fashion shows

BC Fashion Week - March 31st - April 4th/08

BC Fashion Week Mar 31- Apr 4th/08 – Fashionista Reporter – Victoria Clements

Reporting for www.whiterocksun.com

Recap on the BC FASHION WEEK 08 Shows

I wait with anticipation for each BC Fashion Week as Deborah Walker and Vlad put on an amazing show of local designers. Always a great venue, top-notch fashion production and just an all round professional presentation. If you’re starved for Fashion Television experiences like this, this is as close as you’re going to get locally.

Here’s a brief recap on the week:

March 30th, Sunday – Press Reception

Location, Dr. Sun Yet-Sen Classical Chinese Gardens. Absolutely beautiful location and Exec Director of BC Fashion Week Deborah Walker and Constance Barnes Operations Manager for the gardens were there with a warm welcome. At least 40 of us press and media gathered and took in the gardens and a quick drink and got the low down on the weeks run and introductions to the designers. A chilly night but a nice reception and enjoyed by all.

March 31st, Monday (my birthday) – Jacqueline Conoir

As usual the place was packed to the rafters and the JC show was a big hit. Gorgeous silky gowns in jewel tones with matching back draped jewels and the usual classy chic power suits for the working gal were shown with panache. If you have never seen a JC Studio show or haven’t seen the clothes, I highly recommend you look for the next BC Fashion Week in September and attend the show or visit the studio ahead of time and check out their latest collection.

April 1st, Tuesday – Evan & Dean

I look forward to the Evan & Dean show as they usually put on a very consistent high-end show. The show was high-end but this particular show just didn’t quite hit the money for me. The hair felt a little severe and didn’t quite blend with the fashion story being presented. The blush shade was just a bit too burnt orange so it clashed with the burgundy print pieces. The colors, chestnut brown, beige, chocolate and burgundy just didn’t excite me about the line. Maybe I’m just too old and I’ve seen it all done before but I was disappointed with the showing this season. (only my opinion)

April 2nd, Wednesday – Nicole Bridger/Mellinda-Mae Harlingten

I arrived late due to two car accidents on the hwy coming into town from White Rock. When I arrived Deb could see the worried look on my face but shuffled me in the back door in a jiffy saying the show had started a half hour late anyway. I got to my seat just as the first model hit the photographers mark. My immediate reaction was WOW! This is a complete West coast look story. The models were beautifully natural; the hair was a perfectly styled match to compliment the clothing, the makeup very earthy and natural and the clothes? it looked like each of the models personally owned the clothes and had accessorized them themselves. Very comfy, very natural. All in all a really great showing. I was much more impressed with this line this year than in a previous one I had seen the year before. This designer is definitely going somewhere.

Same Night

Mmh. Mellinda-Mae Harlingten or should we just say Mmmmmmmm……..
The young designers line was yummy. Not only was it chic and sophisticated it was just plain ready to wear. Right from the start when you got in the door you were presented with a mmh pin. Then upon entering the runway room you saw the mmh logo up in lights. All the clothing was in differing shades of grays and black, white and red. Very wearable clothes, trendy, exciting and HOT! For such a young designer I thought, “this kid has really got it together”. Someone beside me said she gets help from her father. He’s a VC. Ooooh, I thought to myself. He may be able to invest in his daughter but he doesn’t design for her and this girl knows her stuff. The tailoring was divine. She’s obviously been well trained and she’s carving herself a path to success. I was very impressed.

April 3rd, Thursday – Generation Next, Carny Love – Vancouver
Lara Presber - Calgary/and Morena by Marcy Ross from Victoria

Carny Love – Wide legged casual jean buttoned pant and matching crop top was cute. And several pieces in a cream and gold brocade were quite stunning.

Lara Presber – crinkled two toned shark skin material with multi pleat seemed to be the theme. Some very good stylish looks for women at the office.

Morena by Marcy Ross – Amazing! handmade handbags! Just stunning. My mind wandered to products that would be fantastic sellers during the 2010 Olympics. Very interesting fashions almost comical combinations that made up these looks. Japan anime came to mind. All in all, although I couldn’t really see the line working here in Vancouver on a large scale basis I could certainly see the appeal of these designs with a niche crowd.

Same night

Tiger of Sweden

The makeup and hair for this show was very good, it had a real European feel. This is the only show all week that had a blend of male and female models. The men’s shoes were great. Several outfits stood out. A stiff black trench with high collar detailing, and a black borge faux fur coat with skinny black pant were some of the outfits that stood out.

Gloves, gloves, gloves! were shown with most of the collections all week.

April 4th, Friday – Quicksilver Woman

There was a packed house with high expectations. The press kits had been extensive and there was excitement in the air. I appreciated the unique lifestyle video presentation before the show. Unfortunately when the show began I felt I had stepped into a showing of whatever was available at Value Village that week. Nothing stood out as a real fashion piece and everything I had seen before. Although the Quicksilver line has a reputation of a casual look I felt this year it had truly lost any sense of style. Had they stuck more to how things had been presented in the video and brought that energy into the show maybe the pieces would have had a different feel. I left the last show of the week feeling fairly deflated and totally lacked the energy to continue on with the night and enjoy the carefully planned after party that Vlad had created with the Sound of Fashion for the launch of ZINK.

Although disappointed I left feeling thankful I had enjoyed another BC Fashion Weeks showings and gave Deb a big hug and agreed to swap stories in a week after she catches up on some much needed sleep. J

For Vik's Picks and MORE BC FASHION WEEK 08 details CLICK HERE

See you in September at the next BC FASHION WEEK!

Past Shows:

- Wella Gold, Pan Pacific, Vancouver

- Redken International, Victoria Conference Centre

- Joico Products, Regina Sasketchewan

- Fashion 8, Victoria

- Local Designers, Empress Hotel, Victoria

- Lingerie Shows, Crystal Gardens, Victoria

- Swimwear and casuals, McPherson Playhouse, Victoria

- Hairshow showcase, Luv A Fair Nightclub, Vancouver

- Runway Model Convention, Convention Centre, Calgary

- Tillicum Mall, Victoria

- Hillside Centre, Victoria

- Mayfair Centre, Victoria

- Miss Cherise Fashions, Vancouver

- West Coast Exotic Fashion Awards, Vancouver

- Vancouver Costumes, Pan Pacific, Vancouver

- Hiatus Club, Ginger 62 BodyArt Lingerie Show

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