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Under the green roof and over the live fish habitat of the Vancouver Convention Centre, nestled the August 2012 edition of the KnowShow; Canada's premiere lifestyle trade show. Overlook the faded plaids, distressed jean shorts, and booths lined in sneakers, skateboards, and bits of driftwood and you'd miss the dedicated business behind Vancouver's laid back style. |
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F AS IN FRANK:
SNAP & FAIF
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Vancouver's punk culture may not be as obvious to some, but if you pay attention and know where to look you'll start to notice a myriad of underground events, secret warehouse afterparties, lively punk and metal shows in choice venues on the East side, outsider art/fashion shows, and other organized efforts to keep the culture positive and thriving. Feel how you will about the silliness of pre-distressed jeans mass-produced for all kinds of retail locations. Those of us who spent hours and hours of our teen and young adult life perfecting the art of modifying denim jeans, jackets, and shorts with dyes, patches, and studs know that it is a fine tuned art.
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SNAP clothing is 100% recycled reconstructed clothing. Their line is produced entirely in Vancouver by their small studio as well as contracted clothing artists who work from their own.
They use but are not limited to techniques such as bleaching, dying, distressing, studding, and from them create a pop-cultural collage of style.
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Their FAIF menswear line (above) uses the same sensibilities, but focusing on a very 90's urban look and feel with a mixture of both old and new.
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See F as in Frank for yourself here.
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Birds Of A Feather
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Speaking of punk aesthetic, I was lured in almost immediately upon arrival by the spiky bits that currently characterize Vancouver designer, Sophie Alden's jewelry line: Birds of a Feather.
...Sophie takes hard and heavy (looking) spikes and hangs them beside soft chains to create a look that is elegant, bohemian, with a bit of an edge. Her spike bracelets are sharp but ultra-feminine, and the layered links that make up her fringe chain necklace evoke the feeling of long nights with hair and jewelry and vintage fringed jackets swaying in unison to loud music.
Sophie originally started making her own wares when she worked in a jewelry store. Customers asked about her creations, so she began making more to sell and began a high-end line called Lisbeth. Birds of a Feather was created to meet the needs of those of us more than hesitant to spend near $100 on an item we may, ahem, just end up losing in a drunken stupor of running through park sprinklers..
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Birds of a Feather has a Facebook page here.
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Herschel Supply Co.
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I am inherently resistant to function-forward items of any kind, so I almost completely overlooked a corner full of backpacks until I noticed the bird design below. This design was created by the lead graphic designer by hand-tracing all of the birds in the Railtown studio. He then had his mother water-colour them. How cute is that?
Upon further inspection, Herschel designs their backpacks in a classic, simple way, omitting all of the unnecessary straps, meshes, cinching bungees and other nylon mess most people don't need in a daypack. Add affordable and local to the mix, and that makes them completely rad. I could definitely sport one on my next trip to some remote area where if I need to strap a bunch of crap to my backpack, I know plain old bungee cords do just fine....
Apart from their series of backpacks of all colours, sizes, and levels of detail, they also have fold-up day packs that I was all over (above.) This is a marvel for the bicycle-riding, on-the-way-home grocery shopper. And when you wear way too many layers.
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Herschel Supply Co. has a dreamy little website here.
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My Package
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I could NOT leave the show without heading to the My Package booth and inquiring, "just what is so uncomfortable about men's panties that makes your product amazing?" The man at the booth had an affable sports coach look about him. He looked at me and, using delicate words to the little lady at first (until I egged him on to being as crass as I could) explained it all to me. And, OK, I'm sold. Despite the fact that the colours are limited (colour/pattern being the basis for which I choose any underwear) I totally get it.
You see, this brand, made in beautiful, humid Vancouver, basically prevents your balls from sticking to your legs. Your junk all gets all bundled up in the front through a cozy little (and very pliable) keyhole. I always though it must be a bother to have all that stuff going on up front. You may now jog in comfort, men and your balls.
Next, can you do them in bright contrasting polka dots? Yes?
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Learn more about sack cradling here.
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Thanks to everyone who made the KnowShow so much fun!
