The 8th edition of Eco Fashion Week just took place in Vancouver and our West Coast correspondent Helen Siwak has the scoop. She is bringing you the best reviews and photos from the fashion shows as well as a few candid moments. This is the last installment of her coverage.
Check out the previous ones:
ECO FASHION WEEK:˜The 68lb Challenge with Young Oak, founder and designer Tammy Joe
ECO FASHION WEEK: ˜The Thrift Chic Challenge Sponsored by Value Village
ECO FASHION WEEK: Holt Renfrew Charity Shopping Night + Obakki Trunk Show
By Helen Siwak of KitsilanoKittysCloset.com, West Coast Correspondent
As shoppers milled about, fashionistas and media started positioning themselves on the rows of white chairs just inside the doors of Holt Renfrew Vancouver. I had the inside scoop from head-of-house Donna Sheer (Styleby Dona) that the escalators would be used in the runway show and to find a vantage point higher up. This proved later to be excellent advice!
Sponsors DAVIDsTEA and BE Coconut provided beverages at kiosks throughout the 3 level luxury shopping store and volunteers scurried around making sure the local who’s who were photographed against the numerous media walls.
Founded in 2005, all the Obakki collections are created, designed and manufactured in BC. This is the first year that Obakki will be featured at ECO Fashion Week even though founder and designer Treana Peake is from Vancouver and is married to Ryan Peake of Nickleback. Throughout the evening, Holt Renfrew hosted a charity shopping event where 10 percent of all sales went to the Obakki Foundation, a registered nonprofit that helps fund clean-water initiatives in Africa and has provided over 500 water wells and built 12 schools in South Sudan and Cameroon.
Introductions were warm and generous by ECO Fashion Weeks co-founder and fashion sustainability expert Myriam Laroche. She is a energetic vibrant woman who lives for 1980s fashion and literally bounces from one passion project to another. Myriam introduced the vivacious Treana Peake who was accompanied by her adorable son who in turn began the show to much applause.
The collection was sophisticated with clean body hugging lines and luxurious fabrics in soft natural colours and neutral tones. Mostly versatile professional day looks with the seamless addition of a few flirty silk dresses with fluttery hemlines. Add a belt, hat and simple accessories and the pieces become slightly more casual and easily wearable out and about. The fabrics were perfect for the classic draping that Obakki is known for and hemlines were either slightly above or below the knee.
Event goers were surprised to find that as the show progressed the models walked right off the end of the runway looping through the crowds and utilizing the many escalators to move the garments about the store. One felt like an extra in a classic French movie! The whole show was without a misstep. Beautiful and flawless.
Hair and make-up looks were created by sponsor La Biosthetique‘s husband and wife team Marc and Anna Riese who were flown in from their home in Calgary, AB. La Biosthetique’s products are cruelty-free and contain no animal products. Definitely loved that! I had the opportunity to speak with Anna and Marc pre-show about the choices they made to compliment the collection.
The show had two seasons spring and fall. Anna’s spring make-up look had a very glossy peachy eye for a natural dewy look, a touch of ‘grandma pinched your cheek blush and natural lip colour. The fall used more textures, very natural with eyes defined by matt taupe shadow, slight mascara and highlighter on cheeks, center nose and cupid’s bow. The lips would be pearly but neutral.
In the hair studio, Marc created a fresh spring look with a low side part and pony tail tied with simple elastic for an unfinished fresh urban look. The fall look had loose hair and a tiny cornrow along the low side part. The looks were maintained by using La Bioesthetique’s Luxury Spa Oil for straightening the hair, the Beach Effect Styling Spray for a gritty ‘by the ocean’ feel and finished looks with their classic Formule Laque dry hair spray.
Congratulations to Ashleigh Said for keeping everyone coordinated and calm, the volunteers for knowing their stuff and to all others involved to make this closing night event such a great success. For those who missed it, the Spring/Summer Obakki line will be available at Holt Renfrew soon as part of the charitable H Project shop (second floor across from Prada).
Stay Conscious & Chic!
Photo Credits: Kuna Photography and Helen Siwak.