Stop and Smell the Talent.

by Chelsea Haeber
Edmonton has a reputation—it’s a city that knows how to shop, but only few locals really know how to do it right. Edmonton is home to the largest mall in North America. The West Edmonton Mall brings shoppers and retailers together in a convenient way. A convenience that not only keeps shoppers from becoming familiar with young local designers but also keeps young talent from getting recognized. And, yes, Edmonton does have local designers, in case you haven’t heard.
The local fashion industry in Edmonton, including designers, actors, and models, can all agree on one thing—competition is tough. Up until five years ago, many people believed Edmonton’s fashion scene was dead. Designers, especially, struggled to get their clothes noticed and found themselves sidelined as mass marketed clothing companies, like The Bay, H&M, and Zara, kept growing. Today, as the ninth season of Edmonton Fashion Week comes to a close, local designers and art enthusiasts agree there is one woman to thank—Sandra Sing Fernandes.
The first time I met Sandra was late March 2009. I visited her Planet Zee studio near Whyte Avenue to ask about writing for the new magazine she helped create called Edmonton Fashion Week. The woman I met was stunningly attractive with bleach blonde hair, a friendly smile, 5-inch heels, and a put-together attitude. Her friend, Ernest DeJesus, a photographer was there at the time, suggested I walk in a few fashion shows during the spring fashion week. Sandra agreed and got me up on the sturdy, wooden plank (also known as a catwalk); something that came in handy while she taught models about posture and how to walk. I half-heartedly gave it my all, thinking how silly I must look walking for my very first time on such a stage. After some encouragement, Sandra got on the catwalk and showed me where I was going wrong. Her long legs swept down the long piece of timber and her heels made rhythmic stomping sounds. I knew right away she knew a thing or two about the fashion industry.
Sandra left New York and returned home to Edmonton after the events of 9/11. She returned to a city that had been quickly growing—commercially—since the time she left in 1985. Sandra, who had been sewing her own clothes and making her own jewelry by age eight, couldn’t believe the lack of young designers beginning careers in Edmonton. “It’s nothing against malls, or anything, but we had so much shopping in shopping malls and there wasn’t really a designer industry. There were no factories. It was crazy.” Sandra felt the need to give back, so she took Edmonton’s fashion industry to new heights. “I came to Edmonton and felt something was really missing, and there was something I could do that was positive. And that really appealed to me.”
Sandra built Edmonton Fashion Week. Each season the growth has created a spotlight on Edmonton’s young talent. Derek Jagodzinsky is a student at the University of Alberta. He is studying Bachelor of Design and showed his first collection at Edmonton Fashion Week last Wednesday called Urban Luxury. He said that not only is Sandra creating a platform to show what people do, but she also helped him promote his clothes.
I met up with Sandra at the fall fashion week in hopes to achieve a rare opportunity—a one on one interview during a chaotically busy week. I caught her hours before the Tuesday night show. Like previously, she wore a wide smile and sky-high heels. She greeted me with a warm welcome and an invite to the nights show, adding that she had no time to talk as she delicately scurried to run last minute errands.
Sandra faced many challenges in her mission to build Edmonton Fashion Week. In the beginning retailers wanted to take over. “We are not about the retailers. We are about the art form of fashion.” She went searching for young, local talent that she could show to local businesses in hope they would sell their designs in stores. “We’re designers, so we had to create designers, and find designers and build designers and support designers. It’s a whole support system.”
That Tuesday as Sandra stepped on stage wearing over-the-knee black boots, a chic newsboy hat, a smoky-eye, and of course her wide smile. I wondered if there was anything this woman hasn’t done in her lifetime. She designed jewelry, used to model and dance, worked abroad, opened a design business, teaches modeling class, is a fashion show producer, is director of Edmonton Fashion Week, and is the creative director and editor-in-chief at EFW magazine to list a few. During a twenty-minute intermission I sat down with Sandra and had the opportunity to catch her in action. She gracefully answered my questions and kept her eyes on me, even as the DJ tapped her on the shoulder and said “four minutes till show time.” In the future, Sandra hopes to get back to her passion—design, something, she said, she really misses.
The talented lady can only be described as artsy and driven said DeJesus. “The size and level of creativity has changed over the past five years,” he said. Sandra is a well-known hard worker. She is happiest when young talent becomes recognized, much like Canada’s Next Top Model runner-up Linsay Willier, who worked with Sandra while finishing her studies at Grant MacEwan College. Because Sandra has worked and traveled internationally, she brings an understated know-how to the fashion scene. “I learn so much from her because she has world knowledge about this industry, and it’s not everyday you need somebody here who has that,” makeup artist and volunteer coordinator at Edmonton Fashion Week, Tonia Riviere said. “If Sandra wasn’t in Edmonton we’d still be wearing baseball caps and hockey jerseys” she added with a smile but in a serious tone.
As I waited for the crowds of fashionistas and trendy locals to leave the fashion show, I also found myself waiting for the crowds surrounding Sandra to die off too. To my surprise, she left the crowd and sat down with me in the back row of black seats facing the long, sleek, yet skidded runway to finish the interview. Sandra explained how much competition young Edmonton faced. “People in Edmonton have shopping centers at their fingertips. And how can young designers compete? We have more shopping per capita then anyone in Canada.” She said that if designers can make it in Edmonton, they can make it anywhere—a statement I’ve deemed to be true based solely on the fact that she said it. As I brought my interview to a close, a young, pretty girl taped Sandra on the shoulder and asked for her autograph. As Sandra handed the young girl her magazine, which was signed to her and three of her friends, she smiled in admiration and walked away in her mother’s hand.

