Eco Fashion Week: 81 Pound Challenge

My favourite part of Eco Fashion Week is always the Value Village runway shows. Their 81 Pound Challenge aims to bring awareness to the amount of clothing waste we make each year, and shows just what can be done with that waste through upcycling! Every year, the average person throws away 81 pounds of textiles. That's a massive amount! The really concerning part is that just a few years ago, it used to be called the 68 Pound Challenge, but new statistics have been released since then showing that number has continued to rise.

Evan Biddell, the winner of Project Runway Canada Season 1 was the designer tasked with creating an entire runway show from the 81 pounds of clothes this year. Take a look below to see his incredible eco-friendly creations! I've included photos from the Toronto Women's Fashion Week runway show from earlier this year, since Vancouver's showcase did not include a full runway show of Evan's collection. Instead, Eco Fashion Week displayed the 81 Pound Challenge in a unique setting at the Museum of Vancouver, which allowed guests to get up close and personal with each piece, to see how it was constructed! Isn't it inspiring to see what he was able to create with all those old garments?

While at Eco Fashion Week this year, I was very grateful to have the opportunity to share my eco-friendly thrifting hacks with ET Canada's host Erin Cebula, as part of their coverage of Eco Fashion Week in Vancouver. Click to watch the video below, and maybe you'll pick up a few tips for the next time you're thrifting at Value Village!

Again, I also wanted to show my Eco Fashion Week outfit, entired thrifted from my favourite thrift stores, Value Village and Salvation Army. All the details are below!

Coat - Zara $39.99 (via Salvation Army)

Jumpsuit - Zara $13.99 (via Salvation Army)

Blouse - Loft 82 $8.99 (via Value Village)

Heels - Call It Spring $12.99 (via Value Village)

              Purse - Aldo $12.99 (via Value Village)            

Total = $88.95

[ runway photos by Jonathan Hooper ]

Happy (Eco) Styling! xo

~ Britta

Eco Fashion Week: Chic Sheets Challenge

Over the last few years, Eco Fashion Week has become a highlight of my annual fashion calendar. Back in the day, before I'd ever been to Eco Fashion Week, I had already discovered the joys of thrifting. It was an easy way for me to keep up with my fashion obsession without breaking the bank as a student. But it wasn't until I attended Eco Fashion Week that I really started to understand the environmental benefits of thrift shopping versus shopping new. It certainly made my shopping even more guilt free! I've also come to love Eco Fashion Week, as it not only inspires me to shop eco-friendly, but it's bringing awareness to a larger audience about the benefits of eco-fashion and thrifting.

Today, I wanted to share with you Eco Fashion Week's Chic Sheets Challenge. It's one of my favourite shows, and features some incredible designs from local talent. The show challenges fashion students from LaSalle College in Vancouver to design creative fashion pieces from old sheets provided by the Fairmont Waterfront Hotel. The concept is meant to show how beautiful clothing can be created by upcycling - something we should all consider doing more of, even on a small scale. To celebrate Canada's 150th birthday this year, the theme of this year's Chic Sheets Challenge was "What does Canada mean to you?"

Which one of the below designs is your favourite? Personally, I fell in love with the floor length blue gown by Christina Granneman, but they all had unique features that made them beautiful pieces of fashion art. I first saw the back of the blue dress, which incorporated 3-D scale-like detailing all the way up the back in a silhouette form that really accentuated the curves. Then I saw the front and fell in love with it even more! The neckline was stunning and very well structured.

I also wanted to share with you what I wore to see the Eco Fashion Week shows! I styled a fully-thrifted outfit, which I've given a cost breakdown for below. I hope it'll help show how affordable and easy it can be to look polished in thrifted clothes (no grandpa sweaters here!):

Cost breakdown of my thrifted spring outfit:

Shirt - Meiling $4.99 (via Salvation Army)

Skirt - Choies $5.99 (via Value Village)

Shoes - H&M $19.99 (via Value Village)

Total = $30.97

Ana Lisboa - Inspired by the untitled painting of Canadian artist Lawren Harris, founding member of the Group of Seven. According to the Hammer Museum, Harris "...scenes of a cold and empty northland, isolated peaks, and expanses of dark water beyond barren shorelines remain for many Canadians and non-Canadians the essential images of the country."

Christa Granneman - Inspired by her hometown Port Alberni, the salmon capital of the world, and its importance to the indigenous people of the west coast.

Hailey Yoon - Inspired by Canada's multicultural diversity. Each pleat with different colours represents the diverse cultures in Canada. When the model walks, these pleats are uniform, showing how these different ethnicities are able to live together in harmony.

Jaspreet Kaur - Inspired by the mountains and natural landscape of Canada. The look reflects her personal style: feminine, casual and simple.

Jinju Ha (winner of the $1000 prize, chosen by a panel of eco-fashion industry experts) - Inspired by the northern lights. Only a few countries in the world are privileged enough to view the aurora borealis. The dress shows the beauty of Canada's northern lights, and conveys how we need to protect this beautiful environment. 

