Text, Photo : Christine Elizabeth Laprade Holt Renfrew held a media event on July 20 whereby Fashion Director VP Barbara Atkin presented the Fall/Winter biggest trends to a very select audience. “Exclusivity is obsolete. Exclusivity is how we now service our customers, exclusivity is about the whole shopping experience. Anyone can shop online, so the shopping experience and outstanding customer service is what truly sets us apart’, explained Barbara Atkin. It’s never been more true. A vintage Chanel purse can be purchased on Ebay, but many willingly pay a hefty tag price for the complete “in-store” experience which is on a whole other level. Holt Renfrew is synonymous for quality, “exclusivity”, prestige, pure luxury. Few Quebec designers can boast that they sell to HR, besides Denis Gagnon, Matt & Nat and Erdem ((born in Montreal). So what does this mean? Are typical HR customers snubbing local designers? Or simply unaware of the vast majority of them? Is an Eve Gravel dress up to HR quality standards? Are the Quebec designers simply too small to sustain such large scale production? The question is open to many interpretations. In my opinion, many clients would rather splurge $600 on a Prada bikini than an Aqua di Lara one – and it’s a shame. Basically, it’s a status thing. At least for some people… Let’s face it, if Holt Renfrew’s primary clientele is corporate, it doesn’t allow for a very daring, edgy clothing selection (think Anomal Couture). Therefore, Marie Saint Pierre would be a perfect fit at Holt’s with her smart, feminine, high quality, dashing designs. According to Christine Tremblay, personal shopper at HR, local designers must integrate several important aspects: quality of confection, attention to details, and distinct style, as their collections must represent their talent in its totality. The European designers primary strength is their ability to anticipate new trends and integrate them easily into their lines. One thing is for sure: whether you are into local or European designers… Get ready for one V.I.P. (Vavavoom/Icelandic/Preppy) chic season! for more information about this event : The Vigilant Fashionista

Posted under Fashion, design, montreal, press

Captain Morgan knows that even spontaneous celebrations need some planning. See how in his new video, 'Ride Home.' Academy Award-winning director Tom Hooper joined Captain Morgan aboard a 17th Century replica of the Galleon Andalucia in an undisclosed tropical location last week to film a new campaign for the celebrated rum brand. Brand director, Captain Morgan USA: Tom Herbst Set in the mid-1600?s, the campaign will – for the first time ever – feature the re-imagined history of legendary privateer and brand icon, Captain Henry Morgan. Diageo (Dee-AH-Gee-O) is the world’s leading premium drinks business with a collection of beverage alcohol brands across spirits, wines, and beer categories. Keywords: Captain Morgan, Captain Morgan US, Life Love and Loot, Spiced Rum, Tom Hooper, Rum, Ride Home, Drink Responsibly, Responsible Drinking, Designated Driver The commercial titled Ride Home was done for Captain Morgan Rum (for Captain Morgan) in United States. It was released in the July 2011. Business sector is Alcoholic drinks. via advertolog.com

Posted under Advertising

It's pretty hard not to get excited when you hear the names Pat Mahoney & James Murphy especially when it is followed by the words DJ Set. If you are a huge fan of LCD Soundsystem or just like of Punk/Funk/Disco you can be sure to expect a musical journey of jems and rareities all on vinyl. For any aspiring DJ or music aficionado you just want to find out every track and hit up every used vinyl shop the next day. So you can literally kill yourself trying to Shazam every track or you can what you're supposed to do when they man the decks: drink dance, drink and dance, dance & dance!! You can catch the two when they play at the intimate venue L'Olympia on July 30th, 2011 for the MEG Festival. Tickets are $30 and you can pick them up online here. In addition to putting one of the best shows this Summer the awesome people at MEG Montreal gave us a couple of tickets to giveaway. To win a pair follow us on Twitter @ilovemontreal and tweet "I<3DISCO & I wanna win tickets to see Pat Mahoney & James Murphy from @Ilovemontreal !! RT to win!" the lucky winner will be announced on Thursday evening.

