Vancouver Fashion

Vancouver's online fashion culture magazine

Designers on Designers

July 15th, 2009 | Published in Blog

All photos by Darryl Humphrey

Vancouver’s fashion elite gather in Gastown for a one-off “social networking experiment.”

Vancouver’s fashion elite gathered in historic Gastown tonight to attend a unique event hosted by fashion photographer Darryl Humphrey and writer & fashion stylist Shallom Johnson. Held at a stunning $1.3 million penthouse loft overlooking the scenic Waterfront, the event drew an invited throng of celebrated fashion designers, national media, and entertainers who were all there witness to British Columbia’s fashion renaissance.
The night was a rousing success and garnered high praise from the designers, who became models for one night. Natalie Meyer of Sienna Ray was just one of the designers that played dress-up and said, “[I’m having] a great time – [it’s] a very new experience to be the one in the spotlight.”

Conceived as a one-off “social networking experiment,” Designers on Designers spotlighted nine of British Columbia’s top fashion designers. These designers included Carlie Wong, a Project Runway Canada alumna; Melanie Talkington, whose designs are worn by the likes of Dita Von Teese; and Rozemerie Cuevas of Jacqueline Conoir Collection, a longtime staple of Canada’s stylish scene. Not to be outdone, guests, designers, and media alike also saw designs from John Fluevog; Melissa Ferreira of Adhesif Clothing and Elsa Corsi of Jeweliette.

Elsa had an especially fun evening, remarking that the event was “fantabulous,” and thanking Darryl and Shallom “for organizing it and doing such an amazing job of pulling people together and getting everyone to try new things.” Elsa also commented on the gift bags that were given to each guest, saying “And the gift bag too – wow!”

The event was the culmination of an idea that Darryl and Shallom had while working on a photo shoot. The two were brainstorming about which designers to feature in the editorial, and they soon discovered that there was a common thread amongst the designers. They were all telling the same story: that they loved the work of several of the other designers that were to be included in the photo shoot and would happy to be in an editorial alongside them. However, despite their respect for these other designers, they had never had the opportunity to meet them in person and convey these thoughts. The pressures and time constraints of running a fashion label, and often a retail or e-retail division, had meant that each designer rarely had time ton network with their peers.

Suddenly Darryl had a “Light Bulb Moment.” Why not create an environment where these various designers could view each other’s work and show their support and appreciation? Not as competitors in the industry, but just as normal people, admiring a fashion designer’s creativity, the way one might in a personal shopping environment. How about if the actual creator of the piece you admired was right there and able to help dress you? What if there were several other designers right there too, allowing you to pick and choose pieces from each line, and come away with a new set of favourite designers as friends? Thus, the concept for Designers on Designers was created.