Rodica Goreea - Inspired by the history of the First Nations and the book "The Last of the Mohicans". Mohicans were a tribe that lived in lower Canada. They were honest and decent but defenseless. The dress is a Goddess, Uncas, who is the interpretation of the nature, mountains (the silhouette of the dress) and the indigenous (the colours of the dress). She protects the history and reminds us to care about the environment in order to have a future.

Ryan Li - Inspired by the midribs of the maple leaves that branch into veins, and the veins continue to brand into small netted veins. It reminds Ryan of how Canada is made up of people from all over the world, and how it is essential for the citizens to be united, peaceful and tolerant of people from different races: exactly what the maple leaf represents as a recognized symbol of Canada.

Yan Tong - Inspired by the diversity of Canada's population, this dress combines elements of Asian culture with details from European fashion history: namely the ruff. The ties that surround the circles symbolize how Canada connects all the different cultures together in harmony. This is further reflected with the colours of Canada's flag.

[runway photos by Peter Jensen]

Happy (Eco) Styling! xo

~ Britta

Hetki Designs at Vancouver Fashion Week

Fashion Week is always a fun and exciting part of my September calendar, but this season was a bit more special than usual. This time, I had the opportunity to see Kate Schreiner's collection, Hetki Designs on the runway.

You may remember Kate from this post I wrote about her design collection here - she was actually a student of my mom's, back in elementary school, has been a follower of Vancouver Vogue here for years, and I had the opportunity to see her grad fashion show earlier this year. I was really drawn to her grad collection, as she focused heavily on slow fashion: designs that were meant to be eco-conscious, something I work towards here on Vancouver Vogue as well. So it was pretty awesome to have the chance to now see her designs on the runway at Vancouver Fashion Week with a full audience. Her eco-conscious designs are made with classic cuts that have just a hint of trendiness: items that are meant to stand the test of time and be worn for years, not months.

Inspired by Kate's slow fashion mantra, I wore a fully thrifted outfit to the show, including a set of funky Zara overalls I found recently at Salvation Army. One of the buckles was actually missing, so I ended up doing some quick fixes before I could wear it, but it was worth the bit of extra effort. The shirt and shoes were both thrifted from Value Village.

Overalls - Zara (thrifted via Salvation Army) | Shirt - Talula (via Value Village) | Shoes - Call It Spring (via Value Village) | Purse - Just Fab

Photo by Ed Ng Photography

Photography by Dale Rollings

Happy Styling! xo

~ Britta

Designer Spotlight: Vancouver's Hetki Designs

This post isn't the usual street style or event post you're used to seeing here on Vancouver Vogue, but it really does fall under the mantra of VV when it comes to eco-friendly, sustainable fashion. I thought it was important to share with you this amazing local brand: Hetki Designs. Plus, what makes this even more exciting, is that the designer of Hetki Designs, Kate Schreiner has been a follower of Vancouver Vogue since its early days! Turns out, we actually went to the same high school as well - Kate in Grade 8, and I in my graduating year. Many of you have heard my stories of my locker being stuffed full of high heels - Kate saw it first hand!

Now a graduate of Kwantlen's fashion design and technology program, Kate has launched her very own clothing line, and it's all about slow fashion. Rather than feeding the fast fashion trend frenzy, Hetki Designs aims to provide classic, timeless styles with a taste of trendiness that are meant to last years rather than months. They're investment pieces.

As a reader of VV, you all know that thrift shopping is my way of easing my demand for fast fashion and supporting more sustainable shopping measures. Now that I get older though, I've also started to look to brands like Hetki Designs for curated staple pieces I can add to my wardrobe for the long haul. I had a chance to see some of Kate's designs in person at a fashion preview event in Vancouver - see below for a closer look!

Photography - Linus Wong

Hair & Makeup - Maliha Artistry

Styling - Jessica Chauhan & Kate Schreiner

With Kate at her design preview at Portside Pub in Gastown, Vancouver

Happy Styling! xo

~ Britta

Designer Spotlight: Green Embassy

It’s Not Easy Being Green!

An interview with Green Embassy Australia founder and head designer Zuhal Kuvan-Mills

photo credit: Benhamin Sommabere

In Australia, just outside of Perth, lives a Turkish-born visual and textile artist who creates glorious ‘slow fashion’ to the delight of international audiences in Vancouver, London, Seattle, Beijing, Paris and New Zealand.

Being the first GOTS (Global Organic Textile Standards) certified fashion designer in the world, Zuhal Kuvan-Mills feels the pressure of maintaining her company’s elite status and traveling the world to share her couture collections with the world. Not only does her farm have to operate under strict organic guidelines, all Green Embassy seamstresses must be paid a living wage and in Australia this is $30+ per hour to sew and all studio water used in dying and wool processing must also be recycled.

