Party photos of the week: Pink Tartan show and Politics and the Pen gala

Pink Tartan creative director Kimberley Newport-Mimran presented her fall/winter 2015 collection on March 23, opening night of World MasterCard Fashion Week in Toronto. While the clothes on the runway had an air of laid-back seventies cool (models even floated among illuminated cloud-like sculptures made of paper), the energy inside the tents was a little more electrifying. The front row was, as always, packed with media types, well-heeled clients and Newport-Mimran’s friends from high places, all eager for a first look at the designer’s latest wares. Among those perched there were Hudson’s Bay buyer Nicholas Mellamphy; decorators Tommy Smythe and Colette van den Thillart; archaeologist Trinity Jackman and her partner, entrepreneur Marcus Doyle; socialites Catherine Nugent, Sylvia Mantella and Sharon Hudson; Olympic ice skater Tessa Virtue; Newport-Mimran’s husband and the latest dragon on CBC’s Dragon’s Den, Joe Mimran, who accommodated a lineup of fans eager for selfies post-show; hairdresser Sandy Ciuro; brand positioners Vanessa Mulroney and Jane Hanrahan; Toronto Fashion Week founder Robin Kay; Daniels Capital Group’s David Daniels and his wife, Kate; Global TV’s Rosey Edeh and stylists Wendy Natale and Susie Sheffman. (Photos by Nolan Bryant)

On March 11, meanwhile, Politics and the Pen, the annual celebration of Canadian political and literary culture, took place in the nation’s capital. The must-attend gala – co-chaired by Anne McGrath, national director of the New Democratic Party, and Jill Scheer, wife of Andrew Scheer, Speaker of the House of Commons – was held at Fairmont Chateau Laurier, raising some $330,000 in support of the Writers’ Trust of Canada and its commitment to fostering wordsmiths across the country. A highlight was the presentation of the $25,000 Shaughnessy Cohen Prize for Political Writing, won this year by University of Toronto philosophy professor Joseph Heath for his book Enlightenment 2.0: Restoring Sanity to Our Politics, Our Economy and Our Lives. It was selected by a jury comprising Ottawa Citizen columnist Terry Glavin, author Denise Chong and The Globe and Mail’s Atlantic bureau chief, Jane Taber. Among the 500 guests were award finalists Naomi Klein and Graham Steele; U.S. Ambassador Bruce Heyman and his wife, Vicki; CBC chief correspondent Peter Mansbridge; Bank of Canada Governor Stephen Poloz and his wife, Valerie; author Heather O’Neill; Air Canada president and CEO Calin Rovinescu and his wife, Elaine; Gowlings partner Jacques Shore; Secretary to the Governor General Stephen Wallace; chair of the National Arts Centre board of trustees Adrian Burns; KPMG partner Grant McDonald; and CIBC’s senior director of government relations (plus event committee member), Patrick Kennedy, and his wife, Jane. The event was hosted by Treasury Board of Canada President Tony Clement and musician and CBC broadcaster Tom Power.