This Week in Fashion rounds up the week's style news, store openings and closings, pop-up shops, sales and upcoming fashion and design events in Toronto. Find it here every Wednesday morning.

NEWS

Toronto Fashion Week ended on Friday with a bang, closing with Express's first runway show in the city to prepare the audience for the Eaton Centre flagship opening in a few weeks. But Express wasn't the only one with accomplishment twinkling in their eyes and a bright future to look forward to; Duy Nguyen, the flourishing designer behind DUY, won the second Mercedes Benz Start-Up competition on Tuesday night and will thus have a full-fledged runway show in March. You can find his capsule collection as well as the other finalists' in our Style Section.

A new mid to high-end luxury menswear boutique opened up in Yorkville at 154 Cumberland Street today (October 31) - Contraband. Unlike many menswear shops, they cater to the more fashion-savvy individual as well as the conservative customer, with brands scarcely available in the city including After Midnight, Brooklyn Circus, and exclusive label NTHNG. After the grand opening in February, they'll also be bringing in Balenciaga and Pierre Balmain, so be sure to check it out to get your designer fix on.

Holt Renfrew announced on Monday that it'll be opening its very own discount chain under the handle hr2, in order to appeal to younger customers and to maybe possibly counter Nordstrom's recent plans to make a name in Canada. The new stores will open in Montreal and somewhere in Ontario in March 2013, with exact locations to be announced.

Maker's Cartel is calling all independent vendors in Toronto to potentially show at their first ever craft market. So far, NUMER6 (a small-time accessories brand), Ashley Barron (a cutesy illustrator), and a few others have been added to the roster. To apply, please email makerscartel@gmail.com.

EVENTS/PARTIES

Jeanne Lottie's spring/summer 2013 collection - a set of bright and bold handbags - is set to launch to the general public in February, but if you're a keener you can see it in its entirety at The Vanity Events' preview party tomorrow (November 1st). Held at The Pink House (32 Scollard St) from 6 pm until 8 pm, the first 25 attendees will receive a special gift and everyone who attends gets 50% off on existing merchandise. Don't forget to RSVP to eliza@ilaika.ca.

Tomorrow (November 1st) at Milk Glass Co. Gallery (1247 Dundas St W), art and fashion will become one for MODISH, a show featuring abstract paintings by Char Da Silva and Asia Vickovic. Each of these paintings will correspond to wearable accessories such as brooches or headbands. The exhibition will run all the way to December 4, but the opening reception is from 7 pm until 11 pm.

Elle Hardware (695 Queen St W) will turn two years old this Saturday (November 3), so it's only natural for them to host a birthday and customer appreciation party, complete with sweets and champagne. During the day (from 11 am until 7 pm), customers can enjoy 10% off on all of their marvellous jewels, and at night (from 7 pm until 11 pm), everything will be 15% off.

SALES

Starting tomorrow (November 1st) and running through to the weekend (November 4), Premium Retail Group is hosting a mega warehouse sale at International Center Hall 4 (6900 Airport Rd). Men's, women's, and children's sizes from brands like Guess, Marciano, Jack & Jones and more will be marked at up to 90% off. Find the hours of operation on their website.

Also running this weekend (November 1 - 4) is the Canam-Appraiz Shoe Trend Sale at 30 Millwick Drive. Women's footwear including leather boots and dress shoes by Liz Claiborne, Hush Puppies, and more will be sold at insane markdown prices of up to 75% off. Plus, a small selection of men's footwear will be available as well--trendy ladies, drag your men along with you. Find out more on StyleDemocracy.

Photo courtesy of Nordstrom