Being organic is so much more difficult than our perception that it reflects lack of pesticides on produce. Organic status also applies to farming and animal production. Even the land she raises her herd of alpaca on must have an allotment put aside for displaced wildlife to live on with appropriate shelter provided and maintained.

In the studio all items used in garment production must also be certified organic. Every button, zipper, lining and complimentary fabrics (cotton, wool, silk) must be sourced from companies that have the GOTS certification. If there is not a supplier in Australia, these items must be imported from other countries at great expense. A last minute run to a dollar store to grab a zipper would be enough to cause the loss of the GOTS certification.

Green Embassy operates with the required 100% zero waste status which really means all ‘waste’ must be reused including threads, fabric ends, snipped off copper wire, everything! The ever resourceful Zuhal has developed a jewellery line fashioned from all the little bits leftover each day and these pieces accompany her designs on the runway.

The Green Embassy website is lush with information about the company, the organic process, the designer Zuhal Kuvan-Mills and their social justice causes including a burgeoning relationship with Sea Shepherd Australia.

I managed to squeeze in a quick interview with Zuhal after the Green Embassy showing at World Fashion Week in Paris and before she traveled back to Perth to prepare for a textiles exhibition in Europe in January 2015.

Green Embassy has shown at Vancouver Fashion twice now – F/W 2014 and S/S 2015 – how do you feel the collection was received?

There is nothing more thrilling than hearing the clapping of the audience and media as my models come down the runway! Model after model, the clapping continues. It makes my heart swell with happiness and I am very grateful that Canada has such a great understanding of fashion that is compassionate. The love I felt afterwards by everyone who participated in VFW from the founder to the models, the volunteers, fashion media and others in the fashion industry was overwhelming. It was an amazing night!

After the elation of the evening I am sure you mind turned to business. What interest did you receive from buyers and distributors in attendance?

Each of my designs is one of a kind so obtaining retail buyers for my Green Embassy line is not feasible. I look to individuals who are interested in custom designs and there were many in attendance at the show. Working with them will be the next step. My textile company, Atelier Zuhal, which creates beautiful alpaca and wool pieces, such as blankets, pillows and wall hangings will have a Canadian agent in 2015 with Helen Siwak of Kitsilano Kitty’s Closet.

photo credit: Green Embassy

You are the ambassador representing Australia at the World Fashion Week expo. How does showing at an international event differ from a more localized fashion week such as Vancouver and Seattle?

WFW is very professional, very businesslike at all time. There is great pressure on designers and buyers so sometimes the fun is missing. This is to be expected at an event that is based so much on the label in the dress. I prefer the closeness of the local fashion weeks but WFW is also important. I was able to speak on a larger scale to buyers from countries from all over the world and found that there is much interest from representatives in northern European countries such as Germany, Holland and Denmark. These countries place higher value on organic eco-fashion and are willing to support designers that make these fashions. This is important to me because no matter how amazing and great the design of a piece is if it is produced harming the environment and is not ethical it is not worth anything.

photo credit: Green Embassy (left & centre), Vogue UK (top right), Dominic Manea Photography (bottom right)

You have chosen two women - Skye Natasha Lintott and Amanda Oiom - as the faces of your collection.  Skye is a Vancouver based television personality most recently seen on the Real Housewives of Vancouver and Amanda is a rising young model and single mother. Opposite ends of the model spectrum yet both them walked for you in Vancouver and Amanda joined you in Paris for WFW.  What draws you to them? 

I adore working with Amanda. She is special, beautiful, elegant and extremely profession for such a young age. She impresses me on the runway and in editorials. Even more she is a great friend and so much like a daughter to me. After seeing all the shows in Paris I believe she was the best model. I am so pleased to have met her in Vancouver.

My darling Skye is a warm loving friend. She represents to me women over thirty years old and this is important especially the whole fashion world is youth obsessed. I was so happy when Skye agreed to walk the runway in Vancouver for Green Embassy. She is breath taking and walked beautifully and represents all the dreams of every woman in the audience!

With all the worldwide attention and whirlwind traveling over the past year related to the Green Embassy fashion line, how do you plan to enjoy yourself before you board the next plane?

My pleasures are simple! I want to have a fresh coffee outside on the terrace so I can watch my alpacas, dogs and chickens. To see Rooster Kevin strut about with his hens, listen to the cockatoos and when done I will go to the beach. That is the best morning!

photo credit: Green Embassy

Article by:

Helen Siwak is all about food, fashion and furry friends. She is the president and co-founder of eco-friendly local luxury fashion re-seller KitsilanoKittysCloset.com (offering shoppers classic designers like Armani, Versace, Dior to modern trendsetters such as Jeremy Scott, Kate Spade and Stella McCartney) and a plant-based healthy food advocate with VitVitVegan.com food service. She and her partner Vlassis have three rescue pets, interns, a fridge full of veggies and a shiny motorcycle. Life is good. Twitter: @kitsilanokittys / Instagram: @kitsilanokittyscloset / FB: KitsilanoKittysClosetSiwak