ALEXANDER MCQUEEN S/S 2012

To my delight as I flipped through my Vanity Fair Hollywood Issue, I fell upon Alexander McQueen S/S 2012 photographed by David Sims, featuring model Zuzanna Bijoch...

 

Arcade Fire Wins 2011 Polaris Music Prize!

Last night the winner of a $30,000 award was decided upon and announced at the 2011 Polaris Music Prize Gala. Held at Toronto's Masonic Temple, the gala opened with an awesome mashup of nominees (seen above) and went on to include live performances by 6 of the 10 shortlisted nominees: Ron Sexsmith, Austra, Timber Timbre, Galaxie, BRAIDS, and Hey, Rosetta!
The interesting thing about this gala was that the winner of the prize was actually being decided upon as the event unfolded. Very exciting stuff. Personally I had my money on BRAIDS, a group based out of Montreal by way of Calgary. Their performance was by far the stand-out of the night. While every band was amazing, during this set you could literally hear a pin drop. Everyone's faces were glued to the stage, a few literally gaping in awe of the music (mine included).

BRAIDS

But of course, Arcade Fire was the front-runner and it was no big surprise that they took the award home at the end of the night. As one of the MC's jested while announcing the nominees, the nine bands standing against Arcade Fire were the "nine other dark horses". But this wasn't based on sales or previous awards won, though obvious biases were unavoidable (aahem, Grammy winners..). The Polaris Prize prides itself on being based on a consideration of artistic merit of an entire album. And really, if you've ever listened to The Suburbs from start to finish you can see why it needed to win.

Win and Will Butler Accept 2011 Polaris Music Prize on behalf of Arcade Fire

Though Arcade Fire did not perform, brothers Win and Will Butler graciously accepted the $30,000 check on behalf of the band. When asked what they might do with the money, casually (and half-jokingly) invited every musician in the room to come record in their Montreal studio! Now that's the kind of down-to-earth camaraderie that makes Canadian music great. Congrats Arcade Fire.

CHLOE Fall 2011 Ad Campaign

For their F/W 2011 campaign, Chloe has enlisted a quartet of young beauties including Zuzanna Bijoch, Sigrid Agren, Arizona Muse, and Malgosia Bela, photographed by David Sims.

I first fell in love with Chloe ads with the 2007 S/S campaign featuring my fave Anja Rubik and shot by the genius team Inez & Vinoodh. Since then I've loved keeping track of their campaigns, and how the label seems to constantly make the right choices when it comes to reflecting their brand through the art of advertising.

This season Chloe has chosen a much more whimsical visual, with a vintage vibe that flows nicely from the S/S 2011 campaign (also shot by David Sims). Where the spring campaign featured more structure, with a muted eggshell-like quality to the images, the latest photos have adopted a more free-spirited and wild vibe. It's like a liberation... more colour, more movement... I love the story being told here, what girl wouldn't want to be part of it?

Kate Moss: The Wedding

Kate Moss & Jamie Hince tied the knot this summer, and it is only appropriate that the nuptials should grace the pages of this year's September issue of Vogue. 

The bride wore white, an intricate 30s-style Galliano dress, and named The Great Gatsby as a major wedding inspiration. Here are some of Mario Testino's shots of the big day, which will be featured exclusively in the magazine. Suffice it to say the wedding looks magical, and we would expect nothing less. 

On the Cover of Rolling Stone...THE SHEEPDOGS

THEY DID IT! The Sheepdogs are officially the first unsigned band to grace the cover of Rolling Stone. Congrats boys.

Excellent. I'm so excited. They've made Canada proud and give us all hope that rock n' roll lives on. Now I must go out and buy a copy or five.