My Style For 5 Nights at Vancouver Fashion Week, April 8-12, 2026

Dressing for Vancouver Fashion Week is an important celebration of the event and of the Designers who "make it so". Most regular attendees create, post, share ads and plan their 'looks' well in advance of opening night. We really appreciate the Designer Profiles, Schedules, and Ticket information, in addition to the ongoing social media by Vancouver Fashion Week, too. It takes a whole community to get the community, ready, right! Day 1, I chose to wear green because it represents renewal, fresh beginnings and environmental consciousness. After the dark days of Winter, Spring brings new growth, sunshine and almost the beginning of Summer. There are more events and clothing is much more visible. So the Fashion Collections began with local Designer Richard Wei, whose styles range from casual to couture, and really emphasize that it is time to shed the puffy coats, jeans and runners. Time to dress for that interview or that grand ball. Hypnotique Sense by Reuju Sato is all the way from Japan and features natural textiles - old to new - recycling and upcycling and natural dyes, like rust and charcoal. My wrap is by Eco Designer/Art Wendy Van Riesen and Haida Artist Reg Davidson, and is from the RAVENS EAGLES POLKA DOTS Collection of sustainable clothing for women, "...using reclaimed materials and methods that are easy on the earth". Ay Lelum is created by the Good family, that includes Artists, Designers, Musicians, and Writers, in Nanaimo, B.C. The clothes are sustainably made and manufactured here. My outfit honors highlights local and international Designers coming to show their work in Vancouver.

Day 2, I do my best to say hello to Japanese Designers, by wearing a Kimono, jewelry, bag, all pieces that I have handy for the Spring Sakura Fest, here but also wear often because they bring attention to local Japanese Designers and Japanese Fashion and Culture, a big part of Vancouver. Because on Thurs. April. 9, Teori Kobo Oriiro showed her collection, featuring Saori weaving from her studio in Kyoto, and in solidarity with her no waste and "more freedom, more joy" philosophy, I wore a vintage Kimono, jade pearls, a handmade floral brooch by local Jewelry Artist Noriko Kobe www.dancingleaf.ca, and pants from Sasaki Art Gallery. Sugoi. It was a very busy evening, showcasing: VCC collections by 12 new Designers, for whom I made a reel on my instagram, in fact, you will find reels for all of the collections mentioned here. Dunne Cliff by Allison Dunne, is made by hand in studio and stocked at Front and Company on Main. Somaya Ahmadi in Vancouver, Bahare Karami, Thomas Clement, and Another Cyote, by Naomi Narcisse, are all about resilience, renewal, sustainable textiles, and everyone honors and celebrates Culture.

Day 3 My colour for this outfit, was orange. It is my favourite colour and symbolizes energy, positivity and optimism. I wore a brilliant orange scarf by Wendy Van Riesen, an ECO Designer and Artist, in collaboration with Haida Artist Reg Davidson. The orange/red shirt and skirt are long time favs, worn many times at Vancouver Fashion Week, previously and being reused for current looks now. Shoes are red Kate Spade, likely to be worn and resoled often. So energy, postivity, optimism and transformation are all evident in these collections: Nathee Rav, CLDDMNTY is local, North Van and is a youthful streetwear debut collection, Ben Reitmeier is from New Denver, B.C. whose motto is: "You don't need permission to evolve, and you don't need a reason to change." Ricardo Pinto is from Brazil and upcycled jeans dazzled the runway, for sure. His motto: "There is only one planet." Lidia Chep (CHEP), Julia Van der Lei Italian-Braz is here from Milano, BLTAM ENTRE, features 4 Korean teens who design to send a "positive message to the world through Fashion". Sophia Chantal is a Greek American Designer from Athens and New York, who recycles and upcycles vintage embroidered pieces, Call and Response is a group of Designers, Musicans and Artists whose collection is dedicated to those who are "forever and always, personal and experimental, raw and refined".

Day 4 Green is the colour again, but added to the wrap by and scarf by wendyvanriesen and Reg Davidson, are pants by sasakiartgallery.com green instead of black, this time.

Designers: Alex S.Yu, Manami Suzuki, Malaika Hamid,

Hannah Kim, Ainsley McPherson, Bahar Kianpour, jii_okinawa, Jumper Zhang.

Day 5 is the power colours red and black of my wrap: Raven, by @dahliadriveclothing and Haida Designer @davidson.reg. See more about the Day 5 Designers @vanfashionweek.com

It's been grand for 5 days! Looking forward to October and the next fabulousness!