Get Your Green On

Today (Tuesday) finds us right smack dab in the middle of Vancouver Eco Fashion Week. I hope you were on its radar, because the shows, events and educational sessions this organization puts together twice a year is a fantastic collection of creativity, design and global awareness. In its seventh edition, this 4 day stint of events brings together the brightest and most inspiring minds in our local industry. Being on the West Coast, we tend to be too far away and too small a city to really have any impact on the global fashion community. However, the Vancouver industry has figured out a way to be heard.

First, you carve out a niche. Then you perfect it, you own it, you live by it. Then you look around you and notice that half the people around you are also living by it. That is the point where Eco Fashion Week stepped in. They identified the impressive sustainably-minded business owners, chatted with them, found sponsors and got them all on a large stage with flashing lights big and bold enough to yell at the rest of the fashion world "Not only are we incredibly talented but we are also really really cool..."

Of course, this is my shortened, by-observation analysis of the whole thing, but I truly love what they have done. British Columbia has such a huge Social Venture Network that when trying to get noticed amongst New York, Toronto and Paris, we really need to play to our strengths and pull the proverbial rabbit out of the hat. So we highlight our stereotypical "west coast", laid back, liberal-thinking vibe to the industry and you have a whole new fashion sector. No longer is fashion just a superficial business. It now has heart.

To have that blossoming out of Vancouver is such an honour. It may have started in Europe and Australia. We may be a little late to the party. But as for North America, many of our designers are on the forefront. And don't be thinking hippie clothes now. These are designers who are creative and talented. They just think sustainably and bring that into their business. Its not a selling feature, but rather an after-thought for the buyer. A "oh, I love this design" and "by the way, its made of tencel" kind of collection. If we can somehow get the majority thinking this way, the use of petroleum by-products such as polyester, harmful dye toxins and fast-fashion garbage-dump-filler may be a thing of the past.

If you are unable to make the shows this season, I highly recommend attending the shows or sessions in for the next instalment in April. Until then, you can check out some of our local talent listed below and watch the current shows on the Eco Fashion Week website and live streaming or taped shows via livestream.com

Nicole Bridger - www.nicolebridger.com
Claire Bouvier - www.theclairecloset.com
Dandelion Wind Opaine - www.dandiwind.ca
Kenneth Wyse - http://ecofashion-week.com/designers/07/kennethwyse.html
Cherry Blossom Design - www.cherryblossomdesign.ca
Young Oak - http://ecofashion-week.com/designers/07/youngoak.html

The Nicole Bridger team that I am so happy to be a part of.

Hope you are able to enjoy the great event that is 100% truly west coast!


- Kim