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Ontario native Eryn
Reid is a former award winning, competitive figure skater
whose tailoring skills, training from the Ryerson School of Fashion,
experience, discipline, and her vivid imagination have all come
together to make her a formidable force to be reckoned with on the
Canadian fashion landscape. She doesn’t design clothing for the
woman hoping to blend into the background. Instead, through her
creations, she celebrates life, a spirit of fantasy, flair, and
| ‘I wear the coat in Paris
and stop traffic more than once a day. People keep asking
me where they can get one. Next time, I’ll bring the order
book!’ |
fun, with pieces that marry funky and classic. Ms Reid hand-paints
many of her fabrics, and her designs are natural head-turners. She
received one memorable telephone call from an exuberant customer in
one of the world's top fashion capitals says it all: ‘I wear the coat
in Paris and stop traffic more than once a day. People keep asking
me where they can get one. Next time, I’ll bring the order book!’
Ms Reid commandeered the elegant boiler House
Restaurant in Toronto’s Distillery District to début her
fall–winter 2004–5 collection, Cracker, to a most
appreciative crowd. Inspired by the luxury and decadence of the
beloved ballet, The Nutcracker, her vision of the Cracker
Woman has her models as ethereal ice nymphs wearing Victorian corset
tops and other designs in pink plaids, hand-painted silk and lace,
rich baby blue velvets, herringbone and ornate black lace. Far from
being boring, I truly enjoyed this subversive take-off on mixing
the old with the new. I adore her red velvet skirt suit with black
trim detailing and her pairing of a baby blue velvet mid-rift top
(with black lace detailing on the neck line and sleeves) with a
tartan mini-skirt. The Cracker Man sees Reid's impeccable style
for men expressed with sharp lines, intersecting stripes and hints
of colour. Taken one step further, her men’s wear designs have that
whiff of ’70s–Ziggy Stardust mystique that set her apart
from all other designers showing that week. From the two-tone, low-slung
pants to the white tuxedo shirt with black lace columns down the
front (which wasn’t the least bit feminine, mark you), she hit all
the right notes. She is yet another star on the horizon, waiting
for her moment, which isn’t too far off in our eyes.
When Kendra Francis of Franke (right) opened
her boutique (at 920 Queen Street West at Shaw Street) two years
ago, her initial design offerings consisted of body-hugging pants,
bust-baring, skimpy tops and assorted dance club ensembles for young
women with bodies worth showing off. But over time, she refined
her skills and branched out into other design areas including beaded
chiffon cocktail dresses in pastel blue, grey and silver, clingy
off-the-shoulder and scoop-neck pieces in black, grey, silver and
fuchsia that she sold for $225–$650. As well as her satin and chiffon
skirts cut in three different lengths: full, to the knee and super-short
($175–$250). She has prospered from the very beginning and her fall
2004 collection is proof that she is destined for further greatness
and future expansion outside of the Toronto area.
Instead of dressing the models backstage, she
and her set designers created tableaux where the models in matching
bras and panties in solid, rich colours dress themselves. The audience
then was privy to the sight of women in their individual “dressing
rooms” going through the process of getting ready for a night
out on the town. And what beautiful creations they were putting
on! Ms Francis’s ability to design these dreamy outfits and the
models’ seeming unawareness of the audience worked to give the pieces
that extra something. I liked everything she designed. Each piece
flowed effortlessly and clung to the women’s bodies in all the right
places. Ms Francis has found the right formula for success in the
fashion industry.
CONTINUED
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ABOVE: From the
C’est Chic presentation. REMAINING
PHOTOGRAPHS: Franke by Kendra Francis. INSET:
Kendra Francis.
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