Local style rises to occasion
V> BY LUCY LAU
ancouver may not be known for its trendsetting fashions (at least athleisure wear had its time in the spotlight last year), but a set of high-profile openings, environmentally friendly launches, impressive retail renovations, and socially minded style events in the past year is helping to propel the typically laid-back city onto—and beyond—the global runway.
From locally produced swimwear that puts Mother Earth first to an outerwear pop-up that benefits Holocaust education, here’s a roundup of the biggest, most forward-thinking, and wackiest style-related unveilings, moments, and debuts spotted in Vancouver in the last 12 months or so.
BEST INCENTIVE TO BRAVE AN AFTERNOON AT B.C.’S LARGEST MALL
Metropolis at Metrotown is no place for the faint of heart. (Navigating the 350-plus stores and throngs of stroller-ridden families, screeching children, and generally slow walkers on a Saturday afternoon is a task for the seasoned.) But the arrival of Muji, a cult Japanese retailer offering pareddown home, fashion, and stationery products, is making a visit to Burnaby all the more attractive. Expect even bigger crowds once Uniqlo, another Japanese name known for its versatile men’s and women’s apparel, launches at the mall in October.
BEST SHOWCASE OF TRADITIONAL FIRST NATIONS REGALIA
Although it technically took place over four days, this year’s inaugural Vancouver Indigenous Fashion Week was a shining example of how fashion weeks should be done: with a balanced mix of local and international designers; an emphasis on sustainable, handcrafted apparel; and, most importantly, a strong sense of thought, meaning, and intention woven throughout. Nearly 40 First Nations designers and models took to the runway to share works inspired by their heritage, traditions, and homelands during the four-day fete, and it was the third evening’s Red Dress show, which honoured and brought attention to missing and murdered Indigenous women in Canada, that perhaps proved the most personal.
BEST USE OF PLASTIC BODY OF WATER IN A
We know what you’re thinking: plastic? In our beautiful and already endangered oceans, lakes, and rivers? What in the climate-change hell could be so great about that? But it’s not disposable bottles, takeaway utensils, and six-pack rings we’re talking. Rather, the recently launched Londrë Bodywear’s recycled-plastic-fabric onepieces are making a splash in the world of eco-swimwear. Designed and made ethically in Vancouver, they look just as good layered underneath blazers and wool cardigans in the winter as they do in the water.
BEST WAY TO OUTSMART VANCOUVER’S COMMERCIAL- REALESTATE MARKET
It’s no secret that much of the city’s housing remains out of reach for residents, and the same can be said of its escalating retail market. Yes, opening your own storefront does not come cheap, but a few savvy entrepreneurs are making the most of what’s affordable by setting up business in coffee shops. Case in point: faulknerandco, a men’s vintage boutique that launched within the Downtown Eastside’s Push Pull Cafe in May. Perhaps owner James Faulkner got a li’l inspo from Far Out Vintage, which operates a location in a caffeine stop of the same name in the Hastings-sunrise ’ hood.
BEST EXCUSE TO GREEN YOUR BEAUTY REGIMEN BEST PLACE UP
Interested in changing your beauty routine to one that’s vegan and cruelty-free, and forgoes the use of potentially harmful toxins? Look no further than the Green Beauty Collective, a local duo of environmentally minded makeup artists who offer one-on-one makeup consultations, workshops, and an impressive selection of predominantly local skincare, cosmetic, and haircare brands that will make cleaning up your vanity a cinch. Look for the collective’s pop-up at Silk Road Tea (2066 West 4th Avenue) this Saturday (September 23).
TO RE- CREATE ICONIC SHOP-
PRETTY WOMAN’S
PING SCENE Don your chicest overcoat- and- oversize-hat combo and press Play on Roy Orbison’s classic “Oh, Pretty Woman”: if you’ve ever dreamed of re-creating Julia Roberts’s shopping spree in Pretty Woman, Vancouver’s Holt Renfrew is the place to do it. The luxury retailer has been steadily unveiling parts of its multiphase renovation and, since last fall, has debuted a brandspanking-new men’s department, in-house restaurant, glitzy shoe hall, and expanded personal shopping area, among other additions. If you ask nicely, you may even be able to run through some of Roberts’s most memorable lines with a Holt associate: “Big mistake. Big. Huge.”
BEST STYLING OF A PRELOVED WARDROBE
Vancouver’s Eco Fashion Week had a big year, expanding its wings to Seattle and conducting part of its 12th edition in Toronto. In addition to the environmentally minded garb and sustainability-oriented panel discussions, 2017’s event also presented a rock ’n’ roll–inspired
DEPARTMENT STORE
1. Hudson’s Bay
Various locations 2. Nordstrom Pacific Centre
799 Robson Street 3. Simons
1060 Park Royal South
WOMEN’S CLOTHING STORE (INDEPENDENT)
1. 8th & Main
Various locations 2. Aritzia
Various locations 3. Spank
1027 Commercial Drive
MEN’S CLOTHING STORE (INDEPENDENT)
1. Boys’co
Various locations 2. Motherland
Various locations 3. 8th & Main
Various locations
PLACE TO BUY JEANS
1. Dutil
303 West Cordova Street 2. Aritzia
Various locations
3. Mavi
Various locations
EYEWEAR STORE
1. Bruce Eyewear
219 Abbott Street 2. Durant Sessions
315 West Cordova Street 3. Ollie Quinn
Various locations
KITCHENWARE STORE
1. Ming Wo Cookware
Various locations 2. Gourmet Warehouse
1340 East Hastings Street 3. Cook Culture
Various locations
CONTEMPORARY FURNITURE STORE
Inspiration Furniture
1.
1275 West 6th Avenue 2. Briers Home Furnishings
2025 West 4th Avenue 3. west elm
2947 Granville Street
FURNITURE STORE (INDEPENDENT)
1. Moe’s
Various locations 2. Inform Interiors
50 Water Street 3. Pallucci Furniture
Various locations
SPECIALITY FURNITURE STORE
Montauk Sofa Vancouver
1.
228 Abbott Street
2. Inform Interiors
Various locations
3. The Cross Decor & Design
1198 Homer Street
LOCAL HOME IMPROVEMENT STORE
1. Home Hardware
Various locations 2. Windsor Plywood
Various locations 3. Kerrisdale Lumber
6191 West Boulevard
ANTIQUE/REPRODUCTION FURNITURE STORE Attic Treasures and Mid Century Modern
1.
944 Commercial Drive 2. Antique Market
1324 Franklin Street 3. TWR Interiors Vancouver
2116 Main Street
VINTAGE/RETRO FURNITURE STORE
Attic Treasures and Mid Century Modern
1.
944 Commercial Drive 2. Refind
4609 Main Street
3. Gild & Co.
4415 West 10th Avenue