For TIFF’s first four hedonistic days, Variety sets up portrait studio at Holt Renfrew’s Bloor Street location. As every star at the festival needs the support of Variety heading into Awards Season, a stop here is mandatory.
Essentially, when it comes to sheer star power cycling through, the Holt Renfrew flagship becomes the defacto “For Your Consideration” secret party. Many of the brightest stars in Hollywood stopped by the studio in support of their TIFF films: Sandra Bullock, Emily Blunt, Julianne Moore, Eddie Redmayne, Susan Sarandon, Jessica Chastain, Kristen Stewart, Rachel Weisz, Rachel McAdams, Dakota Johnson, Kate Mara, Josh Brolin, Kevin Bacon, Tom Hardy, Ellen Page, Elizabeth Moss, and many others.
In celebration of the festivities, Holt Renfrew also co-hosted two dinners to toast the cast and crew of two monumental films: The Danish Girl in holts café at Bloor Street and Beeba Boys at Mongrel House. Last year, the Variety Studio at Holt Renfrew drew Keira Knightley, Benedict Cumberbatch, Matthew Goode, Felicity Jones, Jennifer Aniston, Rose Byrne, Anna Kendrick, Jon Stewart, Reese Witherspoon and Ethan Hawke. This is the sixth annual installment of Variety’s festival-filmmaker video series and portrait studio at TIFF. Leading and emerging directors, actors, writers and producers were interviewed by Variety’s editorial team.
This year, Moët & Chandon joined TIFF as an official sponsor, hosting the exclusive Moët & Chandon Gala Green Room at Roy Thomson Hall. As celebrities finished their red carpet walk, they made a special stop to sign the 9L bottle of Moët & Chandon. This year, in honour of TIFF celebrating their 40th anniversary, Moët & Chandon celebrates its legacy as the “Champagne of Cinema ” by donating the Salmanazar bottle adorned with autographs to TIFF’s fundraising auction initiatives, taking place later this year. Our favorite signatures? Dame Helen Mirren, Matt Damon, Drew Barrymore, Diane Kruger, Anna Kendrick, Jake Gyllenhaal, Jessica Chastain and Julie Delpy.
With more buzz than ever, Stylist Box returned to TIFF for the third year in a row with The Stylist Suite. The exclusive, by invitation-only, celebrity styling lounge was in a luxury penthouse at Trump Residences in downtown Toronto.
Celebrity guests who were dressed by the Stylist Box team, gifted, and visited The Stylist Suite during the course of the film festival included Susan Sarandon, Mary Kate and Ashley Olsen, John Travolta, Kelly Preston, Patrick Stewart, Mischa Barton, Paul Sorvino, Michael Madsen and more. The Stylist Suite provided an exclusive access to a range of women’s daywear and eveningwear, menswear, jewellery, shoes, and handbags for personalities to borrow for red carpet appearances and press junkets during the ten day festival.
This year’s designer roster was exclusively Canadian with an assortment of women’s evening and cocktail dresses from Andrew Majtenyi, Daymor Couture, Hilary MacMillan, Huntington, Narces, Ryan Alexander, and Zarucci; accessorized by jewellery from Atelier by MMCrystal, Caroline Neron, and Huntress. And for men hitting the red carpet? Finezza – Au nom de l’Homme nailed it with shoes and accessories by Parc City Boot Co. and jewellery from Neron.
This year’s lounge took place in a stunning 5,000 square foot penthouse located on the 56th floor of Trump Residences. Canadian furniture company Artemano provided handcrafted, nature-inspired furniture which brought an ambiance of inspiration to the lounge. In-between appointments, guests released some stress with a SPiN Toronto ping pong game.
The expert styling team from Salon Daniel & Spa created trendsetting hairstyles for celebrity guests to rock the red carpet. Emerald City Beauty Bar professional makeup artists created glamourous red carpet beauty looks. Canadian-born beauty brand, MOOV Cosmetics offered guests a salon perfect, long-lasting manicure with their vegan nail lacquer. Supermodel Monika Schnarre’s own skincare line, iampure, ensured celebrities had flawless camera-ready skin.
While getting red carpet ready, guests sampled a range of wine compliments of Pour Niagara, enjoyed freshly pressed organic Raw Juice Guru juices while snacking on delectable treats from the insanely addictive Toronto Popcorn Company and healthier option ThreeWorks Apple Chips.
As with previous years, visiting celebrities were given a full red carpet styling experience at The Stylist Suite. VIP guests enjoyed a carefully curated variety of products and services valued at over $12,000. This year, The Stylist Suite partnered with Beauty Gives Back, the charitable initiative of the beauty industry behind the incredibly successful cancer support programs Look Good Feel Better and FacingCancer.ca. Visiting celebrities signed a five foot tall Big Love Ball which will be auctioned off at the charity’s annual fundraiser, Mirror Ball in November.
