The Hollywood mega-stars so often associated with high fashion – indie princess Maggie Gyllenhaal, elegant Julianne Moore, the ubiquitous Paris Hilton, Armani muse Cate Blanchett as well as perky Reese Witherspoon – are this week missing from the New York shows. Instead, they are up north at the increasingly cool Toronto Film Festival promoting their next Oscar hopefuls. Hip British siblings Sienna and Savanna Miller can also be found there, publicising Twenty8Twelve, their new line of pricey bohemian casuals at Holt Renfrew, Toronto’s answer to Bergdorf Goodman.

So, has the Canadian city Peter Ustinov once described as “New York run by the Swiss” and Margaret Atwood called “Canada’s Big Apple” finally outclassed its American counterpart? After all, along Bloor Street – Toronto’s luxury goods thoroughfare known as its very own “Fifth Avenue” – there are sweeping flagships operated by Chanel, Cartier, Escada, Hermès, Louis Vuitton and Prada as well as Tiffany & Co.