Ottawa Fashion Week (OFW), the two-day ode to sartorial expertise, both home-grown and international, has finally arrived.
The atmosphere surrounding OFW has matured since I first attended two years ago. Before, the event seemed a touch juvenile, like a young model navigating her first pair of six-inch Louboutins—unsteady, inexperienced, and insecure.
Now, a more refined side of Ottawa’s fashion scene (which admittedly, is small but fiercely tight-knit) has been exposed thanks to a shedding of skin.
Aside from debuting the fall and winter collections of 13 designers, OFW has added a gala, silent auction, musical performances, and art exhibit to its official events.
Seven designers and their creations took to the runway Feb. 7.
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Bernice & Barclay, the brain-child of Lorianne Hawdur and Jamieson Nesbitt, provided an energetic introduction to the evening.
The collection is best described as any and everything the coolest girl in your office wears. A palette of muted slate greys and olive drabs pair with punchy florals to keep things atypical and fresh.
A skirt with a subtle high-low hemline nods at last year’s waterfall skirts, yet gracefully tip toes around it, elevating the trend with class.
An array of sweater dresses seems to pay homage to the brand’s Canadian roots (the entire line is designed and manufactured in the Great White), while offering up some practicality for young professionals. According to the Bernice & Barclay’s website, this collection was inspired by Debbie Harry and Kate Middleton, two women whose names I would have never thought to utter in the same breath, but somehow, rolls off the tongue easy here.
In contrast, Janie McL’s collection is more suited to that aforementioned young woman’s boss—minimalistic yet powerful, unfrivolous yet luxurious.
This collection asserts itself as a staple brand for any woman who has arrived. Nary a pattern is to be seen here, the exception being some art-deco inspired geometric lines found on trousers and dresses, adding to the effect of solidity and permanence emanating from each garment.
If this all sounds too serious, rest assured, imaginative fabric folds, statement buttons, and a palette of dusted navy and plums keeps the entire thing from feeling stiff. The highlight from this show was a mustard tartan pant suit which in theory doesn’t sound the most appealing, but in practice is what editorial dreams are made of.
Acting as an aesthetic antithesis to McL’s demure reservation, Joseph Ribkoff showed a massive collection that covered substantial sartorial ground. Though a tad erratic, this could simply be a result of Ribkoff’s ambition—sold in over 3,000 boutiques worldwide, this brand is anything but shy.
The show began with major attitude—chains on chains. Appearing as the strap on bags, on dresses as a statement print, and even on sunglasses, this portion of the collection was by and large my favourite and arguably the most interesting.
Sukhoo Sukhoo closed the event with the most ambitious and imaginative collection of the evening. Styled with silver mesh masks over their faces like space age Victorians, the models took to the runway donned in magenta, silver, and black.
Here, the main event was texture. Lace, sequins, silk, and feathers all made an appearance in this collection, which was mostly comprised of statement pieces and show-stoppers. While not for the faint of heart, any fashion forward woman could see herself wearing the seemingly-encrusted silver trench coat presented, or the high-waisted black sequin pants. This couture collection ended the evening on a high (fashion) note.
