I'm back from Vancouver and a whirl wind of fantastic shows featuring designers from all over the world converging on the stage at the Chinese Cultural Centre on 50 Pender Street to showcase emerging, established and award winning designs.
Vancouver Fashion Week (VFW) is the second largest fashion event in North America, falling right behind New York Fashion Week! Over 20,000 people attended this year including media, celebrities, buys and the fashion 'who's who'. Styleista was invited and unfortunately Brenna was unable to attend so I went to represent us and bring VFW to you, our loyal styleistas!
MY STYLE
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| My Saturday VFW Outfit: Skirt - Suzy Shier, Sweater & Necklace & Earrings - J Crew, Watch - Tissot |
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| Cobalt Blue Shoes - J Crew |
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| Clutch - Prada |
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| View from the Media Lounge |
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With Founder and Producer: Jamal Abdourahman
I have known Jamal for over 10 years, first meeting him when I modelled in a few shows while living in Vancouver. |
DESIGNER COLLECTIONS
2HB - Designer: Rick Hung
Hung originates from Hong Kong but resides in Singapore. 2HB looks to bring out the attitude, classiness and character in a person and help him project his fashion style in an interesting manner. His SS 2014 collection was very much inspired by Kurt Cobain and the anti-fashion of the early 90's.
KAMILA GAWRONSKA
Kamila Gawronska is based in Poland and has an extensive background in fashion and art education including multiple awards recognition. Of the night I would say this was the most sophisticated collection. She used textured patterns in bold silhouettes to create innovative yet wearable shapes. The tailoring was excellent and the clothing very contemporary.
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| Cape dress |
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| Notice the pattern of the fabric |
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| Sophisticated silhouettes |
LILLA CSEFALVAY
Lilla Csefalvay hails from Hungary where she has won multiple competitions for her creativity, graphic design and fashion innovation. Her collection was very beautiful and appeared very time consuming. When I asked her how long it took her to make one garment she laughed and said "many many hours, days and weeks". Her collection is heavy on the texture and details. The garments are primarily made by ripping pieces of silk and chiffon and grouping them together to create the pattern.
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| Each individual piece is comprised of ripped fabric |
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| Add caption |
LAVA WOMAN
This is Lava Woman's third time at VFW, she hails from Korea and was a Versace intern. She was caught up in Customs overnight while on route to Vancouver due to her many travel trunks full of exotic furs and fabrics. The show was extremely theatrical and over the top.
CELESTIAL
Mexican designer Celestial used western wear as her inspiration for her SS 2014 collection. Florals, cowboy boots and leather was predominate on the runway. My favourite piece was the dress below made of thin strips of black leather.
CELEBS
Manu Bennett (Crixus, Spartacus) and Celina Jade from the TV show Arrow were in attendance and I got a chance to chat with Manu briefly. Manu was wearing local designer Valerio Moda's designs and when I asked 'how would you describe your personal style?' Manu laughed and answered "Stuck!" He then launched into a very descriptive breakdown about how fashion is so much affected by the social media, political and economic influences in the world today that he feels unsure of what to wear these days. If I was to describe his style I would say rugged and urban.
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| Me with Manu discussing how our culture affects our fashion choices |
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| Celina & Manu from the Arrow TV Series |
STREET STYLE
I think that my favourite part of VFW was observing all of the various street style!
All in all, this was a wonderful experience and a great networking opportunity! I will definitely be back for VFW FW 2014 shows with Brenna this time!
~ Phaedra
