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Toronto-based brand 100% Silk's Queen Street West shop and textile gallery.Heather Rappard

Technology has revolutionized the way we connect to the world and communicate, including through our sense of style. With its new shop and textile gallery, Toronto-based clothing brand 100% Silk aims to foster a borderless conversation around handmade goods. A globetrotting designer who cut her teeth at Eileen Fisher and Osei Duro, 100% Silk founder Lee Dekel says she regularly encountered the work of talented international designers and artisans who weren’t represented in Canada. “I got really excited by the idea of putting them all in one space and seeing how they play off of each other,” she says.

The result is a specialized selection of handcrafted fashion, accessories and housewares that complements 100% Silk’s in-house clothing line, which Dekel describes as an “investigation into a highly specialized technique,” such as dyeing silk by hand. Under the roof of a former pharmacy on Toronto’s Queen Street West, shoppers will find shelves of Israeli glassware, Uzbek ceramics and Haitian sequined flags alongside racks of colourful clothing with roots in India (Tigra Tigra), Côte d’Ivoire (Super Yaya) and Peru (Mozh Mozh).

“It’s a mix of designers that I feel really represent this movement towards handcrafted, slow fashion," Dekel says. "Usually I’ll see the piece, fall in love with it and the story is this added benefit.” To outfit the Toronto home of these international players, Dekel turned to local artisans such as Zachary Besner, who built paper-clad wood-and-steel tables, Spaced art collective and Gunnar Floral. “Everything in the store is very personal,” she says. The space will be open until the end of January.

100% Silk, 1190 Queen St. W., Toronto, 100percentsilkshop.com.

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100% Silk

George Valeris Haitian Drapo Vodou hand-sequined tapestry, $900.

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Tigra Tigra hand-embroidered “Seven” dress, $1,740.

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100% Silk

100% Silk Bekassam stripe suit jacket, $300, and trousers, $260.

Style news

Los Angeles’s under 10 set is about to get a lot more stylish. Ethically made in Toronto since 2008, Mini Mioche recently opened a store in Palisades Village, a retail, dining and residential area nestled between the Santa Monica Mountains and the Pacific Ocean. The brand’s first U.S. boutique will exclusively feature Mini Mioche children’s apparel, including organic cotton basics such as onesies, rompers, dresses and sleepwear. According to founder Alyssa Kerbel, L.A. is the perfect place for Mini Mioche to make its American debut. “The casual, comfortable aesthetic is what Mini Mioche is all about,” she says.

This weekend is the last chance to visit the Royal Ontario Museum’s latest fashion-focused exhibition, Iris van Herpen: Transforming Fashion, which will come to a close on Oct. 8. Presented alongside an exhibition of work by her frequent collaborator, Philip Beesley: Transforming Space, the Toronto museum is the final stop of the exhibition’s two-year North American tour. Van Herpen is famous for her work with 3-D printing as well as her celebrity following, which includes the likes of Lady Gaga, Bjork and Beyoncé. Her futuristic creations push the boundaries of traditional craftsmanship and are best viewed in person.

For the 18th consecutive year, Rethink Breast Cancer has partnered with a group of brands on products to raise money and awareness about the disease. Throughout October, #RethinkingPink items will be available through the organization’s retail partners, a list that includes Caryl Baker Visage, Knix, Biko and more. Fashion label Smythe has created a Rethink Pink version of its famous single-breasted Duchess Blazer while H&M has designed a limited-edition T-shirt collection featuring illustrations by Toronto artist Quinn Rockliff. A percentage of all proceeds from the products and services will go towards Rethink’s mission of empowering young people affected by breast cancer.

Accessories designer Suzi Roher is hosting an evening of professional wardrobe development at her Toronto boutique, a new space located at 870 Queen St. W. On Oct. 10 from 7 pm to 9 pm, join Roher and branding expert and stylist Susan Carlucci for A Lesson in Personal Branding Through Wardrobe, where they will share their expertise on how fashion can be used in building an identity that resonates. Tickets are available online at suziroher.com and all proceeds will be donated to Dress For Success Toronto, a not-for-profit that provides support, professional attire and development tools for women.

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