If you’re anything like me, the announcement that new episodes of “Mad Men” will not be returning until 2012 was completely devastating. I’m obsessed with the show’s portrayal of the glamorous style of the 1960s, and it’s safe to say I’m not the only one. The team behind Lundström Collection could have easily called this offering “Betty Draper-Francis Goes To Canada.”

The show opened with a group of cozy sweater coats and vests in faux Mongolian wool with oversized shawl-collars in black and ivory. If you’re a ski bunny (or just aspire to dress like one) this would be the perfect uniform for sipping après-ski cocktails in front of a roaring fire in a mountainside chalet.

Lundström Collection is known for their outwear and this season they upped the lady-like feeling with belted jackets and swing coats in an array of colours (cranberry and camel were standouts). Adding to the ‘60s vibe, many of the coats featured bracelet-length sleeves styled with matching leather gloves and fur Cossack hats. Under the coats were tweed trousers, skinny leather pants and mod wool dresses. And come next holiday season, keep an eye out for Lundström Collection’s flirty cocktail dresses in black chiffon and tulle. They would make any party a little more festive

Highlights – The mottled velvet pajama pants looked so chic and cozy. A great alternative to more traditional trousers.

Lowlight – The stylist seated next to me, who completely blocked my view of the runway by throwing her camera in front of my face to get shots of each look. She did apologize once she noticed me leaning around her arm to see the show, although she didn’t actually stop doing it.

If you have never been backstage at a fashion show, trust me when I say it is chaotic. There are hair and make-up teams are fussing over models, journalists and photographers scrambling to capture the perfect quote and the perfect shot, PRs barking orders into headsets, and harried designers supervising every aspect of the production. But when I met with RUDSAK’s founder and creative leader, Evik Asatoorian moments after his bow on the runway, he was calm, cool and collected.

Asatoorian embodied the too-cool-to-care “easy rider meets urban lifestyle” vibe he sent down the runway. Like many of designers, he looked to the 1970s for inspiration for his Fall collection. But these were not high-glamour disco queens or all-natural flower children; the RUDSAK muse is a tough-as-nails, badass motorcycle babe.

“This collection has a ‘70s vibe, but that doesn’t mean it’s for hippies,” Asatoorian says. “There are no hippies here.”

Described as “a city-dwelling lifestyle, marrying classically elegant pieces with a relaxed biker chic edge,” the collection (consisting of men’s and women’s outwear, footwear, handbags and accessories) was a blend of tough and sexy, masculine and feminine. There were cropped leather jackets and cozy down coats with full fur hoods for women and slim-fit leather motorcycle jackets for men. There were office-perfect satchels and messenger bags as well as no-nonsense boots for both sexes.

As for the styling, RUDSAK’s models looked like they just hopped off the back of a motorcycle after a cross-country ride: aviator sunnies and fingerless gloves for the boys and perfectly tousled waves and expertly smudged smoky-eyes for the girls. And just to drive the “Easy Rider” theme home, models carried brightly decorated motorcycle helmets, which added a refreshing pop of colour to an otherwise neutral runway.

Highlights: The fur and leather aviator hats were amazing and completely covetable. They’re the perfect blend of fashion and function.

Brandon Dwyer certainly knows how to set the mood. “It’s BASCH, bitch” echoed in the runway room at LGFW, mixed in between choruses from Rihanna and Christina Aguilera. If the theme of this show could be summed up in one word (okay, two words) it would be “bad girls.” These are not clothes for wallflowers; the BASCH girl wants to be noticed and she wants you to want her.

Dwyer said this collection was inspired by Toronto. While these may not be the kind of clothes one would wear to an office on Bay Street or vintage shopping in Kensington Market, these are the kind of clothes that would be right at home in a club on King Street. There were enough micro-mini hemlines and shiny satins to satisfy any girl’s inner Blake Lively. There were even a few completely sheer pieces that look exciting on the runway but don’t really translate to real life (unless your real life involves Lucite heels and a brass pole). But for those of us who might want a more subtle sexy, there were some beautiful Grecian-goddess draped cocktail dresses in olive and violet.

Where Dwyer really shone, though, was in his eveningwear. An unexpected shot of electric blue in the form of a floor-length gown with a slit up to there got the biggest reaction from the crowd.

Highlight: The model that opened the show kept singing along to the club-worthy soundtrack. Yes, it was distracting, but sometimes it’s nice to see the girls having fun on the runway.

Lowlight: The lack of separates. Mini-dresses are fun but sometimes (namely, from December to March) a girl just needs a pair of pants.

Non-Fashion Highlight: The soundtrack full of jazzy covers (including an amazing version of The White Stripes’ “Seven Nation Army”) had me dancing in my seat.

Non-Fashion Lowlight: I could have done without the couple sitting behind me who felt it necessary to talk (loudly) throughout the entire show. I could have forgiven them if they were discussing the show, but they were more concerned with people watching and gossiping. Take it to Starbucks, Chatty Cathys.

Twitter Jury:

@adornedmag Orange NYC was LG Fashion Week’s newbie and a definite standout this season. I am obsessed with those chunky black knit sweaters.

@jillklausen Great, classic skirts and blazers would be perfect for the modern girl’s work wardrobe.

@kewellman I love this collection. Every piece is simple, yet feminine with a bit of edge. The jackets and top layers were my favourite pieces.

Twitter Jury

@adornedmag It was fun watching this collection come down the runway because you did not know what would come out next. Kudos to Evan for bringing the drama to fashion week.

@jillklausen You can always count on Biddell to give us great colours and innovative shapes.

@kewellman Overall this collection was a bit much. However, the bright colours were a nice change from many of the black and white collections.

Twitter Jury:

@adornedmag Glad Andy added a spash of colour to his collection with the blues and greens. Although, most of my favourite pieces were in black.

@jillklausen Incredibly chic with a sexy edge. Although maybe a bit monochromatic for my tastes.

@kewellman I am a bit disappointed by this collection. I’m not crazy about the draped, excess material used on many of these pieces.

Twitter Jury:

@adornedmag Dixon took the plain old LBD and gave it new life by playing with texture and prints. Loved the silver mosaic detailing on some of the dresses.

@jillklausen On one hand, loved the sexy, shiny cocktail dresses. On the other hand, some of the looks were almost too busy and too mature.

@kewellman Love the feather and fur accents, keeps the collection very feminine yet bold.

Twitter Jury:

@adornedmag Kim Newport says she was inspired by Amelia Earhart while creating this collection. That marriage of femininity and fearlessness that Amelia had really came through.

@jillklausen In love with the grey knit dresses. And happy to see the sidebraid (my go-to hair style) will still be on-trend in the fall.

@kewellman I always love Pink Tartan. The combination of edgy yet classy pieces makes this collection my fave of the week.

AdornedMagazine.com sat down with the vibrant and enthusiastic Brandon R. Dwyer to chat about his spring/summer 2010 collection as well as his upcoming fall/winter 2010 collection BASCH by Brandon that he will be unveiling at LG Fashion Week on April 1^st.

Dwyer first became a household name when he appeared on season two of Project Runway Canada. He had the industry talking about his designs at Toronto’s fashion week in 2007 but after showing off his personality on reality TV, fashionistas across the country couldn’t wait to get their hands on a Brandon R. Dwyer original.

Dwyer’s label BASCH is “sophisticated yet flirty… for a confident woman who wants to get noticed.”

Special thanks to William Barber our cameraman and video editor!