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THE INSEAM VOL. 42: ECO FASHION WEEK OPENING NIGHT

Vancouver is home to a thriving fashion industry made up of individuals committed to its growth and success. Get to know these personalities in The Inseam and discover what makes the Vancouver Fashion scene so awesome.

Vancouver is home to a thriving fashion industry made up of individuals committed to its growth and success. Get to know these personalities in The Inseam and discover what makes the Vancouver Fashion scene so awesome. Every month, The Inseam’s Eco Edition focuses on the innovators that shape the green movement in local fashion.

Photo courtesy of Jessica McIlroy

Eco Fashion Week S/S13 is happening this week, and was kicked off last night with a Nicole Bridger event at the Vogue Theatre.  The evening was far more than a fashion show, it was celebration of some amasing Vancourites and how they have inspired Nicole in her art and business.

The evening was opened with remarks from Myriam Laroche, President and Founder of Eco Fashion Week, welcoming everyone to the 5th Eco Fashion Week, thanking her team and sponsors, and reminding us all of why we were there: to support sustainability and responsibility in fashion.

The audience was then treated to some pretty fab jazz vocals from local talent Jaclyn Guillou, the 2009 CBC Galaxie Rising Star Award recipient.

MC Mike Sheenan, of BeatBoard youth education programs, facilitated some brief remarks from a series of speakers, each of whom have inspired or influenced Nicole in how she thinks about her business and social enterprise.  We heard from Aaron Smith, the founder of Go Voluntouring, a travel company that connects people to volunteer projects in 98 different countries.  Madeline Shaw shared her lessons from founding Luna Pads and the creation of the Pads4Girls program which provides menstrual pads to girls in developing countries, allowing them to stay in school everyday of the month and complete their education. Restauranteur Mark Brand then spoke about being an active member of your community and how he has engaged more with the people of the Downtown East Side through food security programs at Save-on-Meats.

Photo courtesy of Jessica McIlroy

A short video then played showing a bit of behind the scenes of Nicole's process, and she spoke about her philosophy of doing the best for the earth, people and spirit.  Her inspiration comes from life lessons, with this Fall collection titled "Kali" after the Hindu Goddess of empowerment.

Of course not being one to put together a typical runway show, the "fashion" portion of the evening was opened but six contemporary dancers, each beautifully dressed in Nicole Bridger designs.  The dancers continued a performance that felt of the telling of a story of growth, struggle and empowerment, interspersed with models walking in this season's collection.

Photo courtesy of Jessica McIlroy

The collection contained a lot of the familiar Nicole Bridger elements, such as feminine dresses designed for comfort and real life.  A rose pattern silk was used, adding a beautiful new depth for fall, and a bit of a difference from her typical solid print textiles.  There were also features of what you would expect from a fall/winter collection: deeper tones of green, grey and burgundy and textures of wool and knits.  Models also wore Mala Imports jewelery from Indonesia.

Photo courtesy of Jessica McIlroy

Check out more Eco Fashion Week events happening at Robson Square through October 19th.