Saskatchewan Fashion Week begins
Saskatchewan Fashion Week kicks off May 12 in Regina
Regina ... a fashion mecca? You betcha!
During Saskatchewan Fashion Week (SFW), which runs May 12– 14, fashion and creativity are top of mind in the Queen City, as the province’s creative industries collaborate to showcase both emerging and established talent.
The event has designers, makeup artists, hairstylists, photographers, videographers and graphic designers working together, transforming the Canada Saskatchewan Production Studios into what event organizers describe as “a fashion exhibition and world-class production of fashion, creative design, entrepreneurship and music.”
“Community is Saskatchewan’s greatest resource,” said Chris Pritchard, who co-founded the event five years ago with Candyce Fiessel and Chelsea Petterson. “(Saskatchewan Fashion Week) is an outlet for everyone to get together . ... It is amazing to see what the fashion designers come up with every year. But I think it’s what’s behind the scenes, as well, that’s just as important — putting it together with all the different industries that are necessary to build it and keep it growing.”
This year’s nightly runway productions will showcase original men’s and women’s collections by 20 Canadian fashion designers, as well as spring/summer style trends from local retailers.
“We like to try to attract diverse Canadian designers,” Pritchard said.
In its fifth year, SFW will feature three First Nations design labels — PlayBuffalo, by Becki Bitternose of Punnichy, SheNative by Devon Fiddler of Saskatoon, and Little Bow-Tihk, by Candace Atcheynum and Marylou Mintram of Saskatoon.
Since 2012, 65 designers have shown their creations on the SFW runway. Most are Saskatchewanbased, but designers from Toronto, Calgary and Vancouver have also participated.
“The schedule is always subject to change,” Petterson pointed out.
This year, veteran Regina-based fashion designer Dean Revnwick pulled out to pursue his brand in a different direction. And Saskatoon designer Rebecca King was added to the lineup late in the game.
SFW isn’t a good fit for every designer.
“Last year was the first year we have turned people away,” Petterson said. “But if we do turn down designers, we guide them. We want to foster collaboration.”
“It doesn’t benefit a designer as a brand to show something that’s not the best they can produce.”
Since 2013, Regina philanthropists Dr. Roberta McKay and Elmer Brenner have presented three designers with $7,500. The annual Saskatchewan Fashion Forward Designer Award allows designers to invest in developing their business and grow their entrepreneurial success. Past winners include Riley Lawson in 2013 for her functional, versatile garments that were designed to be paired with existing pieces in a wardrobe, Janis Procyk in 2014 for her Prahsik ready-to-wear and bespoke designs and Christina McFaddin in 2015 for her Year of the Ram intimate apparel and loungewear brand.
The traditional trunk show has been expanded. This year’s SFW will feature the Designer Pop-Up Shop — a 9,000-square-foot shopping mall housed in the sound stage, which will be open to the public from 6 p.m. to midnight on May 12–14. Admission to the pop-up shop is free. In addition to pieces from the current and previous collections of designers showcasing their creations on the SFW runway, shoppers will be able to purchase the work of designers not on the runway.
“It’s a rare opportunity to see all the designers in one place,” Pritchard said.
For the first time, the Interior Designers Association of Saskatchewan has teamed up with Saskatchewan Fashion Week. Five design teams created booths in the Hospitality Lounge, which is free to the public all three nights of fashion week. Awards will be presented in two categories — the award of excellence and the people’s choice award. The public can vote on Thursday, as well as pre-show on Friday. The awards will be presented as part of the runway show on Friday.
To elevate the profile of the province’s fashion and creative design industries nationally, SFW’s runway program will be live-streamed at 7 p.m. on saskfashionweek.com and will also be accessible from fashionmagazine.com.