Browsing “The Inseam Series”

Vancouver is home to a thriving fashion industry made up of individuals committed to its growth and success. Get to know these personalities in The Inseam and discover what makes the Vancouver Fashion scene so awesome.

Photos: courtesy STR/KE MVMNT

STR/KE MVMNT is one of the newest lifestyle brands to come out of Vancouver. Specializing in sport performance apparel and footwear, the label presents a clean and modern aesthetic attractive to both athletes and rookies alike. With community involvement as a founding element, STR/KE MVMNT is using their passion of athletics to inspire others. I chat with one of the label’s founders, Marc Morisset, to discuss their story.

Valerie Tiu: Where did the idea for STR/KE MVMNT come about?

Marc Morisset: The concept for the brand arose out of a need for a specific type of shoe—a minimalist cross trainer, to be specific. There were minimalist running shoes in the market at the time that we began development but most were trail specific or lacked the design features which would be good for other aspects of cross-training. They also shared a similar fish lure type of aesthetic that left us scratching our heads.  In exploring the aesthetic we wanted to use on the shoe, the overall look and feel of the brand began to take shape and filtered through the apparel collection. STR/KE MVMNT is an athletics brand for people coming from a street wear and action sports background – for people who maybe don’t initially relate to some of the brands and product out there in this segment. The word STR/KE comes from the part of the running cycle when your foot hits the ground and MVMNT relates to physical activity but also wanting the brand to have a collective personality.

VT: Can you tell us about your mantra, “United by motion”?

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Vancouver is home to a thriving fashion industry made up of individuals committed to its growth and success. Get to know these personalities in The Inseam and discover what makes the Vancouver Fashion scene so awesome. Every month, The Inseam’s Eco Edition focuses on the innovators that shape the green movement in local fashion.

Photo courtesy of Westerly Handmade Shoes

There are some of us who have always been attracted to locally handmade goods, and others who are becoming more aware of what options are out there. There is the desire to have a greater connection to where your clothes, shoes and accessories come from, and the enjoyment of actually interacting with the person that made them. The global fast fashion craze has moved us so far away from the traditions of buying something of quality and keeping it for years. However, the recent garment factory collapse in Bangladesh has brought the issues of our habits to the forefront.

The movement to slow down fashion couldn’t be better defined than handmade shoes. Maybe it is the perceived difficulty and skill required, the time it takes to build a shoe custom fit to your foot, or maybe it’s that with proper care they can last literally for decades.

One local shoemaker slowed down her life to focus her career on making shoes, teaching us all to have a bit more patience and value quality over quantity.

Jessica McIlroy: Tell me about how you got started.

Renee Macdonald: I don’t have a background in design or fashion, other than having fun with it in my own ways.  Shoe making came at time in my life when I was changing everything about what I was doing. Ending my marriage, moving from Gabriola Island. I had been working in office administration, and for years had been telling myself to get out.  Over some brainstorming sessions with my friends, I honestly just picked shoemaking.  One of my friends asked what do you like, what do you enjoy. I heard about a shoe making course in Port Townsend, researched it a little bit. It was a five day course, so I did those five days and came back.

The guy who taught the course advised me to start out like he had, working at a shoe store to learn about shoes and feet, and what customers wanted and expected.  I got a job at Gravity Pope, worked there for a couple of years, and learned a lot about the customer and how people are with their feet.  A lot about the expectation and the sense of identify people get from their footware. That was hugely valuable.  From there I got a job at the Quick Cobbler, again to keep learning from the best in town. I have been working there for almost four years.  In the midst of that, my studio started out as a piece of my dining room, then my boyfriend’s house, then built my way up to bigger studios.  And I started working on my own feet and designs.

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Vancouver is home to a thriving fashion industry made up of individuals committed to its growth and success. Get to know these personalities in The Inseam and discover what makes the Vancouver Fashion scene so awesome. Every month, The Inseam’s Eco Edition focuses on the innovators that shape the green movement in local fashion.

Photo courtesy of Peter Jensen

Eco Fashion Week was back once again with four busy days of seminars, runway shows and after parties. The event continues to push the boundaries of how fashion weeks are defined, and push the industry to change its dirty ways.  For the first time Eco Fashion Week opened the event, on April 21st, with the Seminars, a speaker series focused on providing information and creating discussion on sustainability in the garment and textile industry.

That evening, local designer and eco fashion leader Nicole Bridger held a presentation of her current collection at the Portside Pub in Gastown. Nicole is known for finding innovation ways to show her designs, and showing the collections that are currently available for retail. Her pieces continue to focus on a natural and comfortable beauty, and you can see the growth in her designs as she matures into the role she is playing in the industry.

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Vancouver is home to a thriving fashion industry made up of individuals committed to its growth and success. Get to know these personalities in The Inseam and discover what makes the Vancouver Fashion scene so awesome.

Photos courtesy Thai Go

It’s not everyday that we get the opportunity to see fashion shows on a mountain, so when Whistler Blackcomb offered us the chance, we went with it. As part of the World Ski and Snowboard Festival last week, Fashion Exposed presented Spring/Summer Collections from Eira and Plenty Humanwear to Volcom and TNA. Ski and snowboard gear were shown with bikinis and summer dresses, fitting the typical west coast backdrop of partial sun and cloud alongside a snow capped mountain. Complete with DJ Grandtheft on the decks, dancing models, a boisterous crowd and 4/20 smoke in the distance, the show took heed to the festival motto: “Party in April, sleep in May.”

See some show highlights from Fashion Exposed below. Check out more event coverage from WSSF on Whistler Is Awesome. Special thanks to Laura Gallant and Lauren Everest of Whistler Blackcomb.

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Vancouver is home to a thriving fashion industry made up of individuals committed to its growth and success. Get to know these personalities in The Inseam and discover what makes the Vancouver Fashion scene so awesome.

Photos courtesy Beth Richards

Cross icons, arm bands, mesh panels and sleeves are not typical details found in swimwear, but contribute to a signature look that uniquely defines Beth Richards. Versatility is a key element to the collection, with separates and one piece suits that double as tops and layering pieces that transition into your everyday wardrobe. With a diverse background in design and a creative perspective that draws from photography and film to nineties supermodels, Beth has developed an aesthetic that is distinctly her own. It comes as no surprise then that the collection is quickly gaining momentum, garnering the attention of retailers from Germany to Istanbul, and even the premier online luxury site, Net-a-Porter.

I caught up with the designer to discuss her roots, her transition into creating swimwear and how she envisions the future of her line.

Valerie Tiu: Can you tell us a little bit about yourself?

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Vancouver is home to a thriving fashion industry made up of individuals committed to its growth and success. Get to know these personalities in The Inseam and discover what makes the Vancouver Fashion scene so awesome. Every month, The Inseam’s Eco Edition focuses on the innovators that shape the green movement in local fashion.

Photo courtesy of Eco Fashion Week

You may have seen the odd bus shelter, bathroom stall ad, or billboard around Vancouver with what looks like a woman standing on garbage and wondered what it is all about. The ads are for next week’s Eco Fashion Week, and draw attention to the amount of textile waste entering our landfills each year.

The 6th Edition of Eco Fashion Week is starting this Sunday, April 21st, running through the 24th. For the first time, the event will be kicked-off by the Seminars, a speaker series aimed at creating awareness around the sustainability issues and solutions in the garment and textile industry. The Seminars are free to attend, though pre-registration is recommended. That evening Nicole Bridger will present her latest collection at Portside in Gastown, and as with past Eco Fashion Week events, breaking the mold of standardrunway show presentations. Tickets for the event are only $10 and can be purchased online.

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