Edmonton Fashion week

The city of Edmonton is overflowing with talent. Tuesdays show was full of model talent, designer talent, hair and makeup talent, and pure entertaining talent. Amber Leask's Mystery Girl was loved by the crowd. The plaid patterns and perfectly fitting clothes left the clothes to be greatly desired by women in the crowd. Elise Truong's Sweet Carousel, a line of corsets, was amazingly created and had much details. My favorite, Posta Couture was flawless from head to toe. The clothes were raw and street-ready, and the shoes... hats off to all the designers!
Volunteer co-coordinator Tonia LaRiviere did a great job on the models' makeup.
The show was a success, and I will post pictures shortly.

The Look

Balmain! hot, hot, hot this fall with mini dresses and metallic colours. Christophe Decarnin's Balmain has become even more exciting with his Michael Jackon-like jackets, with strong shoulders and details.

As noted in the September Issue of UK Vogue, two great looks to discover are 'tomboy' and 'vamp.'
Both looks have a "come here" essence. Tomboy plays with masculine lines, and Vamp with a red lip.

A word from the Flannel Panel

Thank goodness the city of Edmonton is finally entering into the summer season.
The summer weather is brilliant, but the major reason one should rejoice for the
change in climate is the hope that there will be a significant decrease in sins
committed by both genders when wearing flannel.
Yes flannel patterns are in style; but not ALL flannel patterns! Here is a rule of
thumb for the clueless.  If the flannel jacket or shirt you recently purchased
would be seen regularly on a construction site, then its best to avoid busting
this new purchase out on a Friday night. Also, try wearing flannel in moderation.
 If wearing flannel becomes too frequent, one may unfortunately be pegged
as a decently dressed person who is possibly on step away from being
mistaken as a farmer visiting the weekly market.
Flannel looks best when it’s small and checkered instead of big and blotchy.
Bright, fun colours also look great for men women and are highly
recommended for the summer season.

Edmonton Music Junkie

Latest Fashions to hit the runway...

Sydney Fashion Week has begun. Starting April 27 at Sydney’s Circular Quay, the gateway to one of the most beautiful harbours in the world. This event is sponsored by many sponsors, including Rosemount Estate and Mac Makeup.
Individual Collection shows will include names like: Anna & Boy, Beat Poet, Illionaire, Jayson Brusdon, Sass & Bide, The Cassette Society, and Wayne Cooper.
Check out www.rafw.com.au for more.

What's up with Hardy Boy?

You would have to be blind to not notice or worse; maybe you have been blinded by the latest fashion trend to infiltrate Edmonton over the last year. The Ed Hardy clothing line by Christian Audigier dominates the streets and schools of Edmonton with its overpowering colours and eye-poisoning graphics. It is easily the most common clothing worn by clueless men between the ages of 16 to 30 years old and is rapidly growing among women.

