Clothing show for clothing hos
Clothing hounds and pack rats congregate under one roof for cheap and discounted vintage and indie designer pieces. Antique furniture, designer shoes, houseware and one-of-a-kind jewellry from the likes of mega-queer powerhouse Barbie’s Basement Jewellery (wwwbbj.ca) are all available at this season’s edition of the Clothing Show.

Aside from the flea market vendor feel the event has grown into a mini-fashion festival that this year promises runway shows, George Brown College’s graduating year collections, a magazine-sponsored fashion photography contest as well as a display museum walk of turn-of-the century garments from vintage vendors. The Clothing Show runs from May 2-4 at the Exhibition Place. For more information, visit www.theclothingshow.com.

Tautou-a-go-go for Coco
French actress Audrey Tautou is reportedly in talks with Chanel executives to be the new face of iconic fragrance No. 5. Rumour has it that she will be reunited with film director Jean-Pierre Jeunet for the commercial. Jeunet catapulted Tautou to international fame by casting her as the shy and quick-witted lead in Amelie. Former Chanel No. 5 faces include Oscar-winning actress Nicole Kidman, Canadian supermodelturned- actress Estella Warren and French icon Catherine Deneuve. The 31-year-old Tautou is already linked to the influential designer because she is set to play Mademoiselle Coco Chanel in an upcoming biopic Coco Avant Chanel by French director Anne Fontaine.

H & M grabs Garcons
Japanese fashion label Comme des Garcons founder and designer Rei Kawabuko will join the ranks of Karl Lagerfeld, Roberto Cavalli and Stella McCartney as she teams up with Swedish big box retailer H & M for an upcoming guest collection due out this fall. “I have always been interested in the balance between creation and business. It is a dilemma for me though, as creation has always been a first priority,” says Kawabuko. “It is a fascinating challenge to work with H & M since it is a chance to take the dilemma to its extreme and try to solve it. Expect the usual mix of women’s and men’s deconstructed styles, a few children’s pieces as well as street inspired accessories and an exclusive fragrance. The debut of the collection is fitting since its launch will co-incide with H & M’s plan to open a second store in Kawabuko’s home town of Tokyo.

Docs what’s up
Everything old has now become de rigueur yet again. Squeezing into the realm of vintage footwear is the grunge status symbol known as Doc Martens. Surprise, surprise they’ve even wormed their way to top fashion houses like Chloe and are donned at castings by supermodels like vintage-princess Agyness Deyn.

I remember drooling over these in grade three when practically every pre-teen had a high-cut top in various shades of black or brown. Plus the higher the boot the higher you were in the elementary social food chain.

Chris Jai Centeno
chrisjai@fabmagazine.com