Other than that, the 22-year-old, who was recently named the face of Lancome (the deal is reportedly worth $3-million), was pure polish on a rainy morning last week.

The model du jour, dressed in jeans and drapey knits, was accompanied by an entourage of Lancome bigwigs for a media meet-and-greet at the city's elegant Hotel Le Germain. Her presence was the perfect unofficial kickoff to Toronto fashion week.

"It's nice to be Canadian and I think Canadian fashion deserves more recognition, Canadian art and culture, too," said Daria, known by a single moniker to anyone who knows anything about fashion. And it is her Canadianness that is her charm: polite, with a bit of the dark side thrown in.

It's that typical Canadian dichotomy that characterized what was good about Toronto Fashion Week. There was romance and polish in the best shows, together with a brooding nordic edge that made things sexy and new.

Take Paul Hardy. The Calgary-based talent showed his fall 2006 line with a show at Toronto's Church of the Redeemer staged as a well-dressed funeral. His invitation noted inspiration from the writings of Edgar Allen Poe. Backdropped by a coffin and the requisite floral arrangements, the sombre-hued presentation was beautiful, but hardly lighthearted.

Such was the case with the gowns that closed Caoc's show: a voluminous slate-blue velvet floor-sweeper and a metallic black creation both had hemlines pouffed with inner folds of organza.

There was also a modern-meets-Klingon feel to Caoc's oyster-coloured, glazed cotton fit-and-flare coat. "Very off-with-her-head," was how Coac said he'd heard it described.

Izzy Camilleri is no stranger to the dark side. After 22 years sculpting her ready-to-wear, she has more than once heard the S&M reference. But the collection she showed Tuesday married the tough and goth with film noir-style elegance. She did gorgeously seamed leather skirts and dresses and paired them with full-sleeved and high-necked blouses. And her fur pieces, like one knee-length coat with an obi-like leather waistband in chocolate, were sharp and luxe.

Comrags has always mixed the warped and the lovely. (They're the label that made the Doc Marten-and-dress look de rigueur in this country.) The collection Joyce Gunhouse and Judy Cornish showed Tuesday explored volume, proportion and a little cross-dressing. It was beautiful: soft pleated skirts and dresses, killer slouch pants and narrow jackets cinched Empire-style with belts and harnesses.

The jackets were likewise lean at the Andy The-Anh show on Wednesday. His skinny pantsuits clearly looked to rock 'n' roll's dark side for inspiration.

Collection highlights included short cutaway jackets in alpaca, cropped pants in striking plaids; grey flannel suits with blazers sporting fuchsia-backed collars; and blouses blooming with ruffles. A navy turtleneck dress was also a standout, at once referencing Swinging London but looking fully contemporary at the same time.

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