Spring Summer Collections Archives - The Montreal Fashion Society by The Fashion Tourism Society

Kollontai's SS 2020 Collection: Creative & Effortless Elegance

April 22, 2020

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Kollontai is a Montreal based fashion brand created by Gabrielle Tousignant in 1998. In naming her brand, Gabrielle was inspired by Alexandra Kollontai, the Russian political figure and feminist who fought for the advancement of women’s social rights and contributed to the creation of International Women’s Day.

Each Kollontai piece is designed and produced in Montreal and has a unique signature with a touch of creative exploring of color charts. Kollontai’s style could be described as playful laid back chic. Its playfulness translates into notes of creative cuts, pattern choices and color piecing. The brand’s spring summer collection is refreshing, to say the least, as it adds notes of elegance through a beautiful palette of neutrals on soft fabrics. As you look at the different designs of the current collection, you will see how it provides us with perfect elevated elegant loungewear options, which is exactly what we need during quarantine and after, I mean I would never say no to comfortable fashionable elegance !

Here are some of our favorite pieces of their latest collection for Spring/Summer 2020.

Fashion Preview: SS16 Trends

October 18, 2015

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Fashion Preview is going strong with its 4th edition and the addition of new designers and exhibitors extending the event to 3 days compared to previous editions. This time, some designers such as Naïké and V-FRANZ even included kids in their collections.

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Last week, Maison Ogilvy welcomed, for the occasion, exhibitors such as Annick Lévesque, Holdur, Tshu, Maison Bourdon, Jérôme Bocchio, PURPLE LUXE, Ella Dugré, LLY Atelier, Effet Papillon Créations, Miss Cocotte, Quality Native Crafts and ByKilani.

WRKDEPT. The intriguing brand opened Fashion Preview and was the the energizer to our eyes and souls. The Spring Summer collection will bring color and vitamin to any under colored wardrobe with some Indian and Asian influences. I am totally adding the plastified baby face dress on my wish list.

MB Alphawear‘s men collection was stamped with urbanity and slightly hipsterish references. There were also small little signature details on each piece reminding us of nature like the use of neutral colors such as beige, sweat pants fabric, the red plaid shirt and the strong use of brownish beige pieces and details.

HUTCHISON‘s light cotton fabric pieces looked perfect for minimalist style lovers. It was the perfect representation of comfort and feminine girl next door. I was plunged in the memories of a warm summer day at the old port or on a boat while contemplating the collection.

JONCAS‘ light flowy fabrics screamed comfort and style. It was like seeing elegant feminine ghosts. The way the cuts and details were put together combined to the subtle superposition of pastel toned over pure white fabrics gave a high end feel to the pieces. The brilliant marriage of fluidity, lines accentuation and incorporated belts was an enhancement to that feel.

Naïké. I loved the chic family dinner theme with the kids. A brilliant mix of professional and weekend from the sheer top to the short shorts suit and the long sleeveless vest. Naïké, I love your long vests, you’re officially my go to designer for long vests amongst other pieces. What I like about Naïké is their ability to deliver stylish quality timeless modern sober pieces.

Denis Gagnon, our very own enfant terrible de la mode, did it again. The black and white spring summer collection was an exploration of both sexy and conservative poles. The whole presentation had a spiritual feel to it with the inspiring music, the projection of mountains and nature images, which is a little different from his previous shows where we usually feel his inner child in every aspect of the fashion show. If I compare to his last spring/summer collection, the pieces were this time a little more sober with longer and ampler cuts, but still included some sheerness, sexy necklines and shorts.

Leinad Beaudet, brought elegant long dresses and some professional attire that I would totally wear at the office. I was also happy to see the use of different age models, which has now become a signature runway move for the brand.

Dominique Ouzilleau. Did you know Ouzilleau previously collaborated with big names such as Lagerfeld, Chanel, Givenchy and Fendi? Well now you do. The recycled fur label included more sober designs such as wool coats with subtle fur touches and other all fur made coats with different art work techniques. My favorite pieces are the wool/fur combinations and I am in love with the red lined cut sleeve coat.

Les Incompétents. Large fits, nurse looking outfits (in a cool way) and effortless vibes. I would totally wear the over sized white and blue dress with dark blue pumps and a tie as a belt. I feel like I don’t necessarily see people sporting that style on the street, but I would definitely love to. I find it brings a zen ambiance (I mean, who could yell at or punch someone looking that effortlessly zen?!) and an interesting trend to explore, as we should never become prisoners of one style only.

Brit Wacher. I loved the usage of a large variety of fabrics such as sheer, leatherish, suit pants fabric and overlapped colors and textures. This offers variety in wearables that can be used for 9 to 5 and 5 to 9. Who has time to go change before happy hour?

