LG Toronto Fashion Week Volunteer Diary Day 5

Alas the last day of Toronto Fashion Week came. By this time I was getting tired and lacked the excitement I had at the beginning of the week. Volunteers were scarce the crowd continue to come in large sums. The volunteer leads were getting stressed and burnt out but they were making the best of what they have. I was happy to be there and willing to give a hand and give a hand I did.
Firs duty of the day was to remove the chairs from the studio and disassemble them. That had to be the most manual work I had to do all week. The volunteers were great though since by the end of the week all the bad ones were weeded out.

To be honest I was only there for one thing: AMANDA LEW KEE. This entry should be entitled 'My Amanda Lew Kee Experience Diary'. I was willing to do any work as long as I was allowed to watch the show. What I admire about Lew Kee is that she represents the next generation, my generation. She's a good role model for those trying to kickstart a career and show what is possible with passion and hard work. Lew Kee, fresh from Ryerson University for fashion design has talent and a vision that is all her own. I was fortunate enough to talk to her relatives and how at 23 is showing at LGFW already. Of course that was whenever I would stop raving how its the only show I was anticipating the whole week and I also lost my ability to contain my excitement. I begged to meet her but that didn't happen which is understandable since she was probably super busy.

This girl walked all week and had one of the best walks.

This model's face reminded me of Littlefoot from Land Before Time. Intriguing.

I did get to watch the show and I have to say I was a bit underwhelmed. It was definitely a younger POV. What I liked were the zippers and sheer fabrics but to be honest these are trends (a la Wang) already and I expect a designer to be a visionary. Lew Kee did introduce this shiny fabric that reminds me of sushi fish paper that I could buy into something as fashion forward. What I didn't like was the cheap looking New Years/Christmas tinsel fabric in bright tangerine and ultramarine. Lew Kee did mention the fabric choices were inspired by nature like lava but it came more across as a campy literal execution of wearing the party itself. Maybe the nature idea would have worked better as a print or draping in rich colours. I also didn't like the rose placements on the chest on one particular dress. On the right girl it's cheeky but for most people it's distasteful especially with the pairing of sheer fabric. As a whole Lew Kee is talented and creative but a piece of advice would be to edit edit edit! Channel your talent accordingly. I encourage trying crazy fabrics but maybe apply them to classic pieces. Deconstruct classic shapes and Lew Kee-fy them. Tailoring is the foundation to great design which other design aspects rely on. In the end most of these clothes need to be sold therefore business saviness is going to be part of the formula in whats makes a design great. I was happy to see the one show I wanted to see and I cannot wait to see Lew Kee continue her evolution and represent the youth in Toronto Fashion Week.

Front seat spectators at Amanda Lew Kee. Those attractive strollers are "gift bags"

I pretty much left after the show and said goodbye to my newfound friends. I went on my merry way back home with a new appreciation for fashion thanks to volunteering for Toronto Fashion Week.


Till next season!