Breeyn McCarney’s Hard-Boiled Wonderland

Fashion designer Breeyn McCarney presented Hard-Boiled Wonderland, her fall/winter 2010 collection from her signature line and her first independent fashion show on Thursday, March 18, 2010 amid the grand interior of Toronto’s historic Courthouse at 57 Adelaide Street East in Toronto.

Inspired by “The Ruins of Detroit” – a recent photographic project by Yves Marchand and Romain Meffre, and using a colour palette reminiscent of the haunting artwork of Brooklyn-based artist Sam Weber, Hard-Boiled Wonderland (named after the novel by Japanese author Haruki Murakami) projects an idealized vision of women living after the fictional collapse of today’s culture.

“I’m very fascinated by the idea of finding beauty in despair – to take something that is rather bleak, and make something inspiring out of that,” McCarney says, “This is what really struck me about the photographs by Marchand and Meffre, and I wanted to translate that into my clothing.”

McCarney prides herself on using only natural fibre fabrics and reclaimed fur or fur purchased from trappers; keeping everything as environmentally conscious as possible. She carefully sources her fabric from quality manufacturers, working with wool, cotton, fur, leather, and silk to create deft and subtle textures.

Hair styling for the models was provided by the gifted team at Greg May Hair Architects, and keyed by salon owner Greg May. Makeup services were provided by a collective of talented artists: Liz Robertson, Marcia Garnes, Monique Peters, Cody Alain, and Cat Veitch. Styled with the discerning eye of Mariko Lauren, models from Carolyn’s, Corestone, Elite Models, Ford Models, NAM, and Spot 6 walked the runway in shoes supplied by Spring and hosiery provided by Secret.

Over 250 fashionable guests – who included actors Meghan Heffern (Chloe, American Pie Presents Beta House), Kerry Lai Fatt (Living in My Car, Paradise Falls) and industry supporter Ainsley Kerr – left the venue with a generous gift bag containing Secret hosiery, a gift certificate from Greg May Hair Architects, singer Coko Galore’s debut CD I Am The Show, Collagen Eye Masks from Elizabeth Grant, Multibionta Probiotic Multivitamins, a bottle of SmartWater, and a fortune cookie treat from Heist; who have been instrumental in the recent re-branding of the Breeyn McCarney line.

View images from the show here, or visit www.breeyn.com for more information on Breeyn McCarney.