People have always been a bit sniffy about Vancouver Fashion Week (Sept. 19-25), which is now in the middle of its 27th season. It’s perhaps a natural consequence of this being a city that’s not known for its extraordinary style (New York or Paris, we ain’t) and whose residents reference its ‘no-fun’ reputation with baffling pride. However, the cancellation of Toronto Fashion Week has presented us with an opportunity to shine. We’re small, friendly and supportive of emerging talent, and this year’s event attracted fantastic designers both local and international.
Vestige Story
Founded by Aileen Lee in 2015, this Vancouver brand makes beautiful, simple pieces that are easy to wear, but still have fashion edge. The self-taught designer was always interested in fashion. “I’ve been drawing, doodling and painting ever since I can remember. I created my first clothing collection when I was five years old, with crayons and card stock for paper dolls I made myself,” she says. Her favourite designers are Phoebe Philo of Celine, and Paris-based couturier, Yi Qing Yin. “I like the former for her impeccable, minimal taste and execution, and the latter for her imaginative, otherworldly designs and craftsmanship,” says Lee. Her Spring/Summer ’17 range is called the Landscape Collection. “It revisits the basic yet poetic elements found in landscape art,” she explains. Her target woman is the mindful creative – someone who, she says, “digs deep, someone who appreciates beauty, as well as quality, sustainability and craftsmanship.” What does she think of the way women dress here? “Vancouver dressing is casual and very fitness-focused. My out-of-town peers call us ‘Lululemon Land’. I hope to add a different perspective to the way people dress here. Our city is starting to see the establishment of a few talented independent designer labels, and I support the direction we are headed,” she says. Vestige Story is sold at Woo To See You (Yaletown), Much & Little (Main Street) and Oliver & Lilly’s (South Granville).
THE LABEL.
We’re becoming increasingly aware of environmental and ethical issues in the fashion industry, thanks to movies like Vancouver production River Blue. One area we’re looking at is not wasting fabric – which is exactly what THE LABEL., a one-year-old brand from Canberra, Australia, specializes in. “I work with minimal and zero waste design but with an edge. Minimal-waste techniques involve using all or most of the fabric to reduce waste to landfill. This process is extremely complex and can mean many pattern pieces,” explains designer Emma O’Rourke. While production is complicated, O’Rourke’s aesthetic is refined and simple. Her Spring/Summer 2017 collection is called >< (greater than, less than). “It’s about the greater picture, less noise,” she says. “I think the thing I am most excited about is to showcase some great new innovations in fabric. I have incorporated some amazing fabrics, some natural, some made from recycled plastic bottles. Ethical and sustainable clothing has a new look!” THE LABEL. pieces are available directly from the website, www.thelabel.com.au
Song Ryoo
We’ve always had a soft spot for Korean and Japanese fashion designers – avant-garde, experimental and intellectual, they push fashion in new directions and make us think differently about how we dress. Seoul-born, New York-based Song Ryoo is our latest discovery. Her mother’s interior design background was her biggest influence. “I lived in a geometrical and minimal living space full of Scandinavian design elements. Such an environment led my eyes to shapes, lines, and forms,” she says. However, hers was not a clinically clean home. “When I was little, I saw my mother making a little mess after cleaning the house perfectly. I could not understand why she was doing that so I asked her. And she said: ‘The house is a really important place – it has to be comfortable and warm. A perfectly clean house does not help us to be relaxed.’ That became my biggest inspiration and memory when I design. A good design has to visually feel comfortable when you look at it for a long time, even if it is new or distinctive.” Home is also the inspiration for Ryoo’s debut collection, which is her graduate project for her final year at Parsons. We’re not the only Song Ryoo fans. Her work has recently been featured in US Vogue and W Korea. As a result of this publicity, she’s in discussion with various retailers about stocking her line, although unfortunately, we can’t buy her pieces yet. Find out more about Song Ryoo and her brand at www.songryoo.com
