Pom-poms and plastic pants: Toronto Fashion Week's most cutting-edge looks

"Who wears this stuff, anyway?"

It's a common refrain among non-fashion types whenphotos fromrunway shows surface,and a question that has many answers.

Sometimes, that answer is"rich people" oil magnates' wives, Europeanroyalty,eccentric old money billionaires,Kardashians.

In other cases,the answer is simply"nobody." Regardless of whether a piece is available for purchase, some couture looks can only everbe consumed asart. Case in point: The literal human backpacks Rick Owens had his models wearing atParis Fashion Weekin October (or, more recently, his full hair helmets.)

Toronto is not Paris, or any of the major fashion cities we've come to expectmore bizarre runway styles from. And yet, as we all well know,Canadais far from devoid of creativity orinnovation.

Much of what's seen atToronto Fashion Week is wearable,but not a season goes by without at least a few gems that raise eyebrows and interest among the people ofour home and native land.

Here are some of the coolest things we've seenso far at Toronto Fashion Week Fall/Winter 2016:

Mikhael Kale's plastic (half)pants

Clear, plastic legwarmers? They may not be for everyone, but Mikhael Kale's conceptual approach to design works for the likes ofBeyonc, Gigi Hadid and J-Lo all fans of hismagazine cover-worthy work. The Central Saint Martin's grad and 2015 CAFA winner isone of Canada'smost notablefashion talents right now. Maybe he's on to something? Plastic pantscould very wellprove popular among our country's more fashionablefishermen one day...

HayleyElsaesser's'GutterBall' collection

Inspired by The Big Lebowski,Hayley Elsaesser'seponymousAustralia-born label injected Toronto Fashion Week with a solid dose of fun Thursday night. From the bright, bold milk carton prints to the bowling alley graphics, Elsaesser's "sartorial imagining of pop culture" was a blast to watch come down the runway. Miley Cyrus and Katy Perry are fans though it remains to be seen if either will rock a toilet shirt.

Frostybrows and cozylegsatMackage

Montreal-based outerwear brand Mackagestaged an off-site show during Toronto Fashion Week at the nearby Canadian Broadcasting Centre (which, full disclosure, was rather convenient for us!)
Also cool were the icy-lookingeyebrows that the branddecked out models withto compliment its luxe"Winter Warriors"collection, inspired by "the idea of a fashion-forward urban metropolis overrun by a winter superstorm."Colourful fur and fuzzy footwear were present in spades at this show and inseveral others throughout the week.

You can replay our Facebook Live video stream from this show on CBC News' Facebook page, or below:

Hilary MacMillan'sfuzzy pink accessories

Is there such a thing as too much pink? No, if the reaction to Hilary MacMillan'sfall/winter show at Toronto Fashion Week is a barometer.This was, to date, one of the most-praised shows of the season in Toronto onTwitter not only for how cute attendees found MacMillan's pom-pom rings, pom-pom shoes, and (again) fuzzy legwarmers, but for the fact that the entire collection is 100 per centcruelty-free and animal-friendly.

WRKDEPT's'Bed and Breakfast' clothing

WRKDEPT, established in Montrealby designerAndy Long Hoang, is described asa "satirical contemporary street brand" which is about as cutting edge as anythingToronto Fashion Week has seen, perhapsever.The "unisex experimental" clothing line'sfall/winter 2016 collection is called "Bed and Breakfast." Hoang'sgoal was to transform basic household objects into wearable garments hence these interesting wooden necklaces:

More to come...