garrett naccarato, yana matusovski and jordan reimer aka. the team behind
kruhx.com
by no means do i want this to sound like a review. after missing both the park industry mixer (because i was in new york) and the park show (because i was in toronto) i was very excited, and determined to be able to make it to fabricated. put on by brook fung of peeko apparel together with a team of creative and fashion forward friends, fabricated had a similar mission statement as that of park, that, in a nutshell, its goal is to promote local designers by giving them an avenue to showcase their work. by putting on this show it creates an opportunity for all facets of the calgary fashion industry to get involved, from media, hair and makeup, models and agencies and local businesses (ala fashion week on a smaller scale). and thank goodness! as wonderful as it is to have fashion week that actually comes back season to season what lacks is fashion events in between. if it were up to me, we would be having these every week. it's a fantastic opportunity to network, catch up and meet people with fashion on their minds.
i was late coming to the vip meet and greet with the designers but when i arrived the room was packed with photographers, stylists, editors, makeup artists, bloggers and fashion lovers of all other trades. the venue itself i have to say was top notch. i've been to the grand theatre once before for an acoustic performance by metric, i never realized that the space accommodated rearrangements (think college gym and sliding bleachers, but with theatre seats and completely black interior). the runway was sleek and simple, it was a great setup.
vanessa lynn cuppen mc'ed the event. once the shows started it was all about the accessories for me, peeko had some fabulous head pieces, feathers, pom poms and chains, jalu had amazing... AMAZING jewellery.
the models rocked all four shows. there were some technical issues with the music and speed, apiana que sent one girl out for the final peel (i am still trying to figure that one out) and one girl insisted on making her mistakes painfully obvious (note: if you make a mistake just carry on and act like it wasn't a mistake at all, the audience doesn't know what's supposed to happen, when you actually say 'oh my god' on the runway, while your walking and go back to fix it... yea, then we know), as a model i credit it to inexperience, and after my epic fall earlier this year i know there is nowhere else to go but up. the music choices were not ideal in my opinion, there is nothing like a high energy beat to sell the clothes, don't they say that music releases endorphins and makes for happy shoppers? just a thought, i realize that artists suffer from chronic melancholia but do we have to as well as a result? haithem elkadiki (kaadiki) on the other hand had it all figured out and totally knew how to work it. his show by far stood out, his bow, impeccable, with so many models and looks it felt like no time at all, it makes for a great flow, and the audience noticed. it was definitely a great way to close the night (also kudos on the styling by
leah van loon for this one). the hair was stunning, i personally congratulated jereme on the great job his team did with all the looks. hed kandi always turns it on.
i spent the evening sharing 'the pit' with all the photographers, who welcomed me ever so kindly (i am looking at you paul spenard), josephine and her husband right by my side, it was great having so many familiar faces around. to top it off i finally met the beautiful kim from
calgaryfashion.ca who sorted us out with some vip seats. i always had an image of her in my mind but it's kind of impossible to match the real person to a photograph, coincidentally that is exactly what everyone says about me. it was also great to see some bloggers from toronto come and support our local fashion scene (and they will have nothing but great things to take back with them after tonight i hope).
it's so so very inspiring to see all these things happening and coming out of the woodwork in calgary. the interest of everybody around us spiking even compared to one year ago. it's refreshing to see designers use real quality models in their shows, girls who have great walks and sell the clothes instead of focusing on what the floor looks like from where they're standing. overall it was a very successful evening. as i'm sitting here typing people are still buzzing about the event. i am anxious to post about it so you get a 'straight off the runway' kind of report. maybe also because i now want to concentrate all my efforts on thinking of the sam edelman lorissa shoes i may, or may not be getting tomorrow together with some reportedly amazing helmut lang pieces that landed on the holt renfrew shelves in the last couple of days. with this cheery thought i will say goodnight and have a good rest of the weekend. for some more photos from fabricated visit
my facebook page. on a side note, until i figure out how to pose for 'real' photos i will leave myself out of them. xoxo
