It’s wild and wacky, demure and elegant. Once more designers who worked like gremlins through the winter will show off their latest collections at Western Canada Fashion Week.
This eight-day showcase highlights every artistic endeavour in fashion — clothes, accessories, hair, makeup, costume design and photography. It runs March 24 to April 1 at the Westbury Theatre in the TransAlta Arts Barn.
The brainchild of Sandra Sing Fernandes, a former model and designer, WCFW is in its sixth season.
“I’m a believer of creativity and this event speaks to the serious positive energy in design. There’s some very high-end collections and it gets people thinking locally as well as globally,” says Fernandes.
Fashion week features an emerging designer competition, celebrity showcase, salon montage, and a fantasy hair and makeup competition. Perhaps the most anticipated events are three runway shows where hundreds of locals sit around a catwalk watching models strut their wares to pounding music and flashing lights.
The first professional runway collection launches fashion week on Friday with the return of Edmonton designer Stanley Carroll, Posta and St. Albert’s own Nazila Couture.
“Stanley is a showman. He knows how to use the entertainment factor and he’s very good at branding. He will make a statement and be remembered,” says Fernandes.
She adds that Nazila Couture’s flowy, elegant clothing is one-of-a-kind. “Nazila is amazing. She’s very skilled and she has the east-meets-west fusion down pat.”
Two other St. Albert ambassadors unveiling their latest works on Tuesday, March 29 are Tressa Heckbert’s Sessa line and Lisa Marie Sciroli’s Charmed collection.
Heckbert, co-founder of Meese, has created the Nomad collection, a multi-seasonal layered look. In Nomad, she mixes different fabrics and textures from wool and recycled leather to linen and sheer silk in a camel, sky blue, beige, white and chocolate brown palette.
She plays with style lines, details and hem length, maximizing versatility. In one funnel neck dress, Heckbert works with flexible fabric that can be pulled over the shoulders to create a longer hem.
Perhaps most striking is the inclusion of two men’s looks. “There’s not a lot of locally produced streetwear for men and we feel confident of the designs.”
On the other hand, Sciroli, who specializes in custom work, has created a collection of 20 feminine outfits emphasizing a retro elegance. Using a bold colour palette from the 70s, Sciroli uses whites, yellows, oranges, pinks and red for her shorts, skirts, dresses and tops. And she’ll probably make waves with an overall high-waisted look.
What always adds panache are the showcase evening gowns. This season Sciroli introduces a white satin, contoured at the waist and a red gown, pleated at the seam.
For a full list of participating designers log on to www.westerncanadafashionweek.com. Tickets are $20 per night and $85 for a weekly pass. Call the TransAlta Arts Barns box office at 780-409-1910. Doors open at 7 p.m.; the shows start at 8 p.m.