Posted under Events, montreal, music

By Dahlia Pham Jean-Paul Gaultier is bringing his Ready-To-Wear Fall 2011-2012 collection to kick off the Montreal Fashion & Design Festival (#FMDM11) on August 3^rd. L’enfant terrible of the fashion world has charmed our fair city and swept it off its feet with his retrospective exhibition at the Montreal Museum of Fine Arts in June, and will continue to woo us this August. Montreal has been pulling a lot of global attention since Yves Saint Laurent’s retrospective in 2008, and with receiving Jean-Paul Gaultier, the city’s efforts to bring top fashion houses to our grounds have paid off so far. A first time collaboration with Montreal’s Opera House is in the plans, where a runway collection will show a blend of costume designs, music and opera. The show will then travel to Hollywood for the very first time. The festival will continue with its usual programme of hourly shows of local and international fashion brands with musical acts serving as soundtracks à la Fashion Rocks. One of the highlights will be a fashion show of 25 looks styled by 5 different bloggers. Known in the local fashion blogosphere, Gabrielle Lacasse (Dentelle & Fleurs), Robyn Chalmers (Fashionista 514), Patrick (Je suis l’aristocrate), Lolitta Dandoy, and Marle Darsingy, Josiane Stratis and Carolane Stratis (Ton petit look), will all bring a cohesive collection to the public on August 4^th. A couple of surprises are in store. The city’s love affair of entirely pedestrian streets continues as Sensation Mode announced that Ste-Catherine street will be closed off for the Rallye Shopping. The latter of which is the equivalent to New York’s Fashion’s Night Out, an all-out fashion shopping frenzy involving discounts, cocktails, cupcakes, swag and yes, pop up shops too. With stores opened until 10pm on Friday, August 5^th, who knows who you’ll be bumping into. This year’s edition will also be adding a design element, where the public is encouraged to learn more about of the disciplines of design – from graphic design to industrial design. Place Ville Marie is currently hosting the exhibition of these projects thru September 30, 2011. Make sure not to miss the online element of design of Zilon and L’atelier J (famous for its blog jjjjound.com). Bref, for a 4 day festival, there’s a lot to cover. And with this fine summer weather that the city has been experiencing, there’s nothing better than to shop, watch, and stuff your face with cupcakes. Oh, and did we mention that there’s a high heels shoe race? Yes, that’ll be fun to watch (or cringe). Sensation Mode’s spokesperson, Genevieve Borne, announced the unveiling of this year’s programme at a recent press cocktail held at the Crystal de la Montagne Hotel. One glaring issue they had conveniently left out was addressing the press conference in English. While most the crowd who attended have a good command of the English language, the entire announcement was in French. Were it not for our somewhat natural bilingual nature, any pure anglos who came from elsewhere wouldn’t have understood a word of what was being announced. Language debate aside, it does raise the question of whether the festival’s organizers want to keep this event for locals, or try to grow it into something bigger. If the latter, they need to think about doing proper translation for foreign media. Luckily for you readers, we’ve got the highlights for you, and the rest, well, you can try to decipher it on the festival’s website.

Posted under Events, Fashion, Graphic, art, conference, design, exhibition, furniture, industrial, montreal, music, networking, photography, press, street art

Can't Stop..Won't Stop!! And 10 years to prove it! To conclude it's 10 year Anniversary Celebrations, the Place D'Armes Hotel & Suites have collaborated with everybody's favorite Montreal Designer, Denis Gagnon. Also sharing his 10 years of design, Denis Gagnon is at it again and this time offers his talent to one of the infamous establishments of Old Montreal's Antonopoulos Group. As of July 2011, Denis has delicately created the new uniforms that will be worn by the front desk personnel of the Place D'Armes hotel. The concierges, receptionists, and valets will all be adorned in black and white outfits that display simplicity and sophistication all wrapped up in a unique touch of designer couture. Using his signature zipper detail, the typical mens blazer has been tweeked to show style and stature. For the women, refinement and sophistication takes on a new form with a disctinctive scarf that will surely grab anyone's attention. Without a doubt, Denis illustrates that clothing is everything and first impressions are meant to last forever. This partnership is another brilliant way to showcase our local city talent in a new light. The everlasting beauty of the Place D'Armes hotel pairs with fashion and design like fine wine. A great way to celebrate 10 years of success!

The Antonopoulos Group, a close knit family run business, employs more than 600 people in their 13 establishments of hotel, bar, restaurant and spa holdings located in Old Montreal. These include: Auberge du Vieux-Port, Narcisse Bistro + Bar a Vin, Terasse de l'Auberge du Vieux-Port, Lofts du Vieux-Port, Hotel Nelligan, Verses Restaurant, Mechant Boeuf Bar & Brasserie, Terasse Nelligan, Le Place D'Armes Hotel & Suites, Aix Cuisine du Terroir, Suite 701, Terasse 701, Le Petit Hotel, Galianos, Modavie Restaurant Wine Bar and Vieux Port Steakhouse.

Posted under Fashion, art, hotel, montreal

Our close friend Antoine Tavaglione from has been very busy these days in the art world. After the success from his politically driven/tongue & cheek first exhibit (80% of the pieces sold) last year titled: CHE VU?" (meaning: what do you want? in italian dialect) Antoine aka Tava is back with a new exhibit: Dirty Does It. This time Tava parodies pop culture from the 50's, sports to a famous a famous animation studio (you know the one that has the mouse that rhymes with Dickey) but still with his tongue planted firmly on his cheek (think Andy Warhol if he was making art using illustrator). Being one of our close friends you know were are going to say don't miss the vernisage at Galerie Espace on August 11th starting at 5pm. The exhibit will be on display from August 10th - 16th (12pm - 9pm). See there!

