Fashion / An Evening With Ezra

An Evening With Ezra

Fashion Nov 27, 2012

by Anokhi Admin

Toronto Design Team Stephen Wong and Kirk Pickersgill Know Something Others Don't.

Who knew that a backyard of the former German consulate could double as a scene out of a cushy Hampton Harlequin romance novel? Boys of summer S tephen Wong and Kirk Pickersgill, better known as founding fathers of the highly-sought-out-Greta Constantine label, brought wow factor back to fashion back drops, proving that there is more to schmoozing the industry than looking thin and important.

Setting the runway poolside the century-old Annex structure furnished an atlantis cabana-boy-chic theme for Ezra Constantine’s menswear preview. Instead of a full collection, guests were treated to “just a glimpse of what to expect in 2011.”

Ezra, described as the bad-boy-interrupted lover of Greta Constantine, enters his flame’s utopic world of opulence and androgyny. Consequently, the spin-off menswear preview is cleverly cohesive the coveted women’s line (Greta will step into Ezra’s world on 2010 fall runways).

Arriving on the scene, I can’t help but think: its this type of imagination-and a neat helping of Macallan’s single malt-that has left me drunk on the notion that life (and fashion) will prevail amidst fantasy.

Since Ezra’s inception some 12 months ago, the menswear line has been an ingenious lifecycle continuing from seasons past, “We try to keep things new and innovative,” Pickersgill points out, “we don't pay attention to what other people are doing so our creative spins from itself, on everything from music, to art, to the way someone is sitting on a bench.”

But interpreting life as fashion wasn’t always as easy as the designers make it look “You really have to keep your eyes open and see things in a different way. It took some time to train ourselves to adapt our experiences into clothes, but … its enormously fun!” gushes Wong, who greeted his peers in a safety-pinned impression of a skull dressed on a signature black tee – a design he conjured off-the-cuff right before the show.

When it comes to the Constantine formula, a bubbly elixir of casual avant-garde is what fuels the ship, “ We don't push buttons.” Pickersgill professes, “We try to create new ones, by breaking the traditional rules and just going with our gut. Both creative and commercial success are important to us, but at the end of the day, if you don't have the creativity, you won’t go far.”

The Ezra fall collection resurfaces with a promise for accessibility and affordability- a mantra not commonly exercised among Greta girls with deeper pockets. “For our mens’ line, we get to try out new things.” exclaims Wong, “But we also still try to stick to what people have come to expect from Ezra; great pieces that stand out on fabrics that feel familiar.”

With Ezra’s full 2011 collection on the horizon, the jersey connoisseurs flirt with new technical fabrics ideas like coated linens, and Tencel- an eco-textile reminiscent of a crumpled brown paper bag. “We have fun with our fabrics and like to see adventurous people in our clothes, people who like to experiment and gain renewed confidence through fashion.”

With Canadian-bred heartthrob(and yet-to-be-seen bad boy)Hayden Christensen topping their wish list, the designers admit they would also “get their kicks” from seeing less-obvious muses in Ezra threads, “We like to see our clothes on someone with a totally different style than our own, its amazing when someone wears our garments in a way we didn’t think of.”

Ezra Constantine is still considered a budding label next to its Greta counterpart, thriving for years in the Canadian market, “Its not always about great clothes, its about handling a business also, a lot of it is PR, luckily, there are two of us so we are able to manage both sides of the process.” stated Wong.

Notorious for thwarting fashion week tents in exchange for private venues because it provides “more creative control”, Toronto’s it boys attribute their successes to the hands-on-approach of interning their way in the door, and to the top.

“…But we cant rest our laurels on that,” notes Wong, “we want to be an internationally-known brand, so there’s still a lot to do.”

And while the revered “jersey boys” continue to kick ass and take orders, we’re left to ascribe to their cool and cavalier claim of simply, "wanting what everyone else does": an internationally-acclaimed fashion entity built on the school of hard knocks.

Because who doesn’t love a home-grown success story?

Even if you don’t, but still get a chance to ask a designer how they feel about their phenomenal success and hear them say, “ I feel like we’ve done our job.”

You should, at the very least, approve.

If you missed last nights presentation, the boys are back in town Saturday, Aug 13 for their noon Ezra trunk show meet-and-greet at Holt Renfrew on Bloor.

_{Source: thestylenotebook.com, worldmastercardfashionweek.com, and torontoist.com}

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An Evening With Ezra

by Anokhi Admin

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