L'Oreal Fashion Week is over, and now we have six months to reflect on the collections and the event itself before doing it all over again. For the designers it is just beginning, as they start manufacturing orders for Spring and designing Fall 2008.

My own aftermath of fashion week is a stack of sketches - dozens of figures to be sorted through, some selected and developed. The ones above are from Rudsak. More sketches will be posted on my site, Final Fashion, over the next little while.

How did it go down and what did everyone think? From what I have seen, heard and read, LFW Spring 08 in Nathan Philips Square had an unprecedented air of liveliness and enthusiasm that was a pleasure to be a part of.

This was the first fashion week in Toronto that I have immersed myself fully into. In past seasons, busy with work and school I could only catch a show or two as a spectator. I never expected that it could be such a terrific experience. It is with pleasure that I can report that any prior anxieties I had were wrong. The tents were warm if not hot, and the weather itself was mild. The location was brilliant and featured well in front of City Hall with fountains in front, including improbable palm trees.

The huge, substantial tent quickly felt very small - this was the best-attended fashion week in Toronto I have ever seen and resembled a week-long party. Some vignettes remain fresh in my mind.

Jeanne Beker of Fashion Television lead designers and industry veterans literally through the crowd to the front of the tent to interview them after most of the shows. Beker was a hard-working woman this week and the way she made VIPs visible and visceral was a striking statement. Though the studio by the front door often posed traffic jams, the way that it mixed the crowd and raised a leading conversation was audacious and unique.

Tasty catered dinners in the media room - a perk that even New York's fashion week does not offer - had that wonderful effect of creating camaraderie among those who eat together. Veterans and newbies alike dished and dined and dashed back to the runway and felt better for it - even if we were tucked under tables, on the floor, behind the couch, or balancing plates on our palms. It made everyone in the media room feel close in all senses of the word.

A diverse and energetic crew of people made a remarkable cast of characters at this event with their dedicated attendance - there are too many familiar and new friends to name. Still, there is a few we can't stop talking about.

Deejay Daniel Wilson's sets set the upbeat tone.

Enterprising jewelry designer Susie Love adorned us.

Beauty blogger Henna Singh was backstage amongst the brushes and blushes.

Designers Stephen Trigueros and Common Cloth both had evidently excellent shows that I regret missing.

Street fashion photographer Rachel Schwab's pictures of even more bright things (including blogTO's Anita Clarke) can be seen in the National Post this weekend.

As for the shows themselves, we've done full reviews of a few we have seen worth remarking upon, including Ginch Gonch, Kendra Franke, Philip Sparks and Zoran Dobric.