next door style

*olie designs

*all photos courteosy of martin prihoda from lumondo photography (http://www.lumondo.com/)

flip through the pages of vogue, fashion, W or any of the glossy fashion magazines and we are bombarded with large name labels like LV, prada, gucci and more. their opulence fulfills our fashion savvy spirit like candy for our eyes. but have you thought of your neighbours? maybe they are also the creators of unique, beautiful and wearable items. this is why Vanessa Fors founded the grassroots organization called “next door style” which shines the spotlight on local fashion and jewellery designers found next door. Like most of us, she thought she knew all the local designers as a children’s wear designer herself, but there’s really more creativeness in the city than one could imagine. “next door style” is an chic online store which invites designers and consumers to connect together in one central hub. true that there are online “esty stores”, but in it, vancouver’s creative bunch soon become lost in a sea of international designers. instead, “next door style” is focused on vancouver’s fashion with an assortment of designers in accessories, sports, native wear and more. with its current representation of 16 local artists, such as jolie mack accessories, olie designs and nixxi, the site is rapidly growing since its founding only a mere four weeks ago.

*jolie mack designs

as a BCIT marketing student and self-made designer, Fors understands the struggles of being a designer and the need of having a business sense in the competitive market. in filling the need, “next door style” helps market vancouver designers as a whole and foster their growth by offering weekly business tips sent to their email inbox. the current goal is to increase brand recognition and customer reach in the local scene, but with potential exposure to the international market.

*jolie couture

the launch party at the hip Raw Canvas showed tremendous local support to the cause. when asked why she chose Raw Canvas as the venue for “next door style’s” launch party, Fors thought it represented the unity of art and design. with live music in the air, attendees were invited to try their hand at painting on the canvas while mingling with the designers. a resident artist of Raw Canvas, Jillmarie Stokes was seen painting away at her abstract tears for cherry blossom. although there were “next door style” based fashion photos from Martin Prihoda and scarce display of some designers’ items, the party would have been even more outstanding if there was larger showcase of the designers creations. perhaps in the future we should look out for a possible “next door style” fashion show! ending on a good note, all donations from the night are going to Art’s Umbrella to foster creativity in the young.

*where you can learn more about “next door style”: http://www.nextdoorstyle.com/

*where you can view more of martin prihoda's work: http://www.lumondo.com/

*where you can view jillmarie stokes work: http://www.paintingsbyjillmarie.blogspot.com/

-cup of red

obakki

tucked in the little corner of gastown, obakki is an international design house offering “rustic luxury” garments without the fuss. the clothing is all made in vancouver, canada with great attention to superior craftsmanship and details. run your hands through the material and you’ll see why it is so. the boutique itself is a restful meditative place with solid woods, white orchids and matching modern chandeliers. as you look through the racks of clothing, you’ll notice the unfinished wooden clothes hanger imprinted with the house’s signature. on the opposite side of the garnment wall, the house offers a tea and tonic bar which offers herbs incorporated fruit beverages with traditional chinese medicine in mind. obakki’s has not created just a trendy clothing boutique but a lifestyle clearly reflecting west coast chic.

founded by Treana Peake, obakki’s concept is to bring emerging canadian designers up to an global level and it has done just that. their spring/ summer collection ’09 preview brought in a crowd from all different backgrounds and even representatives from Fashion Television. the female collection was true to its original concept with soft and light laid-back structured dresses in solid neutrals. here and there were strong oranges and blues, but the collection overall was very streamlined towards neutrality, comfort and luxury. although much smaller, the male collection featured tailored jackets and knee high shorts with similar palette of colours. no matter how hard one tries to search for faults in obakki, whether in their clothing or their image in general, there really isn’t any – except maybe that the boutique is a little too small for a crowd of 70.

*where you can learn more about obakki: http://obakki.com/
*where you can visit obakki: 44 water st., gastown, vancouver

-cup of red

bon chic, bon genre - BCBG Max Azria

a few years ago, the little BCBG store on Robson St. was the heaven for prom queens and princess. i still remember that day when i gawked at this oversized magenta gown made purely of feathers. those days of BCBG are no longer here, this American brand has revived itself of butterflies and cotton candy with chic sophisticated city wear. the newly refurbished boutique featured a natural backdrop of polished stones and wood paneled floors. accents of neon drew attention to featured items such as a peculiar shoe or hat. the clothes carried a neutral palette throughout with shaded blues, purples and reds. there were still dresses dotting the upper floor, but they were for the sophisticated woman out in town. as the first designer to ever produce three unique shows and collections at the New York fashion week, Max Azria’s designs are flaunted in a small collection of runway garments in the store. BCBG is now truly living up to its name of “bon chic, bon genre” – good style, good attitude.

