PREVIEW
MC College New Designers Fashion Show
Thursday, Sept. 12 at 6 p.m.
Alberta Aviation Museum
11410 Kingsway Ave., Edmonton
Tickets: Start at $25 Visit eventbrite.ca
The New Designers Showcase, MC College’s biggest event of the year, will once more reveal a slice of the whimsical world of high fashion design.
Thirteen emerging designers, including Becky Boyd and Treasa Webb from St. Albert, will strut their collection Thursday, Sept. 12 at Edmonton’s Aviation Museum on Kingsway Avenue.
The college program runs 12 months from September to August and the motley crew of designers spent an entire year creating collections from scratch.
They have colonized new ideas and challenged preconceived notions with an end product that screams originality. While some offer jaw-dropping beauty, others present more unorthodox visions. Regardless of differing styles and expressions, the varied aesthetics are exciting to see.
Within the past year MC College moved to its new home at The Edge, a 10-storey glass structure near MacEwan University. Designed by Gene Dub Architects, the building offers plenty of natural light and large, open floor plans.
Alisha Aschick, creator of the Suka label and a college instructor, believes the new building influenced her students' designs in terms of space and architecture.
“There’s lots of cosmopolitan stuff along with one vintage collection. And we’re also seeing some very futuristic apparel this year,” said Aschick.
Treasa Webb, 47, mother of two teens, created an edgy collection of 10 different looks titled Rebellious Truth – The Wonder Woman Collection. Not your typical MC fashion student, Webb decided to follow her passion for clothing design after raising two teens.
She enrolled at MC College in the 2017 program and received a $1,000 scholarship. However, in the first week of school, she was diagnosed with breast cancer and withdrew to follow a treatment schedule.
“I was devastated. I had no cancer in the family. I was eating healthy and I was a fitness instructor. It ticked me off,” said Webb.
A determined survivor, Webb re-enrolled in 2018 and designed various fall silhouettes peppered with avant-garde asymmetrical lines.
“I designed it for the chic and rebellious. It was inspired by Earth tones and the New York City architecture. It’s for the restless or brave woman.”
Webb submitted her looks to Vancouver Fashion Week, running Oct. 7 to 13, and was thrilled to learn she was given a berth at the emerging designer show.
“They only give out eight spots from across Canada. It’s exciting and nerve-wracking at the same time.”
On the other hand, Becky Boyd, 21, a 2016 graduate of Bellerose High, will present eight pop culture looks. The all American capsule collection titled Whiskey Girl offers a variety of eclectic, individualized looks.
The looks pull together a '70s hippie party dress, a silkscreen shirt, jeans and a bodysuit, and a chiffon-tulle skirt. She’s even printed her own fabric to create a whiskey bottle sundress and a T-shirt dress boasting cars from the movie Grease.
“There’s something for everyone so you can mix and match the pieces into a variety of styles,” said Boyd.
Her threads were inspired by Atticus, best selling author of The Dark Between the Stars, a man who writes poetry about women with a burning intensity.
“I wanted to take the energy of this woman and turn it into a fashion collection. In one of his lines he writes, ‘One drink and the world was his. She was his whiskey like a loaded gun.'
“This collection is about strong, confident women. They go through things, but you see that they stay strong.”
Another designer, Lovelle Giang, turned to cosplay to create a collection oozing dark whimsy, fairy worlds and fantasy realms.
Jaisel Soliman has instead turned to the Japanese kimono culture and Korean pop bands for inspiration.
“It’s tradition infused in urban street culture. She uses a lot of PVC and embroidery,” said Aschick.
Taking things to a new level, Fakrah Abra has imagined an “almost futuristic Mars” using 3D printing.
“Everything reflects Mars – the landscape, the colour, the land cruiser and her embellishments are very Star Trekkie.”
Perhaps the most complex is Amber Chaba’s collection devoted to mental health and psychiatric wards.
Her stuff makes you feel uncomfortable in the best possible way. There are armpit stains and hair textures. She’s taken a perspective to the next level of wearable outfits, but it’s still very artistic.”
Kyla Suess’ polished collection sticks with a structured femininity while Pamela Dela Cruz has forged some futuristic latex pieces.
“It’s a nod to mod styling and leisure wear.”
And Sydney Alessandrini, an Edmonton dance instructor, leaned on her intimate knowledge of 1930s Hollywood and the dance styles, to create a vintage collection.
Every collection will exhibit that intangible quality that makes a fashion show such a pleasure to watch. So save the date. Click off the TV, peel yourself away from the couch and enjoy one of Edmonton’s most exciting fashion shows.
