Ottawa Fashion Week

Last weekend I attended Ottawa Fashion Week. As I explained, from attending the opening party, I was pretty hopeful about what the weekend would hold. And for the most part, I was actually impressed with the production value (and even the clothes). There were a few things that confused me, including an entire Fall/Winter collection of barely there skirts and shirts (but more on that later).

While the event was 3 days (evenings) long, I only attended Saturday night. Friday left me homebound, thanks to some residual effects of Nemo, and quite frankly, having an event from 6pm-10pm (not accounting for the lateness of fashion shows), without open bar or canapés, is a lot to ask. The last thing I want to be doing at a fashion show is during an "intermission" (I was confused too) to be stuffing my face with pizza. What's wrong with going from 1pm-5pm?

Images via Jacob Durjan 

But back to the fashion.

Ariel Wu was ok. The clothes aren't my jam. Perhaps that's an unfair judgement, but you can only see so many drop-waist dresses in raspberry, olive, and khaki before you check out. The one highlight from this collection was a cream coloured shirt with a built-in cape. The built-in cape is the thing right now (think Andrea Risborough's chainmail).

Iman was a solid collection, but also not my jam. It was Iman's first time showing and there's a lot of potential there. The collection used a lot of bright jewel tones and was definitely culturally inspired. But it also had a medieval feel to it. Where it fell flat for me was that it used a lot of satin, and lace and sheer overlay.

Jana & Emilia Fashions showed a collection inspired by the First Nations communities. There were some cool pieces, like a yellow jacket with a massive owl appliqué on the back. However, the collection was showing Fall/Winter, and there were a high number of barely-there skirts and fur front-only tops (tied with leather pieces). But aside from that, the outwear was the standout. Well tailored pieces with interesting details on them.

Nyira was my favourite collection of the night. The show opened with a fantastic fuchsia water-colour suit. The same amazing pattern was used as the lapels on a extra-long tuxedo-inspired jacket. The collection was based in black, but there was a lot of gold brocade used too - including a gold jacket. I very rarely attend local fashion shows and want a piece from a collection, let alone the entire collection.

Dare opened their show with an African drum performance. The collection was nice. No hugely standout pieces, but the collection was solid overall. Think jersey dresses: maxi, short, wrap-dresses, with Angelina slits, turtlenecks. Maybe I missed something, but I didn't entirely understand the tie-in with the drummers.

On the whole, I was pleasantly surprised by my whole Ottawa Fashion Week experience.

Ottawa Fashion Week: Opening Party

Earlier this week, I attended the kick-off party for Ottawa Fashion Week.

It's been a long time since I've been the girl at an event who doesn't know a single person. I didn't know what fashion blogs (if there even are any) were popular in Ottawa, who the typical media and event people were, or anything. I went to this party not knowing a single thing about Ottawa Fashion Week, the scene, anything. I think this was actually a good thing...aside from being insanely awkward for most of the evening.

The party venue was only a few blocks from my apartment. It wasn't raining, so the Vancouverite in me wanted to make the most of that (plus taking a cab would've been silly), so I decided to walk. Walking meant that I couldn't wear heels, which was fine, since it was -10 and icy out. Dressed in denim on denim and black boots, I was the most underdressed person by a long shot. There were heels, bare legs, party dresses, the works! I was so underdressed, that my ice-breaker to talk to 2 girls was, "Hey. You guys look as awkward and uncomfortable about being underdressed as I am!" (I'm so charming.) I ended up trying to justify my underdressed-ness as being "Westcoast" - AKA practical. But then I was told (by a CTV reporter and the wife of the OFW Executive Director) that it's GAME ON during Ottawa Fashion Week, and to "have fun with it".

Challenge accepted.

What really surprised me about Ottawa Fashion Week (aside from the fact that it's just a weekend and that I had to pay for a media pass - yes, OFW, I'm judging you. This isn't MBFW) is that it is fully supported by the National Capital Commission, a Crown corporation that promotes the Ottawa region as a source of national pride and significance. The partnership helps promote the arts and culture aspect of fashion, something Vancouver could benefit greatly from.

While the actual fashions have yet to be judged, I can certainly tell you that the professionalism of OFW currently surpasses that of VFW. For OFW, it's not about the press hits, the SEO, or requests of biased blog contributions from bloggers (requests that once you've declined are somehow sent to you again by the same person), it's actually about fashion as a part of art and culture. And while that part differs from the fashion beliefs in the US and Europe, it's at least something that we can take ownership for.