Vancouver’s Eco Fashion Week Opens With a Bang

Credit: Kris Krüg & Phillip Jeffrey

Designer Lara Miller shows her Spring 2011 collection at Vancouver Eco Fashion Week.

Kim Cathers, Lav & Kush, Nixxi and Lara Miller shine at Vancouver’s inaugural Eco Fashion Week runway show

How to gratify the alleged contrary notions of sartorial splendour and environmental responsibility? It’s a dilemma immense enough to deter many fashion designers from trying, particularly if it comes at a cost that sends consumers running scared.

Yet at this moment in history, we are each producing a surplus 16 kilograms of textile waste per person—that’s more than 35,000 tonnes of the stuff each year in Metro Vancouver alone. So it’s no longer good enough for designers to continue to sit on the proverbial fence, acknowledging their environmental conscience only when convenient.

And as the designers at last night’s runway show at Vancouver’s first Eco Fashion Week know, the only way forward is to tackle the complexities of creating collections that are visually delectable and simultaneously responsible.

Emesha and Lara Miller

The evening began early—perhaps too early judging by the sparse turnout for the night’s first designers, Emesha (by Britain-based Emesha Nagy) and Lara Miller (a Chicago-based designer’s eponymous collection).

But the joke was on those who missed Emesha’s beautifully rendered dualistic collection, which strut the line between meticulous architectural masculinity (think: pronounced pointed shoulder pads and oversized “boyfriend” blazers) and subtle feminine embellishment.

Emesha by Emesha Nagy, courtesy Kris Krüg

And when Lara Miller paraded her sultry, sophisticated knits down the catwalk no woman in the audience was thinking, “How very environmentally responsible.” They were thinking, “Is there any way that stunning cowl neck cardigan with the deep drop back could look as good on me as it does on that model?”

Lara Miller, courtesy Kris Krüg

Indeed it was refreshing to see that neither of the collections bore particular resemblance to each other—proving there’s more than one way to be fashionable and righteous, which was to be further illustrated by the three local designers to follow, presenting to what became a full house.

Nixxi

For Nixxi, it began with no-nonsense street wear that paid respect to another local artist, Camilla d’Errico (by featuring her Helmet Girl illustrations front and centre on several pieces), and closed with a nod to the ’80s with a drop-waisted dress—anachronistically to the sound of quintessential ’70s rocker Cherie Currie belting out “Cherry Bomb.”

Nixxi, courtesy Kris Krüg

Lav & Kush

Lav & Kush hit the runway with a fresh take on its bestselling jumpsuit, this time in eco-denim, as well as several flirty dresses cut from soft stretch hemp and a hemp-blend in clean silhouettes, their über feminism beautifully balanced by silk scarves hung with three, sometimes five chunky baubles, and tied to hang just above the décolletage.

Nixxi, courtesy Kris Krüg

kdon

To the sounds of tribal drumming, kdon designer Kim Cathers presented a collection reminiscent of another local designer, Mandula, in its conceptual, if indulgent, use of recycled fabrics and draping techniques. Visually exciting and layered with contradictions (a tied-on strapless top in somber grey one moment, a neon yellow multi-tiered balloon skirt the next), the pieces were perhaps the least accessible of the evening, in terms of ready-to-wear, but proudly sacrificed nothing of their artistry in being so.

kdon by Kim Cathers, courtesy Phillip Jeffrey

There were lowlights during the evening, such as lengthy waits between shows and a sound tech who inexplicably cranked the music to a deafening volume. But these are niggly little items that you forgive a first-time production. What really matters is that when considering responsible, sustainable style, last night proved that there’s clearly nothing lost in the passion or talent of making it.

Stay tuned for more continued coverage from the rest of Vancouver Eco Fashion Week…
 

Day Two: Designers at Vancouver Eco Fashion Week redefine ‘investment pieces’

Kate MacLennan is a freelance journalist and one of Canada’s foremost trend experts on matters of lifestyle ranging from fashion to music to surfing. She can be found online and on Twitter.