One week + a day until the official launch party of BAZZUL Studio’s collaboration collection with L A B & iD. It’s going down Saturday May 18 @ Brockton Collective.  We seriously cannot get enough of this exciting new local brand, and want you in on this major event.  Toronto’s very own Condocoon and Drang will be keeping you lit for the night with very special guest DJ Roberto Piqueras flying in from London, UK!  Preview a few pieces from Roberto’s newest collection, then head over to L A B & iD to buy everything you’ve seen from the night.

Almost another year has gone and what a year it was: Harper’s gone and mucked up parliament even more, people just can’t stop arguing about #seapunk, Barack is back, The Hobbit came out, and I got a few more followers. Regardless how you look at it 2012, like every year has some TERRIBLE style.  Some of us here at PinkMafia want to hate and here’s what we hate:

“Stretched Ears/Chest Tattoos and or neck tats on girls (why is this so common now) ie. looking like an unemployable gutter punk fuck wit.
Skrillex Hair/Dubstep (they are synonymous for me)
Why doesn’t anyone see that this is just Emo regurgitated and more permanent-Emo’s just changed their jeans and stopped straightening their hair, these gutter Dubstep assholes are stuck with cat-asshole ears for life.”

There are few places in the city that are one-stop shopping for denim and casual wear in Toronto; Over the Rainbow is the most expensive, Holt Renfrew is the most extensive, and Lavish & Squalor is the best all-round. We’ve been getting our winter and spring denim at Lavish & Squalor for years. It’s the only place where you can get boutique service with a wide selection of denim. Cause if you’re over 22, then lord knows, H+M and other big box stores are out of the question for denim.

-All Photos by Jason Gordon

Since 2008 evian has collaborated with the world’s most esteemed designers to create an annual limited eition glass bottle. In the past, designer who’ve taken part include: Christian Lacroix, Jean Paul Gaultier, and Issey Miyake among others. This year, Diane von Furstenberg is the first female designer to lend her hand to the iconic bottle. We’re giving away a $150 gift certificate to the resto of your choice (list of participating restaurants below) where you will also enjoy this limited edition bottle of evian.

Restaurant choices include:

Blowfish
Museum Tavern
Lucien
E11even
Harbour Sixty Steakhouse
The Keg (anywhere in Canada)
Jack Astor’s (anywhere in Canada)

To enter to win, you need to be signed up to the PinkMafia newsletter. Sign up on our homepage.

BAZZUL Studios  has been in the works for the last 2 years and on Friday September 21st they hosted friends, family and industry at Brockton Collective for their official kick off. A lifestyle brand for more than one lifestyle, BAZZUL Studios is set to launch a capsule collection of denim and ready to wear in 2013.

Looking to get the first set of showroom ready samples produced, BAZZUL has launched an Indiegogo campaign (the same idea as Kickstarter except with a slightly more ridiculous name). The idea is to get the funds to push BAZZUL to the next level and showcase this ballin’ denim and bangin’ ready to wear at trade shows near and far. The brand is in the early stages, and before it can make an appearance in your wardrobe, BAZZUL is going to need a little help.

In case you didn’t think they were serious, BAZZUL put together some serious rewards (such as thank you videos, custom Ts,  a pair of personalized jeans, etc.) and a substantial backgrounder, offering up a detailed breakdown of the game plan over on Indiegogo. As it goes with crowd-funding, every $$ helps.

Head over to BAZZUL. Watch the video. Look over the ‘prize’ packs to see what best suits YOU & support local talent.

We rounded up a bunch of goofs we know with good style for the Men’s Fall piece. It’s officially chilly. Summer is way over, and here’s a look at the warm and snugglies that you should be rocking for fall.

Meet the boys:

Just recently, Dickies teamed up with The Baitshop to put together a new line of clothes titled, ‘Luck & Patience’.  Dickies, the original workman’s pant has been around for years.  With this new line, the Baitshop is breathing a bit of vibrance and street cred so skateboarders can rock these with style, comfort and grace.

I’ve been getting my nails done since high school. When I was 16 I would trek up to Eglinton West to a little Vietnamese-run salon that was packed to the gills with ghetto girls, their men and sometimes their babies. The place smelled of acetone and the best airbrusher (it was ALL about air brushing then) was a guy who chain smoked in the back. Back then I would get long square-shaped acrylics with Greek-wedding white airbrushed french tips and  an airbrushed flower with a pink rhinestone on the ring fingers of each hand and a pierced ring on at least one pinky; gah-sometimes with a gold Playboy bunny hanging from it. There was some serious 90s status in those nails, and I LOVED going up there every two weeks. I’d always wear my best fur trimmed powder blue suede jacket and have my hair done. I never wanted to look gnarly in front of those gold-teethed ghetto girls with curly nails.

For a long time,  I have considered myself something of an expert on Brazilian waxes. I’ve been submitting myself  almost religiously, once a month, for over seven years.

Our good friends at Pardon Le Dopeness (the name says it all) used this new song from Toronto’s own LEMON as the soundtrack to this cool behind the scenes video from their photo shoot exhibiting their latest designs.

Featuring some great t-shirts, tanks, headwear and leggings, every design is drawn by hand. The most recent installment also includes two exciting collaborations.

For more information, and to see their amazing clothing, check out their website. Also check out their blog.

Mark your calendars all of you budding fashion junkies! The Academy of Design fashion design school is hosting their Discover Fashion event on August 15th.

This is a great chance for many of you out there that want to get into fashion, but don’t know where to start or where to go, for that matter. In high school, fashion is not career area that is heavily advertised, but there are still a post secondary institutions out there that offer great fashion programs. For some people, it’s important to earn a degree, and for others a college diploma will do just as well.

The Academy of Design offers great fashion design courses. At Discover Fashion, prospective students can get a glimpse of what the Academy has to offer in their 18-month Fashion Design program and Fashion Marketing & Merchandising program.

This is a great opportunity to learn about the Academy, do research, network with students that are already enrolled, and meet faculty members. It’s especially awesome to talk to current students, because they literally have first hand experience from the programs and can even offer some insight that you can’t find on the internet.

Attendees will get to talk shop, learning about the emerging career opportunities, as well as how the fashion industry has evolved and where it’s heading.

Discover Fashion will be held at the Academy of Design Davisville Campus (1835 Yonge St., Second Floor), on August 15th, starting at 6 p.m.

Learn more about the Academy of Design at their website: http://www.aodt.ca/

IMG takes over World Mastercard Fashion Week

Like most of the fashion frontier in the Great White North, we have a few rumors flying around our Toronto Fashion Week. I was greeted with an early morning email with the subject:  “FDCC and IMG Fashion, jointly announce IMG as the owner and producer of World MasterCard Fashion Week“. Yup, that’s right: The big guns have stepped in to takeover TFW now joining the likes of New York, London, Milan, Berlin, Australia, Tokyo, Mumbai, Istanbul, Miami, Russia, etc. This takeover shake-up has some great benefits for the designers and really the whole industry, I just hope it doesn’t get too big and crazy!! Just in case you’re wondering, Robin Kay will be stepping down as executive director, but will still remain president of the FDCC.