Earlier this year, I reported on Days One and Two of Vancouver Fashion Week. In this belated follow-up, I wanted to share my thoughts on the other days in order to showcase some of the designers I liked the most!

Vancouver Fashion Week’s mission is to celebrate both established brands and emerging designers. So, each year, the organizers provide an opportunity to local fashion program graduates, along with more seasoned professionals. And to be completely honest, I didn’t expect much from the collections done by students. I thought that practice makes perfect, and someone with less experience might not be as skillful. Right? Wrong! In my opinion, some students put out better collections than the fashion brands…  

I liked Jul Oliva from Vancouver Community College a lot, particularly her striking orange dress with oversized bishop sleeves.

I loved how the designer played with textures, making a puffy material blend into a sleek satin-type fabric. The plunging V-neck made the look more provocative, and overall, this dress had a very Valentino vibe.

I have a sweet spot for jumpsuits, so I was happy to see a line of linen jumpsuits from a student, Oymada! I really liked the black jumpsuit with contrasting geometrical embroidery on the chest.

I also like the bowtie that accentuates the waist and deep side pockets! This piece is quite versatile. You could wear it to the office or for a night out with your girlfriends.  

The highlight of Day Four for me was a German-Polish crochet designer and artist, Lisa Grodek. She lives and works mainly in Berlin, and her “Delicate Mesh” collection was inspired by “the urban diversity of Berlin.” All dresses were in earthy colors and projected grace and elegance. 

The designer’s crochet technique “takes a revolutionary approach to the crinoline fashion of 1842-1870 in combination with elements from the late Renaissance, early Baroque fashion and design elements from the 1920s to 1960s.” 

All pieces in Lisa Grodek’s collection were created by hand using a variety of yarns. My favorite dress was a crocheted wedding dress with delicate cascading layers, with one of them being made of tender flowers!

Day Five of Vancouver Fashion Week brought a lot of elegance to the catwalk. I particularly liked Zhang Peng, a designer who combines traditional Eastern motifs with modern haute couture. His hand-crafted pieces used techniques such as bead embroidery, needlework, applique, layering, weaving, and rhinestone decoration. I loved his final piece–an ivory A-line coat dress elegantly paired with an ostrich-feathered floor-length cape.  

Alex S Yu opened the Final Day of the Vancouver Fashion Week. One of my favorite looks was a voluminous white frilled blouse paired with black faux leather flared pants.

These pleather pants were intercut with sheer fabric above the knee, creating a “sexy Catwoman” vibe.

I also wanted to highlight Ai Takemoto, the designer behind the Nolum brand. Her collection drew inspiration from childhood memories of dressing up dolls. So, no wonder some of the models looked like “Kid Sister!” I loved Nolum’s pastel green A-line skirt paired with a matching jacket.

The jacket had cute ruffled sleeves and black fabric decorating the front and hems. The whole outfit was stitched up with blueish threads, just like one would for a doll. The headpiece with an oversized deep green bow tied the look together.   

And just like that, Vancouver Fashion Week drew to an end. I still remember the unruly crowd and my favorite designers, and I’ll keep following them to see how their careers progress!