FUN

Festival Mode & Design: catwalks, conferences and a chat with Le Château’s Herschel Segal

The Festival Mode & Design takes to the streets, theatres, conference rooms and museums of Montreal for its 18th edition August 20-25, with an eclectic program of fashion, music, dance, conferences and films. Among the highlights: talks by Robert Lepage, editor Caroline Issa and two Christian Dior luminaries, nose François Demachy and historian Vincent Leret, [...]

Grand Prix Week unfiltered

Here is an unfiltered picture diary of my Grand Prix week, seen through my iPhone, often with a glass of Champagne in hand. Race, what race? – as I ask every year. PRELUDE: OFF TO THE RACES A massive stretch limo outside the Ritz heralded the start of Grand Prix week. On Monday, though, a [...]

Closet confidential: contemplating a fashion diet and what I wore to the Grand Prix

(Headline with apologies and in homage to the late, great Anthony Bourdain) A funny thing happened to me at the Hermès carré counter: I swooned, and felt as if I were about to faint. Was it Stendhal’s syndrome, in which I was overcome by the beauty of the Fleurs de Giverny and Jardin à Sintra [...]

Grand Prix: racing cars, racing boats, racing to the parties

It’s going to be one of those weeks. Grand Prix week is here, and my trusty old-school paper calendar has no more room. The festivities kicked off Monday, as Hugo Boss invited a few folks onboard the HUGO BOSS, a 60-foot monohull racing yacht with skipper Alex Thomson. Holed up in the tiny cabin of the [...]

C2 Montreal: a festival of ideas

Dear C2 Montreal, Thank you for inviting me to Montreal’s festival of ideas, if you will. To me, it’s up there and above all the other festivals the city has to offer – jazz, comedy, fireworks, car racing, lobster ….. The three-day conference on commerce and creativity at the Arsenal is always inspiring – as [...]

Playa imperfecto: Isla Mujeres beach offers splendid swimming. Chaotic town has hidden gems

I called them the leatherbacks, a couple in their late 70s, maybe 80s, who hit Playa Norte on Isla Mujeres every afternoon with paperback books. They spread a blanket by the water on the bustling beach, in front of the rows of loungers and parasols. He wore a plaid shirt to ward of the sun, [...]

By | March 20th, 2018|Tags: , , , , , , |0 Comments

The comfort of his melancholy: memories of Leonard Cohen. MAC tribute opens Nov. 9

When I learned of the death of Leonard Cohen last November, I got out my copy of The Favourite Game, lit a candle, made a little tribute still life with a mandarin orange and black tea, and played Suzanne on Spotify. Leonard was the poet troubadour of my youth, and well beyond. I turned to [...]

Duyorama: having fun with the Vetements phenom

It started as a joke, says Duy Nguyen, the couturier with the lavish label DUY. Now he’s opened a popup shop with his Duyoorrr  line of sweats and street wear, in concert with a few other Montreal labels. “You have Valentina on St-Hubert St., you have Prado, and why not Duyoorrr?’’ he said on opening day [...]

By | April 17th, 2017|Tags: , , , , , , , |0 Comments

Expo 67: one square-toed pump in the past, a giant fashion leap forward

It’s a given that Expo 67 was the dawn of a bright new era for Montreal, a beacon to the future – in fashion, arts, architecture, technology and society in general. But it might come as a surprise that much of the fashion on display at Fashioning Expo 67, the new exhibition at the McCord [...]

By | March 19th, 2017|Tags: , , , , , , |Comments Off on Expo 67: one square-toed pump in the past, a giant fashion leap forward

The week in fashion: G-Star Raw, Frank + Oak, Beautitude, Lady Gaga, Sophie Grégoire

Things are gearing up in Montreal, with PR agencies battling the February blahs by holding spring showings. Last Thursday, there was street artist Whatisadam (no, he won’t give any other name or show his full face) live printing super-cool drawings (maple sugar is his signature) G-Star Raw jean jackets at the Dutch denim brand’s new [...]

By | February 7th, 2017|Tags: , , , , , , , |Comments Off on The week in fashion: G-Star Raw, Frank + Oak, Beautitude, Lady Gaga, Sophie Grégoire