Les Enfants Sauvages. The only designer who made a strong use of prints through some retro references and Indian sari inspired colors for the office wardrobe.

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V-FRANZ. I was so in love with the sexy original brilliantly cut dresses. The curved lines and lacing and the strategic fabric cropping accentuates the female body curves, which is great for the most memorable nights of summer 2016 to come.

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Photo credit: Chris M & Mode Montreal ( for Naïké)

When Your Shades Go Wood

April 22, 2015

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Ok, so I’ve tried a pair of Go Wood glasses and I love the way they look, pretty fresh that is.

The manually assembled natural wood shades, thus the name of the brand, are comfortable and they’re the perfect mix of chic, laid back and original. I like the greenish blue ones because they remind me of California, the beach, summer, the relaxing sound of waves slowly erasing on the golden sand. The material makes the shades’ style statement and the color adds a certain je ne sais quoi to it. The sunglasses are incredibly comfortable and light despite the material they’re made of. And the icing on the top, they come in an amazing wooden box.

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I am usually conservative with my sunglasses’ colors (I usually wear brown, black or purple) and I was quite happy to see the result of getting out of my comfort zone and try the greenish ‘Vancouver’ blue skateboard wooden sunglasses. They have many other colors, take a look here.

ECCO's Spring/Summer 2015 Collection

February 1, 2015

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First of all, let me tell you a little more about ECCO, as I am not sure everyone knows a whole lot about the brand. It was founded in Denmark 5 decades ago. It is one of the only shoe manufacturers of its caliber to manage the entire production chain from production of leather up to their own shops located in 87 countries around the world. ECCO shoes are created based on the Scandinavian design philosophy “The shoe must follow the foot” and, therefore, combine comfort and functionality to fashion. The representative I spoke to also shared that Louis Vuitton uses some of ECCO’s workshops to work leather for their products, which is a sign of their high quality standards.

So as part of the BrillxMtl event at Hotel Le Crystal, I was introduced to this brand I was not so familiar with and I wanted to share my perceptions and understanding of it and its next season’s collection. If you scroll through the pictures, you’ll notice the generally thick sole which increases comfort and that’s what I would picture myself wearing when I travel or when I plan on walking all day. As much as I like heels, I love my feet and I love me some good cute comfy shoes for those kind of days. The Spring/Summer 2015 collection emphasizes on neutrals and pastels on stylish moccasins, wedges, sandals and elegant sport shoes (great with a suit à la Cara Delevigne or with your fave pair of jeans). My favourite pieces of the collection are indisputably, the white little envelope bag and the white sandals.

Accessories such as shoulder bags, totes, clutches and wallets offer elegance and intelligent designs to keep your items well organized and can be a great match with casual and formal wear.

Tristan Spring/Summer 2015 collection

February 1, 2015

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I was recently invited to the BrillxMtl event for the preview of Tristan’s Spring/Summer 2015 collection at Hotel Le Crystal and anyone who knows me knows how I am fond of the brand for the quality, the attention to details, the richness of the fabrics used, the large choice of colors, designs originality and the affordability of the pieces.

SPRING/SUMMER 2015 COLLECTION

With February starting in just a few days, I am slowly adjusting some parameters in my head to spring/summer mode and it is a great way of getting through the remaining winter days and prepping for spring, my favourite season! For the 2015 warm season collection, you will find structured pieces combining different garments and strategically placed stripes.

You’ll also notice a sportswear influence trend like tennis court inspired polos and skirts. Other key pieces such as midi skirts, cropped tops and jackets, oversized sweaters, perfecto cut blazers and fluid masculine pants fill the racks in prevision of the very upcoming warmer days. Pastels are enhanced this season with a pop of vibrant colors which in my opinion is a great match as pastels alone don’t always look so great on all types of skin tones. Flower prints and flower embroideries on sweat pants fabric (LOVE!) and graphic prints will be omnipresent and are coming back in force. Other prints of the collection evoke a seventies folkloric accent.

Tristan’s dominant colors for SS15 are cobalt blue, red, vibrant yellow, mint green, pink and purple (which is generally a fall color, but I love fashion adventuring).

The Spring/Summer 15 collection is currently available in stores, check out the sneak peak.

LUXE COLLECTION

Tristan recently launched its TRISTAN LUXE line for women which combines refinement and elegance. The line, made in Canada, and crafted from sumptuous French jacquards with classic and modern cuts for all occasions is available in select Tristan boutiques and on their website. The men’s LUXE line on the other hand concentrates on suits complemented with sweaters and shirts also crafted with European fabrics, mainly from Italy. The suits and the pants are made from the same fabric roll to insure absolute quality, symmetry and same colours.