Vancouver Fashion Week-Day Two

Day two brought more excitement to the Dunlevy Warehouse as the eco friendly designers presented their collections to a packed house. Nathan Wiens, the owner of Chapel Arts Gallery, (across the street at 304 Dunlevy Avenue) spoke about the story behind the creation of the runway setting. We also learned why it is so cold! There are absolutely no fossil fuels burned during the shows, ensuring that we are officially the most eco friendly fashion week around. The eco friendly designers presenting collections last night were: Elroy, Barbara Gregusova, Adhesif, Lav and Kush, In Harmony, Artifaax and Leona Klein. Once again I had the pleasure of taking in all of the shows with Lisa of Stylefinds and Solo Lisa Y Nada Mas. Several themes continue to stand out throughout all of the collections. The one piece jumpers that have been popular in Europe this past year were very prominent in many of the collections both yesterday and today.

Elroy
Elroy kicked off the night of shows with their ocean themed collection. The designers were influenced by the ocean and its inhabitants. There were many pieces that were very chic and elegant. Some of the pieces featured wave inspired fold attachments reminiscent of Leanne's Project Runway Collection. The designer, Leanne McElroy, thought of every last detail ; there were ties, over sized buttons, metallic heels and chunky jewels. While there were more casual jackets, shorts and trenches, there were also several drapey jersey cocktail dresses. A well thought out and executed collection.

Above a few of the pieces from the collection.
For more images see Yvonne Chew's Flickr

Babara Gregusova
This collection stood out above all the rest! Barbara and her family worked together to create the beautiful jewelry and clothes for this collection. Barbara designed and built all the jewelery
herself with the hard drives, laser toners, ink-jet cartridges and other re-possessed electronic waste pieces that her father and brother dismantled. We saw her magnificent jewelry in the FMA Vancouver : Sky 360 event as well. The pieces she presented last night were just as outstanding! Some of the shapes included: fruits, leaves and flowers.

The foil gowns that went down the runway were delicate looking, yet full of intricate pleats, folds and shapes. Barbara designed them and her mother helped with the knife and box pleating and fittings. During the show, her mother was backstage helping to dress the models and make sure that all of the gowns were styled correctly. This enabled Barbara to concentrate on fitting the models with their jewelry pieces. They had five volunteer dressers backstage which allowed her brother and father to take photos! Bravo to the Gregusova family on a brilliant collection!

(Image courtesy of Yvonne Chew)

(Image courtesy of Yvonne Chew)

(Image courtesy of Yvonne Chew)

Adhesif
Next came the fun and playful Adhesif Clothing, which featured recycled clothing pieced together into unique looks. More vibrant colors, leg warmers, ties and cropped jackets came down the runway. Many of the men's argyle vests and women's sweaters were paired with basic blue jeans and simple pumps.

Lav and Kush
The aim of Lav and Kush is to create clothing that is sustainable and made of natural fibers. Their looks were simple, yet elegant, and featured many flowing cocktail dresses in a variety of patterns. There were more jeweled necklaces and a beautiful 20's style white flapper dress.

In Harmony
This collection would definitely appeal to the woman who loves to get dressed up. There were many two piece pant suits, featuring sheer panels, that caught everyone's attention. Great basic trenches, wide legged trousers and ruffled dresses were prominent.

Everyone applauded whenever this model appeared!

Artifaax
The designer of Artifaax clothing, Denise Brillon, featured printed graphic t shirts, plaid skirts and feathered accessories. It was refreshing to see that eighty percent of the models were of First Nations Heritage. You can buy purchase their pieces online here.


Leona Klein
Last but not least, the final show of the evening was a men's knitwear collection designed by Leona Klein. The yarns used for the sweaters, vests, scarves and toques are unbleached, and made of natural fibers! Many of the sweaters featured cut outs and little sayings..for instance "Born to be tree." The audience definitely livened up when the men came out shirtless modeling the scarves and toques! There were cat calls and I watched smiles spread across the audience's faces! It was a great way to wrap up day two of Vancouver Fashion Week!

After the show Lisa and I grabbed a bite to eat at a restaurant before heading to the sold out after party at Crush! We had a great time :)