Feist, Holts Make it a Street Party on Bloor
When the malls become more crowded, the weather colder, and speakers play nothing but festive music, you can't deny, the Holidays are upon us. Last night, Holt Renfrew launched the season of shopping and giving by closing down Bloor Street from Bay to Yonge for their 5th annual Holiday Window Unveiling or what I like to call "the only time Holts is nice to you".
The crowd gathered despite the cold weather for the street party hosted by Entertainment Tonight Canada's Rick Campanelli (who needs a new writer) and Kim D'Eon, both dressed in Mackage jackets, and featured performances by bluegrass band The Abrams Brothers and singer-songwriter Feist, who replaced the previously announced Kristin Chenoweth. Not bad for a last minute replacement! Holt Renfrew President and CEO Caryn Lerner, wearing a colourful Pucci jacket, greeted the crowd and announced that a percentage of the evening's sales will be donated to the United Way.
The windows didn't disappoint - they were very festive. The clothes were great and featured designers like Gucci, Valentino, Helmut Lang, local talent Philip Sparks, Alice+Olivia, and many more. In true holiday spirit, the mannequins included skating penguins, swans (Swan Lake) reindeers, angel ornaments, an homage to The Nutcracker, and my personal favourite, Frosty and the carolers. Pay close enough attention to the Frosty display and you'll notice a few celebrity snowmen including Karl Lagerfeld and Anna Wintour. 
It was great to see such a variety of people out on such a cold night for a true Canadian celebration of the Holiday season. Happy shopping...I mean Holidays!
Photos: Christine Lim
Comments (11)
WOW. didn't know Feist was the singing act.
They kept it so secret.
I went a few years back when they had ARETHA....amazing!
The greeter jackass has never said hi to me despite years of me making pleasant eye contact with him on my way by.
As the article points out, Feist was a last-minute replacement. There was even an article on Chenoweth coming to town in one of the newspapers like, the day before.
Since when isn't Holt's nice? They've got great staff, great selection, and almost everyone there is amazingly nice. It's just the younger/diffusion line staff that are bad - but it's because they mostly don't care, rather than being evil.
It does of course help if you dress like an adult.
Feist is a strange act to be associated with Holt's, given her position on non-materialism. Nice that she stepped in, though.
Honestly, I don't even know what "dressed like an adult" means. If it means overpriced, horribly put together items that you saw in a fashion magazine or spotted on Ms.Jones next door and absolutely MUST HAVE, then I get it. But if it means sophisticated and stylish, then you'd have to exclude at least 50% of Holt's clientele.
When introducing one of her songs, Feist said, "I was asked to play a Christmas song, so I uh, wrote this little song in my private shopping room/dressing room." And she proceeded to play, 'I Feel It All' I love her for not playing a Christmas song, as any other artist would do.
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