Vancouver Fashion Week SS12 - Part II

Hello again lovely followers!

Continuing on from my last post, here are the latter 3 shows I attended last night at Vancouver Fashion Week - Rajadano, Maria Peligro, & Claire O'Connor:

First up is Rajadano - a collection of ethnic handbags for women. I really like the philosophy their product -

 "Rajadano aims to contribute to the revival of ethnic handcrafts, bringing history's vibrant cultures within reach of the modern day fahionista. Traveling around the world our one-of-a-kind handbags portray the beauty and individuality of a different ethnic group's cultural heritage each year."

The bags were vibrant, colourful... and beyond difficult to photograph on a runway! The silky scarves which adorned each models head were what really caught my eye however. With feather trim on each colourful piece, I instantly fell in love. That being said, this was probably my least favourite show; simply because I find accessory-focused shows can be a little too repetitive. 

The long teal/gold clutch on the far left was my favourite piece in this collection.

Maria Peligro (a Mexican designer I think, but don't quote me on that one) was probably my personal favourite of the evening. Her SS12 collection had a lot of variety yet it wasn't all over the place; each piece was complimentary to the collection as a whole. She showed quite a few bodysuit pieces, lots of ruffles, and some really fun geometric detailing.

This one is unfortunately blurry, but I loved it so posted it regardless!

I truly love this one so much. The colours & style remind me of a 1950's American pep-rally :)

This was my favourite of the bodysuits - I love the ruffled shoulders which partially cover the pink sleeves!

Hello striped flared pants! Such a fun piece; and I love the flowy crop top they are paired with.

Several of the models had those metal bird sculptures, which were quite interesting. Also of note in this collection were some pieces which I didn't manage to photograph well enough: an bright orange shift dress which I would wear in a heartbeat; a mushroom-coloured jumpsuit; a futuristic dress reminiscent of a 60's mod flight attendant; & finally, several romantic-style dresses with fitted waists, flowy maxi lengths, & whimsical light grey & pink colours. Loved it, end of discussion.

Claire O'Connor was the last designer we saw. As you can probably guess from her name, she is Irish & her designs are based in Dublin (instant brownie-points for me). 

This was probably my favourite piece of Claire's collection - the structured shoulders in and of themselves are reason enough. I also loved the rich winter green colour and white fitted waist detail.

About half of the collection was comprised of 'Impressionism-print' silk dresses, similar to this one. I did love the variety of necklines and sleeves, however I found this part of the collection a little too repetitive.

The neck and waist/belt pieces were made of leather & cut into some pretty fascinating designs!

And here is a quick shot of the designer herself - super cute & bashful, I had to be quick to catch a photo of her. Looking every bit the tiny Irishwomen, Claire O'Connor popped out for the quickest bow ever. She was adorable and made me smile so much!

And so there you have it folks - photos & commentary from my Vancouver Fashion Week experience! I've had more than my share of typing for the night so I'll leave it there. I'm off to make a late-night snack & potentially kick-off my festive holiday movie-watching obsession.... we shall see :) 

Good night lovely followers & thank you so much for reading! 

<3 Shawna

Vancouver Fashion Week SS12 - Part I

Hello hello :)

I'd just like to start with a little about my day! Unfortunately I've never really gotten the hang of Daylight Savings time, so confusion reigned when I woke up this morning; whether I would be early/late/on-time for our Holiday Staff Meeting at work. Fortunately I did make it on time after all & despite the early hour it was interesting to see everyone, devour what I could of the breakfast provided, & learn a little about our upcoming Holiday collection (stay tuned tomorrow for a post about this!). Then onto brunch with two lovely ladies (& fellow STFX grads) at Gorilla Foods, which serves amazing raw vegan food. Throw in a gorgeous sunshiney day with coloured leaves, city wanderings, and voila - you've got my relaxing Sunday afternoon!

Now on to the real business at hand - Vancouver Fashion Week! I attended 6 shows last night (with my lovely co-worker & student of fashion, Kris :) & had a fabulous time....

Not particularly digging this photo of me but it's the only one we managed to get, so here it is...

The shows we saw included Belinda Liu, Hachung Lee, Jose Jhan, Rajadano, Maria Peligro, & Claire O'Connor - all international designers & quite the eclectic bunch as you can imagine. Two were mens collections, one handbags, and the remaining were women's. Camera glued to face, I took just over 700 photos. Unfortunately 3/4 of them blurred (those models walk far too fast!) & I had quite the ordeal going through them all this evening. To get them all in without overwhelming you lovely readers, I've decided to post them in two parts. Also, I apologize for the quality of some of the photos (I am not the most skilled with a camera, no matter how fancy it is!).

Without further ado, here are the first 3 shows:

Belinda Liu is a designer from Romania, who presented her AW 11 collection at London Fashion Week last winter.

I've never been a huge fan of prints such as this one, but I do love the cut of this dress with it's fitted waist, maxi length, and half-sleeve.

Really love the fitted waistlines of these dresses, and the neckline detail of this one in particular.

This was my favourite Belinda Liu piece (with palazzo pant, not skirt bottom as you'd think from this photo) - the only issue with this however was sizing; the neckline was too wide & the poor model had to hold it closed most of the show.

 I really enjoyed the blue transparent pieces of this collection in particular. They made me think fondly of 'I dream of Jeannie' reruns. I wasn't sold on many of the other pieces in this collection however. Although each piece was lovely on it's own, I did find the overall collection was a bit 'all over the place' in terms of style and flow.

Hachung Lee is a Korean designer, who showed his contemporary men's collection. The instant I saw the clothes I thought 'Samuri-esque!' & indeed, on his website Hachung describes his collection as 'Korean warrior' in style.

Admist all the black and white I loved this pop of vibrant red!

Loving those hats.

Next up, Jose Jhan! A Dominican designer, his mens collection was beyond fun. There was a huge variety in colours, patterns, and fabrics - and the upbeat south american music was perfect to set the tone.

Absolutely fell in love with this pastel plaid blazer & short set. Combined with slicked back hair & thick-framed glasses - such a fun look!

A really cool mens cape, which had bright red detailing on the front pockets. Not to mention... hello feather in hat! :)

I was in raptures after seeing this red VELVET blazer. I am currently obsessing over all things velvet and this bright red beauty made me smile like a chesire cat! 

Hope you've enjoyed the photos as much as I enjoyed attending the shows & seeing these talented designers showcase their works! I'll post Part II of the evening shortly :)