| Ron White at Toronto's Manulife Centre. | As the renovation of Toronto’s Manulife Centre nears completion, one long-time tenant is revealing revamped digs. Canadian footwear company Ron White has had a home in the shopping centre since 2002, where its red carpet-ready footwear has garnered an A-list following that includes Sophie Grégoire Trudeau, Vanessa Williams and Matt Damon. “Having a Bloor Street location in Yorkville has been very instrumental to gaining international visibility and led to our national and U.S. wholesale expansion,” namesake founder Ron White says.
Located on the main floor, the newly renovated boutique was designed with formal footwear in mind. “The new concept incorporates the elevated, luxurious look and feel that the Ron White brand has evolved to over the last few years,” White says. “We have a dedicated special events section that showcases the collection with brass chandeliers and inlay, mirroring and tufted velvet seating.” That shopping experience is equally lavish for White’s male clientele with an area for men that includes Parisian-inspired banquettes, crushed velvet and more contemporary display tables and lighting.
As it prepares to celebrate its 25th anniversary in January, the brand continues to produce made-in-Italy shoes featuring its patented All Day Heels technology that uses poron, a cushioning material that doesn’t compress over time. This season’s footwear offerings include luxe options for cocktail and holiday fetes, such as the Cherri Geisha stretch velvet boot, weather-proof styles that range from the everyday to the après ski and, should a winter getaway be in the cards, a selection of resort-wear sandals.
| | | Story continues below advertisement | | | | Ron White, Manulife Centre, 55 Bloor St. W., Toronto, 416-964-6400, ronwhiteshoes.com.
| Ron White Peyton Pearl French Navy, $495. | | Ron White Cherri Geisha Old Gold, $645. | | Ron White Carabella Onyx, $645. | Style news Prada is throwing it back to the year 2000 with its newest Prada Sidonie handbag. Launching Nov. 14 following its debut at the Resort 2019 presentation in New York, the purse features a curvy, ergonomic shape that’s inspired by the brand’s luggage archives, which were founded in 1913 by Mario Prada. The new Sidonie bag is available in two styles, top fastening or flap fronted with a cross-body strap or a handle designed to be worn over the shoulder. Each is available in Prada stores and online in a colourful selection of calfskin and leather. For more information, visit prada.com.
Assembling a piece of furniture can be a time-consuming challenge, a stress that IKEA is eliminating. The Swedish furniture giant recently launched TaskRabbit in-home assembly and mounting services, available to in-store and online customers in Toronto (and expanding to Vancouver this month and Montreal in the spring of 2019). These assembly services are performed by independent service providers known as Taskers and are priced per type of furniture, ranging from $24 for a chest of drawers to $272 for a wardrobe. For more information, visit ikea.ca.
Amsterdam is the new home of the Fashion for Good Experience, the world’s first interactive, technology-focused museum dedicated to sustainable fashion innovation. The museum tells the stories behind visitors’ clothes, aiming to teach them how they can take action toward having an impact at an international level. Created by experience design studio Local Projects and corporate partners that include Adidas, the museum offers an immersive experience for industry members and the public alike. A focus on the role of water in fashion is on now through December. For more information, visit fashionforgood.com.
For dwellers of the northern parts of Toronto, accessing a Hammam Spa (hammamspa.ca) no longer involves getting stuck in downtown traffic en route to the original King Street West location. Owner Celine Tadrissi has opened a pop-up, Hammam Spa by Céla, at Bayview Village (2901 Bayview Ave.). Open just in time for preholiday pampering, the space has mini treatment rooms and is stocked with luxurious skin care lines, including offerings from Skinceuticals, Dermalogica and Céla, Tadrissi’s new line formulated with Canadian botanicals. Sitting at 1,100 square feet in the shopping centre’s south east corridor, the space will be open until the end of January.
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