Gentlemen prefer blondes…or at least Alfred Hitchcock did. And, like the Master of Suspense, Pink Tartan’s Fall/Winter 2013 collection prefers its blondes of the ice queen variety: cool in expression and deadly in glamour.
Below the bounce of blonde wigs tucked into the shape of heaping faux bobs, souvenirs of ’50s era ultra femininity accented runway looks.
A tapestry print sleeveless shift dress — deep purple and cobalt blue in hue — balanced the girlish whimsy of its winter florals with the sleek allure of leather gloves cut dramatically at the elbow. Such touches of the femme fatale were a show theme, declared in a liberal dash of fur, seen in a scarf strewn over a demure satin dress with full skirt, as in a luxurious swinging coat layered on top a black lace slip.
Like the timeless elegance of designer Kimberly Newport-Mimran’s latest collection, The National Ballet of Canada’s Sonia Rodriguez is characterized by simple grace. A principal dancer with the company, Rodriguez took a break from the barre to join us at Pink Tartan’s World MasterCard Fashion Week show.
Currently performing in choreographer James Kudelka’s classic The Four Seasons & Emergence (on till March 24th), Rodriguez — whose starring roles include Juliet in the world premiere of Alexei Ratmansky’s Romeo and Juliet, the title character in the North American premiere of Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland by Christopher Wheeldon, and Ophelia in Kevin O’Day’s Hamlet — will be traveling over seas next month with the company for its London production of Romeo and Juliet.
With premieres and events at home and abroad to attend (like the gala for her induction into Canada’s Walk of Fame last year), the beautiful ballerina has more than enough reasons to keep tabs on the latest fashion. And though she admits to living in jeans, Rodriguez couldn’t help but covet pieces from Pink Tartan’s Fall/Winter 2013 runway. As the light’s turn on, she smiles and sighs, “I’m left wanting more.”
Below, Rodriguez’s thoughts on the runway.
RATE THE IMPORTANCE OF FASHION IN YOUR LIFE.
In my everyday life it’s not that important, but at the same time I do have to attend lots of events, so all of a sudden it becomes important whether you want it to or not. Let’s just put it at an 8 because of that.
BASED ON WHAT YOU’VE SEEN TONIGHT. WHAT DO YOU PREDICT TO BE THE BIGGEST TREND TO HIT THE STREETS NEXT SEASON?
In this particular show, I was surprised to see so much fur, I noticed that from the beginning — colour fur, which was fun. I was happy to see the use of leather also…I love leather and think that using leather with knit is a really nice combination for dresses. That retro feel really dominated the whole show, and it had a little touch of glamour, which was nice too.
DO YOU THINK YOU’LL INCORPORATE THIS TREND INTO YOUR OWN WARDROBE?
Maybe I’ll go for the faux fur…colourful fur. I love jackets, I like clothing that is structured…there were a couple of items that followed that style.
ARE YOU MORE OF A TREND PERSON OR A STAPLES PERSON?
Staples…not to say that if something really attracts me, and something is really fun and it’s not a staple, I’m mean I won’t buy it, but that’s not what my wardrobe is mainly made of. I don’t like following trends, as much as following what I feel comfortable wearing or what shows my personality. I think fashion should be a little bit of an extension of who you are.
WHAT IS THE MOST GLAMOROUS PIECE IN YOUR CLOSET AND WHAT IS THE MOST COZY?
Cozy…I mean I wear jeans all the time…I have 15-20 pairs of jeans. I’m trying to think…cozy, probably a sweater, I have this long cashmere sweater. And glamorous…ummm, probably a vintage dress that I have from the ‘20s. It’s kind of like a flapper dress, it’s from Spain.
IF YOU COULD TAKE ONE PIECE FROM THE RUNWAY WHAT WOULD IT BE?
One piece? Can I take three? I love the green dress. I love jackets…I love the black coat with the gold buttons, and then for evening, I like that black dress that was sort of like a cape.
IF YOU COULD WATCH TONIGHT’S SHOW WITH ANY CELEBRITY, DEAD OR ALIVE, WHO WOULD IT BE?
I think Audrey Hepburn. I admire her as an actress…just her whole aura. And in fashion, I think her style was so timeless and beautiful, that I think it would be interesting to sit down and chat with her about what’s going on nowadays. I think she would have actually really enjoyed this show…I think she would have looked great in a lot of those pieces.
WHAT SONG WOULD YOU CHOOSE AS THE RUNWAY SOUNDTRACK TO THIS COLLECTION?
Oh god, I have no idea…those models they looked extremely upset about something, they looked like ‘The Real House Wives of TorontO,’ that whole little video set that up really nicely I think. I don’t know…I’m really bad with songs…it would be a fight song, but I can’t think of any right now.
WHO IS THE MOST IMPORTANT PERSON TO IMPRESS AT FASHION WEEK?
Well for me, nobody…but when I look around it seems like everyone was trying to impress the media in general. I think the photographers — the camera men — are the ones more in demand around here. I think everybody likes their fifteen minutes of fame, and this seems like a good place to try to get that.
WHAT WAS THE SINGLE ELEMENT ABOUT THIS FASHION WEEK THAT IMPRESSED YOU MOST, ON OR OFF RUNWAY?
I think just how quickly the turn around happens from show to show. I mean, I just walked backstage and it was mayhem. I don’t know how they know who their models are or what’s going on, yet somehow it seems very well organized. So, I think just sort of that organized chaos is pretty impressive. It seems to be flowing quite seamlessly
