TORONTO – Naughty 1960s housewives and Stanley Kubrick’s A Clockwork Orange were some of Toronto designer Arthur Mendonca’s inspiration for his latest fall-winter 2012 collection. The end result translated into winning looks of gorgeous long trenches, pretty fuchsia paisley print dresses, and a variety of colourful tints paired with sky high platforms.
While fall and winter tend to be drab seasons that almost always show black as the go-to colour, for Mendonca it means showcasing a variety of tints from magenta to yellow and pinks. Several outfits into the show, black and grey were nowhere to be found.
Models were topped off with a bowler hat as a nod to Kubrick, and at times channelling Sally Bowles in Cabaret, and seen in oversized sleeves with a hint of metallic and bondage.
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Mendonca’s return to Toronto was one of World MasterCard Fashion Week’s strongest collections of the season.
“It’s obviously very different here. It’s a home crowd advantage,” smiles Mendonca as Global News caught up with him backstage at the fashion show tents in David Pecaut Square. “Showing in a different city for the first time is always a little bit nerve-wracking because you never know what’s going to happen. People don’t really know you yet.”
Next season is Mendonca’s tenth-year anniversary, an achievement considered a success in Canada’s small but ever-changing and growing fashion industry. But since the start of his business in 2002, Mendonca has evolved into one of the country’s leading style arbiters.
“Every season it develops a bit more. You build up on things that you’ve done and created, and add new silhouettes. I don’t think I ever want to completely change from one season to next,” says Mendonca, who gets his design stimulus from various visual mediums, travelling and people on the street.
The Portuguese-born designer has dressed many eclectic celebrities including Rihanna and Mary Louise Parker. Next on his list, he would love to dress?
“Madonna,” says Mendonca.
“I even have tickets for September.”
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