Thursday, April 19, 2012

Mercedes-Benz Start Up

One of the most exciting parts of this lovely evening was getting to see so many new collections; with the exception of Malorie Urbanovitch's F/W collection, which was shown at WFCW, all of the other collections were being shown for the first time in Edmonton! I really enjoyed the venue, David Morris Fine Cars, as well- two of their exterior walls were floor to ceiling glass panels, letting in some incredible natural light. Paired with the clean and simple design of the runway, this made for a great viewing experience (and gave me some perfect iPhone photos!).

An unfortunate lesson I learned that evening was that you should always, always, always check battery life and memory on your picture taking device BEFORE the show starts! I missed out taking photos of Malorie's collection because I discovered I was out of memory space on my phone and had to quickly start deleting old files. Oops!

Each designer was required to show eight completely styled looks as part of the competition, and we were thrilled to see designs by Edmontonians Malorie Urbanovitch and Nicole Campre, Calgarians Lauren Bagliore and Rebecca King, as well as Eliza Faulkner from Vancouver.

Malorie Urbanovitch opened the show with some of the pieces from her latest collection, showing some delightful jackets, skirts and dresses, in shades of olive green, teal, and tans.

image via here

The second designer to show was Calgary's Lauren Bagliore, with some incredible draping, and lust-worthy coats. Among other achievements, Bagliore was also featured in the Polyvore/Covergirl Live fashion show during NYFW. 






Third to present was Rebecca King, with a collection that had some fabulous tailoring and featured beautiful crimson reds and browns, and a little bit of fur. I could definitely see some of these pieces in my closet!



Edmontonian Nicole Campre followed with a beautiful and etherial collections featuring light nudes and whites, lace and incredible detailing. Campre currently designs for Oak + Fort and Loft 82!




The final collection, presented by Eliza Faulkner of Vancouver consisted of bright corals, tans, and blues, and was perfect for summer! The lovely angular detailing carried though the collection was a great design feature, creating a cohesive collection with room for variation in styles.




All of the designers presented incredible collections, with very strong designs and quality. I would happily buy pieces from each of them for my own wardrobe. As a result of such strong competition, it was impossible to guess who would be winning! When Malorie Urbanovitch was announced the winner, cheers erupted from the audience, proving that the judges made a fabulous choice, and that Urbanovitch had the support of Edmonton's growing fashion community. 

All in all, I was very happy to have been a part of such an incredible event, not only was it a great way to support some of our young talent, but it was also an excellent way to prove that Edmonton really is developing a strong and passionate fashion community. It was great to see a large group of fellow bloggers, designers, fashion supporters, as well as other industry professionals milling around the event. I can't wait to see this community continue to grow!

Wednesday, April 11, 2012

WCFW March/April 2012- Collection Highlights

After long last, I have finally had the time to sit down and write my collection highlight post! Hurray! Since I am doing a summary post-WCFW, I will only be doing highlights of collections that really stood out for me, otherwise this post would be HUGE (or split into multiple parts, and that would mean it would come even later after the event). I also will not be posting about days I did not attend.

Day 1

Stanley Carroll (womenswear)

image via here
As expected, Carroll presented an incredibly strong collection. The S/S line featured bold colour-blocking paired with body-hugging styles, some lovely looser draped dresses in both colour and black, and an a-ling jacket in a silver and a large floral print. 

Bonus:
The winner of the emerging designer competition, Nicole Campre, is also among the ten semi-finalists presenting at the Edmonton portion of the Mercedes-Benz Fashion Start-up!

Day 2

Isabella Milan

 image via here
I was enchanted by the gorgeous gowns, the detailing and construction was incredible! A few of them wafted down the runway. Wafted! Also, I love that she included a gown with cape, perfect for winter weddings.

Nazila Couture

image via here

It's always a treat watching this designer's clothing come down the runway, the colours are always spot on, and the sequins and detailing are never overdone. It was nice to see a few spring dresses among the mix, opening up the market. 

Lisa Marie- Straight Laced

image via here

A nice collection, would probably be well suited to high school graduates looking for a feminine dress for their banquet. Nice detailing and beautiful fabric choices, I only wish the collection had a stronger theme holding it together. 

DrailD

image via here


Easily my favourite collection of the night, this collection was excellent. While many described it as being very "Lady Gaga-esque," it was clear that the designer had an excellent understanding of garment construction, and maintained a beautiful balance between architectural elements and gorgeous, simple designs. Standout pieces included his silver studded corset.

Day 3

Maggie Walt Designs

image via here

The largest collection shown during the week, Maggie Walt presented a collection that provided an essential balance between presenting variety and continuity. Fabrics and colours were beautifully chosen, and nearly all of the pieces were very wearable. Also enjoyable was her method of presentation- a combination of runway and scenes, it was possible to see the collection all together AND see each piece individually.

