West coasters rejoice as there’s some great news coming out of Vancouver this week. First and foremost, Vancouver Fashion Week has just announced its lineup of more than sixty local and international designers, all of whom are going to showcase their latest Fall/Winter 2013 collections at the forthcoming Canadian sartorial revelry.
The five-day event begins March 19 (coinciding with Toronto’s World Mastercard Fashion Week) and will be attended by buyers, diplomats and nearly 150 fashion journalists from all over the world. Over 18 foreign designers like Beijing-based Liu Lu, Lila Nova from Athens and South African born Jacob Kimmie will showcase their award-winning feminine and edgy styles on the runways. Local names like Shelley Klassen of Blushing Boutique and students from LaSalle College will also feature their latest creations.
The glamorous soiree will be opened with a spectacular runway presentation by Vancouver-based haute couturier Boboli boutique. If you haven’t already nabbed your tickets, you can still purchase them directly from vanfashionweek.com.
In other Van news, the rainy city will soon be the home of the first free-standing Christian Dior women’s clothing boutique in Canada, and one of only a handful in North America. The store will be on the southeast corner of Alberni and Thurlow Streets in Downtown Vancouver, housed in the Carlyle retail complex.
To date, Christian Dior currently has three shop-in-store accessory boutiques at Holt Renfrew stores in Vancouver, Toronto (Bloor Street) and Montreal, but no free-standing space of its own. Its past attempt at a ready-to-wear shop-in-store at Toronto’s Creeds department store resulted in closure after Creed went bankrupt in 1990.
Chanel, De Beers and Tory Burch are also seeking a plot in the vicinity, however, as has been pointed out by Retail Insider, this means these luxury retailers will be sharing their space with a 12,000 square foot dollar-store tenant called Dollar Tree. Hey, it’s always nice to mix your luxury goods with frugal finds!
Images via Vancouver Fashion Week
