Joeffer Caoc Spring 2009 – Toronto Fashion Week

Joeffer Caoc can pack a tent. He’s a favorite here in Toronto; there’s no need for swag or performance art to draw in the crowd. With Caoc, it’s about the clothes…

…which suits his latest fall collection, Nude, where the designer wanted to emphasize simplicity in his clothing. Using a limited palette of subdued colors — blacks, skin tones, whites — Caoc’s designs resembled clean-cut modern art. Some dresses and blouses were highlighted by jagged, abstract lines, or plastered with gray rectangles, making them resemble off-kilter Mark Rothko paintings. Minimalist strips of sequins also added texture to stark black and white stripes.

However, the simplest of Caoc’s designs left fleeting impressions. Simple dresses, lengthy vest-like jackets and single-hued blouses looked like afterthoughts and offshoots rather than part of the show. Notable was his use of capri pants — some wide-cuffed, some tied below the knee — which were lost amongst the tops. There was a bizarre sighting of a solitary, light brown suede skirt but it was out and back in a single catwalk.

In motion, when offered one by one, most of the arty prints shifted and swayed dynamically across the models’ bodies. However, during the final walkthrough, it was too apparent that the better outfits – which completely outshined the lesser, simpler ones – were outnumbered.

Photo Gallery: Joeffer Caoc Spring 2009 – Toronto Fashion Week
all photos by Kwai Chan / Meniscus Magazine