim to Indigenous identity, the latter was not considered in the best drama category. Instead, Cardinal will be vying for the top prize against CBC legal series Burden of Truth, CTV medical drama Transplant, Global’s suspense series Departure and historical fantasy Vikings.
Over on the movie side of the nominations, Indigenous-led horror film Blood Quantumleads the pack with 10 nods — though it wasn’t represented in the best picture or best director categories. Following closely behind are Deepa Mehta’s drama Funny Boy, which earned nine noms, and Charles Officer’s TIFF-favourite Akilla’s Escape.
The full list of both the 2021 TV and film nominees can be found here. The ninth annual Canadian Screen Awards will take place virtually over seven days, from May 17 to 20, culminating in a live stream presenting some of the event’s biggest awards on May 20 at 8 p.m. ET.
No red carpet? No problem. The 2021 NAACP Image Awards were a five-night celebration of outstanding work by people of colour in the entertainment industry, which culminated in a star-studded awards ceremony over the weekend of March 27-28. And even though the show was forced to go virtual this year, celebrities did not hold back from sporting red-carpet worthy looks. Here are some of the best.
The One Night in Miami director donned a custom Oscar de la Renta taffeta gown with a statement-making bow on the back. She paired the dress with Stuart Weitzman shoes.
To pick up her Outstanding Actress in a Comedy trophy, Insecure mastermind Issa Rae opted for a glam white Prada dress.
Tracee Ellis Ross
Tracee Ellis Ross pulled double duty at the ceremony, starting the night with a bold Schiaparelli look before changing into a ’90s-inspired look by Alberta Ferretti which she accented with Tiffany & Co. Elsa Peretti jewellery.
To accept her two (!) awards at the event (one for Best Actress in a Drama Series for the final season of How to Get Away with Murder, and one for her Oscar-nominated turn in Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom), Viola Davis sported a pretty floral frock Duro Olowu.
Lovecraft Country star Jurnee Smollett was more than happy to celebrate losing to her “queen” Viola Davis while wearing a black and green gown by Alexandre Vauthier.
With over ten years of experience creating bags for a variety of mass market brands, Montreal-based creative Linsey Myriam Bain decided to forge her own path forward with the launch of her eponymous label in 2019. She learned a lot during her tenure as an accessory expert, traveling to factories and gaining insight into consumer expectations; and she’s channeled this knowledge into the creation of unisex pieces that suit all needs and are made with intention.
“I’ve been in the industry for so long,” she says, noting that she started by working in various retail roles, which afforded her the ability to “understand how people relate to product.” While studying fashion design in post-secondary school (she studied art history before that), she also modelled briefly. But in addition to the historically problematic expectations within that aspect of the industry — “At one point, I didn’t know if I was skinny or not,” she recalls — she says the randomness of client meetings didn’t “align with my studies. [And] I saw a greater future for myself with design.”
This epiphany has been to our benefit. Bain’s bags are made in small quantities with fabrics sourced from Canadian suppliers, and feature organic and overstock materials. “I want to make sure that I keep a very small supply chain,” she notes, and says that moving forward she’d love to craft her pieces on-demand as her customer base expands. She’s also tapped into the exciting potential of new textiles, saying that she “would like to work with cactus leather [in the future]. It’s about growing and improving with every collection. I want to make good products that people like, and enjoy doing it.”
Photography by Kyle Jeffers
Given her expertise in the fashion industry, Bain identifies a core issue with sustainable design — it’s affordability — as a point that needs continual addressing and improvement by not only independent makers like herself, but the large-scale businesses that reach consumers at a mass level. “I’m thankful for Stella McCartney, but how many people can actually get clothing that’s made ethically, from the way people are treated to the waste at the factory and [creation of] excess product? How do we make sure that the big retailers — that we still need because there are people who need to shop for inexpensive products — are becoming sustainable?”
In addition to her thoughtful approach for making bags, Bain has committed to locally producing the non-medical face masks her brand began offering last Spring; a new mask drop will come later this week, boasting new colours like khaki and chocolate brown. “The masks were a natural addition,” she says, going on to reveal that making them also gave her the opportunity to be productive and proactive at a time when pushing product didn’t seem altogether important.
Photography by Mallory Lowe
“It was a saving grace. Bags that last, like mine, will always be in a certain price range and I didn’t feel comfortable coming out with new products at the time. It didn’t feel right. At least by making masks, I was doing something useful for me, and for everybody. And it allowed me to be creative.” She shot the initial array of masks in her loft-style living space with local photographer Mallory Lowe, using non-agency models and playing with wigs to emphasize the collection’s range of eye-catching hues. “It’s allowed me to work with people in my community,” she says. Give-back is crucial to her business, and Bain has donated product to organization raffles like that of the Black Theatre Workshop and provided a portion of proceeds from the brand’s sales to initiatives like Hoodstock, an activism-centric group with a seven-point mandate that includes support of the arts and social justice actions.
“There’s so much talent in Montreal, it’s almost ridiculous,” Bain laughs. And the city’s notoriously creative denizens are counted in her circle, including DJ KidCrayola and textile designer Damien Ajavon, who recently appeared on the brand’s feed modelling its bright blue nylon Flat tote — one of the five core styles Bain currently offers.
Photography courtesy of Bain
The assortment also includes a petit crossbody and backpack, as well as a pouch designed with three options for wearing (waist, crossbody or with an evening-style chain). “I’m most proud of this piece,” she says, adding that new styles will appear once she knows if she’s received any award or grant money that she’s applied for this season. “New bags are designed, but I have to see if anything comes from that before moving forward,” she notes.
But Bain has attuned her fan base to the idea that good things come to those who wait, and she’s determined to only augment this sensibility as her label increases in presence — just don’t expect to see more product because there’s more demand. “I would never do four collections in a year,” she says. “That’s one thing I’ve learned about the industry — the pace is too much. I started this brand to have a legacy; to have something that represents my values and my views.” And we’ll be watching for what comes next.
