Toronto Fashion Week - Spring 2012: Home décor company Korhani turns carpet into couture

Home décor company Korhani turned its carpets into couture at Toronto Fashion Week Monday night. The Toronto-based manufacturer repurposed its rugs for the runway, showcasing a unique collection of “Mongolian”-inspired capes, punky, studded pants and regal gowns. It’s a stunt that style-watchers have seen before and creative director Kirsten Korhani hopes the third time still charms.
“We’re trying to evolve, make it better, make it more interesting,” she said. “We have to step it up every season.”
Korhani at Toronto Fashion Week: Photos
Korhani said she tries to improve upon designs shown last March and October. “You already see that . . . there’s so many different creations and things that changed from the first season.”
Korhani added that this collection has a wider selection of garments with “more diversification” in style and construction.
Stylish Torontonians won’t tire of collections that show carpet turned into clothes, said Kai Exos, chief creative officer at Spoke, a Toronto-based ad agency that specializes in lifestyle, retail and entertainment.
“If it’s well-received and improving every year, then why not?” he said. “Most brands would kill to have a show in fashion week with that audience and get that kind of action.”
Korhani’s off-beat shows have raised the company’s profile, Exos added.
“What they’re doing is not so much for sales, it’s for awareness,” he said. “They’re trying to capitalize on an audience that has expendable cash for rugs.”
In terms of revenue, the shows have increased Korhani’s sales “by big numbers,” owner Moji Korhani said after the show Monday night.
The rug company also has plans to expand to the U.S. and Berlin, he added.
For her part, Korhani says the shows market to customers interested in both apparel and home fashion. “(The industries) are getting closer and closer. One can’t live without the other. I think the target customer is really the same.”
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PAVONI AT FASHION WEEK - SPRING 2012

The Pavoni label designed by childhood friends from Montreal, Gianni Falcone and Mike Derderian, made its runway debut in Canada on opening night at World Mastercard Fashion Week.
But it almost didn’t happen. One half of the design duo arrived from Paris with the clothes just a few hours before the show. Fittings had yet to be done. And forget about rehearsals. There just wasn’t time.
The duo started their label of glamourama evening wear just three seasons ago and it is already sold in London, Eastern European capitals, Russia and the Middle East. Celebs such as Shakira, Fergie and Katy Perry have worn their opulent designs.
Photos: Pavoni at Toronto Fashion Week
But they have yet to find a retailer in Canada to stock the line.
They admit they did things in reverse. They started in Paris, where the label took off and now they have returned to Canada to show for the first time.
The collection they showed featured a dazzling lineup of Oscar-worthy gowns that look like they were in search of a starlet, a red carpet and paparazzi light bulbs. Form hugging, lavishly embellished with beading, lace, feathers and rosettes with plenty of exposed skin covered in nude netting to showcase lace like an ornate tattoo effect.
If at times it looked overwrought and overblown — those are just overtures of their bridal design background. The duo started out in wedding dresses but quickly found a demand for their dazzling evening wear.
It was only the first night of World Mastercard Fashion Week but we can say a gem of a collection was discovered.
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LUCIAN MATIS AT TORONTO FASHION WEKK

Lucian Matis is Canadian fashion’s consummate showman with a flair for theatrical productions. He staged his fall 2012 collection in one of the soaring ballrooms of The Fairmont Royal York Hotel. In such ornate surroundings, he delivered a dark and dramatic collection of mostly evening wear that featured feathers, handwoven lace and croc prints.
Photos: Matis’ collection on runway
With some of the models’ fingers also featuring black talons, one would be forgiven for thinking the designer was influenced by the macabre darkness of Black Swan. But backstage, Matis said he was exploring the beauty of symmetry found in nature — like the mirrored patterns on a butterfly wings.
He mimicked such artistry with handwoven lace he designed, which he used to lavish effect on full length gowns with nude underlay — some took 14 days to complete. But he also used it sparingly on other looks for a whimsical effect. Like a jacket, whose cut out back featured a lace insert, making it look like cobwebby window.
It was with a collection that was both grand and opulent but felt delicate and fragile at the same time.
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