Posted under Events, art, exhibition, montreal, street art

The commercial titled Independence was done by Arnold Worldwide advertising agency for Jack Daniel's Whisky (for Jack Daniel's) in United States. It was released in the July 2011. Business sector is Alcoholic drinks. View the finished posters at jackindependence.com. Agency: Arnold Worldwide Client: Jack Daniel's Chief Creative Officer: Pete Favat Producer: Billy Near Producer: Ben Ouellette Art Buyer: Andrea Ricker Business Affairs: Maria Rougvie Project Management: Lauren Butterworth Account Management: Paul Nelson, Nate Stewart, Shannon Coletti, Arden Clapp Production Company: Prettybird via advertolog.com

Posted under Advertising

#FantasiaFest n'a plus besoin de présentation. Depuis sa fondation en 1996, le Festival international de films Fantasia est maintenant reconnu comme le plus grand et plus influent festival de sa catégorie en Amérique du Nord. Cette année, la programmation est composée de plus de 120 long métrages et de plusieurs centaines de court métrages. Illustration : Donald Caron Nous avons épluché le très volumineux programme pour vous ressortir quelques films incontournables. The Robot Imaginez une comédie sentimentale empruntant un magma jouissif d’idées à TERMINATOR, A.I., I ROBOT, MATRIX, IRON MAN, BICENTENNIAL MAN et TRANSFORMERS. Ajoutez des numéros musicaux tantôt exotiques, tantôt robotiques, parfois psychédéliques, et vous commencez à avoir une idée de ce qui vous attend. ENDHIRAN est le film indien ayant bénéficié du plus gros budget de l'histoire du pays et a remporté un succès colossal à sa sortie en salles. Après avoir vu ce spectacle ahurissant, vous comprendrez pourquoi! The FP Revêtez vos plus beaux jeans délavés, attachez votre bandana autour de votre jambe et crêpez vos cheveux au maximum parce que les années 80 sont de retour. Les années 80 telles que filtrées au travers de jalons du cinéma de gang de l’ère VHS tels que ESCAPE FROM NEW YORK, THE WARRIORS et CLASS OF 1984! Les frères Trost et leur équipe de zigotos signent ici une grotesque mixture oscillant de manière indécise entre la célébration et la satire des films de série B des années 80, desquels ils empruntent le style kitschissime. Redline Ayant pris plus de 5 ans à compléter, REDLINE est le nouveau bijou de Madhouse, le studio d’animation qui, depuis plus de 40 ans, a créé et contribué à des œuvres innovatrices de l'anime telles que NINJA SCROLL et METROPOLIS, ainsi qu'aux films et téléséries de Satoshi Kon. Possédant un style visuel dense et dynamique inspiré autant par la BD britannique et européenne que par l’anime conventionnel, REDLINE fut créé pour séduire un vaste public et fera baver les maniaques de sports automobiles. The Devil’s Double THE DEVIL’S DOUBLE révèle un monde d’opulence vertigineuse et d’hédonisme sans retenue, où le plus grand faste masque la plus écoeurante dépravation, et où se dessine une histoire si monstrueuse et démesurée qu’elle ne peut être que véridique. Adapté de l’œuvre éponyme de Yahia, le film raconte comment l’ancien camarade de classe d’Uday Hussein fut forcé sous la terreur à servir d’appât à de potentiels assassins. Après des mois d’entraînement rigoureux afin de parler et se mouvoir comme son modèle, après avoir subi des interventions chirurgicales pour modifier son apparence, l’existence de Yahia fut bouleversée à jamais. Karaoke Dreams n film de Jean Leloup, oui, Jean Leloup!!! Après avoir tâté de plusieurs métiers, dont celui de vedette, Jean Leclerc alias Jean Leloup, héros de la guitare, décide de devenir Dr Johny Welltiper, cinéaste-médecin opérant l'inconscient humain afin d'en extraire des capsules de rêve pur à 100 % garanti sans formatage. Jean Leloup a toujours été un visuel. Pensez-y, il attache de l’importance aux looks de chacun de ses personnages, ses pochettes sont soignées et ses chansons sont souvent descriptives. et on termine avec l'évènement : The Phantom of the Opera Dans le cadre d’une soirée de gala, Fantasia présente la projection exceptionnelle d’une copie 35mm en parfaite condition du classique du muet de 1925 THE PHANTOM OF THE OPERA, le chef-d’œuvre de Rupert Julian avec Lon Chaney. Cette séance sera accompagnée par un orchestre de 30 musiciens qui performera une composition originale de Gabriel Thibaudeau au prestigieux Théâtre Maisonneuve de la Place des Arts. Pour plus d’information et pour l’horaire des événements : www.fantasiafestival.com

Posted under Events, Films, Video, art, inspiration, montreal, motion, music