TORONTO FASHION WEEK: MERCEDES BENZ START UP

This year’s edition of the annual Mercedes Benz Start-Up competition – a relatively new national program that nurtures Canada’s future fashion design talent – saw capsule collections by eight young designers with promising brands from Vancouver to P.E.I. After months of scouring the country for worthy participants and then judging, showcasing, and exposing them (in a undoubtedly challenging but definitely good way), only the best walked Toronto’s World MasterCard Fashion Week spring/summer 2013. Although the other designers are sure to make noise in the industry, it was Montreal’s DUY who took the one top prize: a sponsored show in March for fall/winter 2013 collections. Here’s a breakdown of each and every look that walked the runway. - writing by Bianca Venerayan


    • DUY A maxi dress featuring a green bodice, white peplum skirt, and a high centre slit.


    • DUY A shiny gold jacket worn with green peplum shorts and a sheer, white, keyhole blouse.


    • DUY A super long, sheer, white blouse paired with a textured grey jacket and pants.


    • DUY A loosely knit white tank top worn with a shredded denim jacket and pleated pants.


    • DUY A shiny, double-breasted blazer worn with skinny pants and a trailing chiffon blouse.


    • DUY A poppy red blouse with cut-out shoulders and high-low hem skirt.


    • DUY A shredded denim dress paired with a non-shredded denim vest.


    • DUY A poppy red look featuring a loosely knitted top, tailored blazer, and short shorts.


    • Caitlin Power A leather peplum with metallic panels, worn with cropped, wide-leg, leather pants.


    • Caitlin Power A grey tank top with a black leather panel, worn with skinny pants and gold cuffs.


    • Caitlin Power A form-fitting sweetheart tank top with a mesh bodice and black skinny pants.


    • Caitlin Power A leather peplum tank top worn with cropped, panelled pants and gold cuffs.


    • Caitlin Power A collared tank top in a grey abstract print, worn with a peplum skirt and gold cuffs.


    • Caitlin Power A grey abstract print tank top juxtaposed with a black bodice and yellow piping, worn with black skinny pants.


    • Caitlin Power A black shirt with sheer sleeves and yellow piping, worn with layered leather shorts.


    • Caitlin Power A black and grey peplum dress, worn with gold cuffs.


    • Malorie Urbanovitch A shiny, sheer, grey top and jacket, worn with a multi-coloured boucle skirt.


    • Malorie Urbanovitch A full look loosely knit with pale blue yarns.


    • Malorie Urbanovitch A multi-coloured boucle dress worn with a sheer, iridescent, blue baseball jacket.


    • Malorie Urbanovitch Straight leg, high-waisted pants worn with a sage green tie-front vest.


    • Malorie Urbanovitch A sage green look composed of a loosely knit tank top and wide leg pants.


    • Malorie Urbanovitch A paneled cream dress worn under an oversized cropped blazer.


    • Malorie Urbanovitch A purposely pilled beige pencil skirt worn with a cream tie-front vest.


    • Malorie Urbanovitch A purposely pilled beige dress with contrasting cream sleeves.


    • Christopher Bates A super sharp black tuxedo worn by a super suave model carrying a single red rose for one lucky lady in the audience.


    • Christopher Bates A super sharp, black-and-white tuxedo.


    • Christopher Bates A black and white getup featuring shorts, a waistcoat, colour-blocked shirt, and loose suspenders.


    • Christopher Bates A grey blazer, white shirt, and waxy black pants.


    • Christopher Bates A grey shirt worn under a camel-coloured suede jacket and white pants.


    • Christopher Bates A shiny blue grid-pattern shirt juxtaposed with white details, and white pants with loose suspenders.


    • Christopher Bates A blue, distressed leather jacket and waxy black pants with pleats at the knee.


    • Christopher Bates An all-black look featuring jacket and pants in a waxy fabric.


    • Nicole Campre A grey chiffon dress, worn underneath a vest with the cleavage cut out.


    • Nicole Campre A white brocade top with a mandarin collar, off-white jacket, and long form-fitting skirt.


    • Nicole Campre A white brocade vest with the cleavage cut out, worn with a pleated maxi skirt.


    • Nicole Campre A white dress featuring cross straps and a pleated chiffon skirt.


    • Nicole Campre A white, high-neck tank top worn with pleated, straight-leg pants.


    • Nicole Campre A white slip dress worn over a pleated chiffon maxi skirt.


    • Nicole Campre A long, pastel orange tank dress paired with chiffon pants.


    • Dreamboat Lucy A maxi dress in a grey, all-over abstract print, with shoulder cut-outs and navy piping along the v-neckline.


    • Dreamboat Lucy A pantsuit in a grey, all-over abstract print.


    • Dreamboat Lucy A sparkle grey t-shirt worn with a navy maxi skirt and an eclectic necklace.


    • Dreamboat Lucy A metallic silver swimsuit worn with a rust orange cover-up.


    • Dreamboat Lucy An earth-toned halter neck dress with an abstract art print.


    • Dreamboat Lucy A rust orange blouse with shoulder cut-outs and abstract print shorts.


    • Dreamboat Lucy A sheer, lavender robe with art-print ribbing, a bright-orange mini skirt, and a double strapped skinny belt.


    • Dreamboat Lucy A lavender dress with sparkly silver panels, worn with a grey motorcycle jacket and a double-strapped skinny belt.


    • Pure Magnolia A white, sweetheart dress with a long train and understated lace overlays under the bust.


    • Pure Magnolia A white dress with a lace overlay.


    • Pure Magnolia A simple, v-neck, embroidered dress with a pearl beaded waistline.


    • Pure Magnolia A strapless, off-white dress with a black mesh overlay, pulled together using a beaded waistline.


    • Pure Magnolia An off-white wedding dress with a sweetheart neckline, understated beading, and pockets.


    • Pure Magnolia An off-white dress with a minimal sweetheart neckline and a mesh bodice.


    • Pure Magnolia A white dress featuring lengthy tulle and a strategically-placed black lace overlay


    • Pure Magnolia An evening wear dress with a sweetheart neckline, black lace overlay, and super long train of tulle.


    • Lauren Bagliore An olive green, crinkle chiffon dress with a drawstring waist, worn with a shiny, black, asymmetrical coat.


    • Lauren Bagliore A black maxi dress with a high neck and a gathered side knot.


    • Lauren Bagliore A draped, black-and-white art-print dress.


    • Lauren Bagliore A draped tank top in a black-and-white art print, worn with a bubble skirt reminiscent of garbage bags and a trench coat-esque vest.


    • Lauren Bagliore An asymmetric, sheer, white dress worn with a trench coat-esque vest.


    • Lauren Bagliore A black-and-white look, featuring an asymmetrical dress worn with a trench coat-esque vest.


    • Lauren Bagliore A draped dress made of a grunge-y crinkled chiffon fabric.


    • Lauren Bagliore A diagonally-layered black dress with crinkled mauve chiffon details.

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