Does anybody notice how ridiculous this clothing is?? Its radiant colours with random animals sprawled across its outrageously priced t-shirts and jeans are the equivalent to wearing too much jewelry or having too many tattoos (yes, it is possible). All clothing has an image that immediately pops into the mind of a shopper when they are debating purchasing a clothing product or trying something on. American Eagle, Abercrombie & Fitch, Hollister will always be connected with the preppy boys and girls, Gucci, Prada with your high class, giant black sunglasses crowd etc. The Ed Hardy clothing line is quickly becoming synonymous with violence and steroids. Seriously, you don’t think people can tell if you’re jacked up on steroids? Dude, your face is as red as a stop sign and your temperament rivals that of a spoiled 5-year-old. Edmonton is a big city but small enough for the general public to be aware of the connection between Ed Hardy and drug abusers.

This trend will be gone within a year, taking a similar path to the Von Dutch hats that reigned supreme on the heads of douch-bags all across Edmonton a few years ago.

Ed Hardy clothing seems to be most popular among men watching the monthly UFC pay-per view fights televised at local bars all across the city. Now there are exceptions to the men about to be mentioned, however there tends to be a great number of men who are in the habit of become extremely intoxicated and then behave as if they have transformed into one of their UFC idols.

So to the designers of Ed Hardy and Christian Audigier, I thank you for creating a clothing line that makes it even easier for men and women to distinguish between well dressed men and trend chasing tools. Ed Hardy clothing is a combination of colours and symbols that appear to have no connection with each other but sell for ridiculous amounts of money due to terrific marketing and the embarrassing amount of followers in the city of Edmonton. The lack of uniquely dressed men in Edmonton is depressing and horribly in need of a shake up. Wake up guys!

Just because your hero from UFC or the guy who you secretly have a man-crush on rocks Ed Hardy, does not mean its mandatory for you to follow suit! Women appreciate a man with originality and a keen taste for timeless clothing. Edmonton lacks many attributes that the other big cities in North America have, but we still happen to have one of the biggest shopping malls in the world! Feel free to expand your clothing selection by checking out the unbelievable variety of clothing available in this monster of a mall known simply as WEM. Downtown City Centre, Kingsway Garden Mall and Londonderry Mall aren’t too shabby either.

Edmonton Music Junkie

SmythS6@mymail.macewan.ca

widely admired

Canada is making an imprint on the world's map in the fashion industry. From models like Coca Rocha to journalists like Jeanne Becker.
Some Canadian models to keep an eye on are Andi Muise from Ontario and Cate Chant from Toronto.

Spring Fashion

The blazer: This fahion must-have has been seen all over the runway. Balmain is the one to follow with blazers paired with hot jeans and high shoes.

Minis: The return of the short hemline is back! My favorite trend, because who doesn't like to show a little leg once in a while? Designers to check out are Balmain, Luella Bartley, and Marc Jacobs.

Colour: Break out of the blacks and grays. Spring is all about fresh colours. Weather you have flowers on a headband or a colour-saturated dress, it works. This season you can get away with wearing as much colour as you want, even if it doesn't match. Check out Diane Von Furstenberg's spring collection for inspiration!

Stripes: Don't be afraid of them. Stripes work well when they are done right. Make sure to check out D&G spring line. Vertical stripes help make anyone appear long and lean.

Boy-cut jeans: Perfect for those casual days in the sun. Baggy jeans have been seen on celebs such as Victoria Beckham and Katie Holmes. Try this trend for less at American Eagle where the boy-cut jeans are well priced and well-fitted :)

EdmontonFashion Week-April 2 to 9

Edmonton Fashion Week has returned to Alberta with bright colours, light fabrics, and talented designers.

On April 2, Jason Matlo displayed a stunning gothic collection, which included sky-scraper, over-the-knee patent boots, and was followed by flowing, white wedding gowns. The mix between hard and soft was a crowd pleaser.
Matlo is a Vancouver Fashion Designer and has set the bar high with his ready-to-wear spring line with his meticulous attention to detail and lovely fabrics.

April 3 showcased local designer Kathryn Neuman. Her funky style was strutted down the runway in a variety of fabrics and textures. Neuman is known for gathering fabric from thrift stores, and peiceing together outfits that are one-of-a-kind.

We also saw Nazila Couture on the fashion runway on April 3. Smiling with her two beautiful girls, Nazila Sawhney created a sexy line, complete with feminine silhouette, glistening beadwork, sex-appeal and crafty Indian work. The line was created to turn heads. Nazila's belief is simple "only create looks that she would love to see herself in"

This was a first for Edmonton Fashion Week to showcase the local makeup talent in the city, and a great turn-out it was! The over-the-top colours and artistry was beautiful. Three judges sat on stage and observed each decorated model that strutted her, and his, stuff down the catwalk.