Day 6

MaNoKin

image via here

This collection was INCREDIBLE! Fabric choices were flawless, the silhouettes were impeccable, and the entire collection fit together perfectly. The browns and beiges chosen were mixed with fantastic textures and patterns- making the pieces neutral, but not plain and boring. The details in the garments were delightful, especially in some of the great shoulder accents, including some which were almost like feminine epaulettes.

Pout Clothing

image via here


The designer did an excellent job of mixing their asian influences with other modern elements. As well the balance between the floral fabric with the other solids was lovely! The collection was striking, and many of the pieces would work for many women. A standout piece was the lovely red blazer with contrasting black lapels (rumour had it this piece might be reversible, although I am skeptical, since this would be difficult to achieve with the type of tailoring necessary for this type of garment.)

Dionne Dionne

photo is my own

A nice collection of pieces, but lacked cohesiveness, as it included t-shirt/pencil skirt combinations as well as formal gowns. Despite this, all of the pieces were beautifully constructed, and looked fabulous. The definite highlight was the beautiful hand-painted detailing on the finale gown!

Malorie Urbanovitch

image via here


Always a local favourite, Edmonton has come to expect nothing but hte best from Urbanovitch. Not one to disappoint, she wowed the audience with her A/W collection, which consisted of rich earthy colours. Simple and chic, her minimalist designs were well cut and proportioned, including the large ruffles placed on the bottom of a few pieces.

Day 8

Stanley Carroll (menswear)

image via here

Perfection. Easily my favourite collection of the entire week, Carroll's menswear was impeccable! Using a colour palette that was bright and fun, but still wearable, combined with delightfully different cuts and silhouettes, this collection pushed the boundaries of menswear, while still remaining wearable and appealing to a broad male audience. Favourites included bright tailored pieces, paisley pants, and the man-skirt!

Angeliquw Chmielewski

image via here

Returning to Edmonton, this FIT-trained designer presented a very strong, androgynous collection. With incredible construction, beautiful leathers, and wearable designs, pieces from this collection could fit in almost anyone's wardrobe. Colours were, for the most part, muted, allowing the primary focus to stay on the fabulous cuts! (And with some of Edmonton's best modelling talent walking in the show, some say that this may have been one of the strongest runway shows ever to be presented in Edmonton!)


Emogene Couture

image via here

Beautiful '50s inspired gowns. Lovely lovely lovely. I was most impressed by the PERFECT fit of each dress on the models, a difficult achievement for such tailored pieces. The construction on each piece was perfectly done, with beautiful darts and seaming. Fabric choices were all lovely, although they lacked cohesiveness in terms of the entire collection. These dresses would be divine for a grad or bridesmaid's gown.

Laura Dreger

image via here

I loved the bright colour scheme she chose, and I love how it carried throughout. I felt the entire collection was cohesive, but still presented a variety of styles, and could appeal to a wide range of ages. While the show was very disco-era, I believe that in a different presentation, the clothing would have been equally beautiful, and would probably show itself to be very wearable, and not seem as era-fashion-y. 

Monday, April 9, 2012

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Friday, April 6, 2012

Designer Profile- Stanley Carroll

image via Kelly Rosborough

Local designer Stanley Carroll is a long-time favourite in the Edmonton design community, consistently producing beautiful collections that push the envelope while remaining incredibly wearable. Producing full collections since Spring 1983, Carroll has finessed his work, creating clothing that is remarkable, both in terms of design and production quality.

 He cites his main source of inspiration as being from books or common attitudes, rather than from visual sources. This year, he chose to separate his men’s and women’s collections in order to allow them to tell their own stories. He explains that this season’s women’s collection was inspired by the woman who shops at second-hand stores and online, to create a collection that could make clothing fun again and to promote discovery—of the self and of design. For menswear, he looked at pictures of Ernest Hemingway in 1920s Paris, wearing berets and pushing the boundaries of men’s fashion. This season’s men’s collection captures that idea of self-expression and fun, giving men the opportunity to try to express themselves fashionably.

 Carroll no longer sells through stores, but instead through guerrilla marketing, putting on pop-up shops, and through his website. He explains his motive to move towards this was largely driven by his female customer base feeling that shopping was becoming something they feared, not a fun opportunity for discovery. Stanley Carroll will be selling pieces from both his women’s and men’s collections at Phabrik on April 7 and 8, from 12-5.

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Monday, April 2, 2012

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Sunday, April 1, 2012

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Curvaceous Chic: April 2012

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Curvaceous Chic