*where you can view BCBG's collection: http://www.bcbg.com/

WACK! - art and the feminist revolution

*Magdalena Abakanowicz Red Abakan, 1969 sisal and mixed media Courtesy of the National Museum, Wroclaw, Poland Photo courtesy of Magdalena Abakanowicz

WACK! A large red cloth woven vagina greets the unanticipated visitor entering the exhibition. This is Magdalena Abakanowicz’s Abakan Red, an enormous coarsely woven organic mass pulsing feverishly amidst the atrium of the Vancouver Art Gallery. Drawing from the names of several feminist protest groups of the hippies’ era, WACK! is an exhibition which explores the relationship of art and the feminist revolution of the late 1960’s and 70’s. The Vancouver Art Gallery is the only Canadian gallery featuring this collection of works of more than 120 artists from 21 countries. The exhibit is physically divided into several feministic themes such as “goddess”, “gender performance”, “body trauma”, “female sensibility” and “gendered space.”

The exhibition was highly interactive where artists used media that appealed to the multiple senses. Artists explored the female body and roles, and oppression of race, class and social acceptance through traditional paintings, photography, narrative and performance videos, writing, textiles and more. For example, as a “private art performance in real time”, artist Lynn Hershman personified herself as Roberta Breitmore, a fictional divorcee who moved to San Francisco. On and off, during the period of 1974 to 1978, Hershman would dress up as and lived the life of her persona to the extent of even obtaining a valid drivers licence and a personal cheque book under the name of Breitmore. Other artists like Mimi Smith used household objects to create montages depicting the confinement of women to the house and their obligation to perform mundane repetitive housework. Many artists used their own body as the subject in physical demonstrations or photographs. They would take serial photographs about their body or parts of their body during a diet or labour phase to demonstrate the mutability of a human body over time. However, do not assume that the artists are the sole contributors to the artwork – visitors are invited to participate in Lygia Clark’s “interactive art” where we can add to her chandelier of flyers and notes, attach large rubber bands to her elastic net or try on her nylon net t-shirts. Clark wants to create a unified experience for all genders and races through her “social sculptures.” Males were not forgotten in this feminist themed collection. By casting males in a plaster and scaffolds on wood, ropes and concrete blocks, Colette Whiten wanted to reverse the roles of females and males through physical limitations of the male body in “Structure #7.” With much controversy embedded in each of the pieces, WACK! was truly meant to be experienced with our contemporary understanding and not of their era of creation when they were overshadowed by political and social equality protests.

Set aside a day for WACK! as this is one exhibition not be rushed and definitely not to be missed. The exhibition is presented at the Vancouver Art Gallery from now to January 11, 2009.

*where you can visit WACK!: http://www.vanartgallery.bc.ca/the_exhibitions/exhibit_wack.html

-cup of red

la musique - art institute

*Visit Vancouver Fashion Ezine http://www.vancouverfashionezine.com/magazineissue14/fashionevents.html for my complete article about the show!

"the human body transformed into steel" - by Tina Tam

la musique filled the air as thirty-nine fashion design graduates of the art institute showed their four-piece graduation collections at the River Rock Casino Theatre. there were lolita dolls, korean hanbocks, 18th century garments, deer antlers and lobster claws. there was banana republic style, twists on couture, laid back plaid, icing cake dresses and gothic bone-racked vests. wanna know more about la musique? then visit Vancouver Fashion Ezine (http://www.vancouverfashionezine.com/magazineissue14/fashionevents.html) for my upcoming article as a guest writer in the November issue. (photos courtesy of raymond chou, http://www.raymondchou.ca/)

"nature - beauty - life...modern fairy" - by Joshua Houghton

"eastern street: the love of lines that create movement in life" - by Thanh Nguyen

"the human body transformed into steel" - Tina Tam

"autumn is a second spring when every leaf is a flower. - albert camus" - by Heather Farago

*where you can view my article in Vancouver Fashion Ezine: http://www.vancouverfashionezine.com/magazineissue14/fashionevents.html

*where you can view more of raymond chou's work: http://www.raymondchou.ca/

- cup of red