Vancouver Eco Fashion Week to Showcase New Hot Cultural Designs From Around the World

Kicking off with a cocktail reception and an opening runway show of vintage American fashions from the mega-thrift store Value Village, the main focus of this season’s Vancouver Eco Fashion Week (April 10-12) will be showcasing new internationally inspired fashions from over a dozen designers.

Kreati-ka label by designer Kathy Sabin-Mensah. Photo by designer.

This’ll be the event’s fourth season, and organizers are eager to expand the vision that eco-designs can run the spectrum from classic to high end couture fashion, and still take responsible care of the environment.

The event’s fashions will feature many multicultural inspirations in designs and color patterns, and emphasize organic, natural, and recycled fabrics. Antique jewelry will also be an important theme in the week’s shows.

During the week, among the notable fashions on the runway will be the Kreati-ka label from Kathy Sabin-Mensah, a French designer living in Seattle. 

Mensah says that her inspiration comes from nature and the women around her, though among her most prominent recent inspirations has come from Africa.

“I was deeply attracted to fashion when I went to Africa for the first time several years ago. I have been amazed by the fabric texture, the color sand, and the style of the women. It’s so colorful and so beautiful to look at,” said Mensah.

Click to read more ...

Vintage Fashions Theme For Opening Runway Show At Vancouver Eco-Fashion Week

Opening this season’s Vancouver Eco Fashion Week  (April 10 – 12) will be a vintage runway show presented by the mega-thrift store Value Village. The store also carries modern designer name brands including Calvin Klein, Banana Republic, Reitmans, and Eddie Bauer.

Value Village’s show was considered the ideal opening event because the store epitomizes many of the core values of the week, which include bringing new life to what already exists, keeping clothing out of landfills as long as possible, as well as supporting local community and global business initiatives.

The thrift store chain purchases its merchandise though “working relationships with 140 nonprofit partners across the U.S., Canada, and Australia. Over the past 10 years, we’ve paid more than $1 billion.” said Value Village.

The chain explains how they acquire their merchandise, saying, “Our nonprofit partners contact people in the community to ask for donations of reusable clothing and household items.

“We then pay our nonprofit partners based on the number of boxes and bags of merchandise they deliver to us. Additionally, we also pay them for donations delivered directly to our stores via our community donation centers. Our staff sorts through the donations to select the highest quality reusable items, then prices, and displays them.”

Besides clothes, Value Village sells merchandise includes: shoes, toys, books, kitchenware, sporting goods, infant products, suitcases, electronics, wicker items, furniture, and collectables.

Click to read more ...