Graduating KPU students host fashion runway show

The River Rock theatre was overflowing with long lineups to sign-in and will call. Predictably, almost everyone at the event was dressed impeccably. Graduating students of KPU’s fashion program showed off the work of 39 graduate students at the River Rock hotel, a two-minute train ride from Richmond campus. Each designer had three outfits each, modelled on stage. Most of these clothes are made by hand.

The April 9 event was packed, the entire theatre filled with high school students, friends, family and industry. Media was present as well, with several video interviews being conducted in the lobby.

All of the designers’ work was featured on stage via three models, music and walking choreography. A custom video was displayed as well, but it was hard to see, given the lighting. Most of the models had the same choreography, though a few opted for a more creative route.

Most designers have targeted a niche market or audience with their wares. Examples include clothes for cyclists that won’t catch on gears, maternity wear for pregnant women, and children’s clothing.

Fashion students at KPU are encouraged to make clothing that is marketable. For this reason, much of the clothing is accessible, but some lines are more niche than others. The KPU fashion program has links to Lululemon, Arc’teryx, MEC and other Vancouver-based clothing companies.

Denise Mok’s line, iona, might fit perfectly into the Vancouver scene. “It’s a bit of a niche, I have a lot of friends who sail, and it’s always been fun watching them. I noticed that their clothes are always the same, the colours are the same, so I wanted to do something a little different.”

“I thought it would be fun to take something that’s popular in Vancouver, but give it a good mix and have it a little more fun and feminine to play with.”

Tyler Froese’s clothing line, Bridge Fine Goods is on the casual side, with a focus on high quality jeans made with Japanese denim.

“All of the denim is made on old-school shuttle looms, so it’s selvedge denim sourced out of Japan,” he says. Froese’s clothing is meant to change and age with the wearer, and is a little more traditional in its appearance, and the way they’re made. Froese already has a separate business making backpacks via Nocturnal Workshop, based in Vancouver.

Yng Chern’s line, Kai, is a women’s outdoor line, inspired by her time in Finland. Her clothing is meant to have a nice fit while being functional. “I’m dealing with traditional outdoor fabrics such as moleskine, which is like a brush canvas, and wool. Less to do with technical wear, and more to do with the heritage of outdoor adventurers,” says Chern.

“A lot more people kind of find their own way to put more creativity in it.”

One of these people might be Sofia Fiorentino, whose line, No Paradigm, can be described as genderless and loose fitting. Though her clothing is further towards avant-garde, it’s meant to be worn by anyone, regardless of body type or gender. “It’s a line that’s not with any limitations, no gender, no age, no nationality, no cultural anything. It actually touches on a lot of culture. Combined with different ways of wearing clothing that you find around the world. I based it on a person that travels a lot, so it picks up things here and there.”

NOCTEX is the line of designer Negin Izad, whose work is also more avant-garde. Some might mistake her work for that of Damir Doma or Attachment. Pieces are made with dead-stock fabrics from the U.S. and meant to fit loosely. She already has her own store.

“It was just something I did on my own, I just came into the right connections and, my dad was always an entrepreneur, so he always encouraged me to do that,” says Izad. “I’ve been doing this by myself for a few years now. This is the first few months that I’ve been hiring people, mostly on contract, fortunately I work with a factory that’s in Vancouver, so a lot of the people I work with are production managers, and people inside the factory. I’m actually getting more part-time employees going full-time within the next year when I’m expanding.”

James Knipe wanted to do something a little more unusual with his collection Habits of Youth, which is very minimalist. He says that he was inspired after spending six months in Helsinki, Finland. “I didn’t want to do something typically ‘West Coast,’ I think that Vancouver is starting to grow as a fashion leader,” says Knipe.

“It’s time to start pushing more than that typical athletic or West Coast style.”