Toronto Fashion Week – Lauren Bagliore Spring 2011: La Risurrezione
Lauren Bagliore (pronounced “bal-your-ray”) was one of many newcomers to the LG Fashion Week schedule this season. When the calendar was first released, I checked out the site for her eponymous line and decided, quite frankly, that her designs were badass and that I wanted to witness her work in person. I realize ‘badass’ isn’t a very technical fashion term, but it is exactly the word that I uttered to my laptop as I scrolled through photos of her Fall 2010 collection. I was officially intrigued and very much looking forward to her Spring 2011 show.
The day of the show arrives and I find myself running rather late and hoping that Lauren Bagliore is as well. I manage to arrive in the runway environment just as the music starts, so I have no time to find my seat; I settle for the photography pit, which turns out to be a blessing in disguise. I have the perfect vantage point from which to see Bagliore’s designs, and I’m completely taken by it all. Many of the looks are as deliciously dark as her Fall 2010 collection, but Bagliore has complemented these with light, airy pieces as well. Titled La Risurrezione: Dalla Scura alla Luce / The Resurrection: From the Dark to the Light, Bagliore’s Spring 2011 collection strikes a perfect balance between dark and light, hard and soft.
Backstage after the show, I have the chance to chat with Bagliore, and she’s a breath of fresh air. Her designs may be dark, but Bagliore appears anything but; she comes across incredibly down-to-earth and very much in love with what she does. She’s more than happy to chat about how her first LGFW outing came about, the show preparation process, and the inspirations for the collection. Bagliore tells me that, after a year filled with personal tragedies, this collection almost didn’t get made and that she only had 2-and-a-half weeks to prepare for LGFW.
I’m stunned at this revelation, because now that the models are standing just inches from me, I’m even more blown away by the pieces, inside and out. The Gioia cropped jacket in particular catches my eye – from the beautiful blush silk jacquard inside lining to the intricate embellishments and draped twist on the outside, I’m completely smitten.
The fiercer than fierce Wilhelmina WaSPY trench done in a high-tech Japanese hematite nylon is a close second in my books.
The many dresses aren’t far behind on my list of loves - they’re all so perfectly draped.
Currently stocked at Outerluxe in New York, Bagliore is in talks with high-end department stores on both sides of the border, and I can’t wait to see her Spring 2011 collection hit the sales floors.
xx, S
