16 - Sunday. February 3, 1991 - North Shore News —— $$ a Margareta moves to Bellevue **IT IS an elegant spot right in between Fredrick’s of Hollywood and Nord- strum,’’ describes West Vancouver designer Margareta Termansen of her newest boutique in Bellevue, Washington. The spacious boutique is located in Bellevue Square and represents her first expansion to the United States. This is the eighth location for Margareta Design, a well- established 12-year-old firm for which Termansen designs a com- plete collection of women’s clothing, encompassing 76 per cent of the stores’ merchandise. Margareta Termansen, a West Vancouver resident, began her manufacturing/retail firm from a small production studio on Marine Drive. The factory was moved to North Vancouver, and has recent- ly been expanded to a 10,000 square foot factory. On the North Shore, Termansen also has two retail outlets in- cluding an expansive store at 1441 Bellevue St. in West Vancouver and at 156 West Third St. in North Vancouver. Swedish-born Termansen credits her reputation for high quality design to her European training and technical skills. Educated as a haute couturiere, she was employed by a large European manufacturer. She then moved to San Francisco, and within one year came to Van- couver. Her plans include a return to California to expand her retail/design firm farther south. Margareta’s design philosophy expresses a casual elegance that she feels expresses the West Coast style. The line has been expanded to include not only softly tailored classic styles, but those for a younger market with more fashion flair. Termansen’s lifestyle line features wearable, unstructured separates in pure silks, linen, wool, viscose and Japanese wash- ed cotton. These relaxed, comfortable pieces include intricately woven sweaters, suit separates, weekend casuals and cruisewear, which all coordinate perfectly together. The simple, luxurious pieces are redolent of an uppercrust, civi- lized lifestyle. They are designed to accommodate all aspects of a native woman’s busy schedule — perfect for seawalk strolls and sty- lish shopping, boardroom meetings and business brunches to FASHION STATEMENTS ; FASHION Designs on the US. site earthy 3 Sasori’ Left: a black and white check wool suit by Margareta (skirt, $140; jacket, $245). Right: Maillot bathing suit with embroidery by Adrienne Vittadini ($125; matching cotton sarong skirt, $85). All available at Margareta Design shops. candlelit dinners and concert cruises. Her spring collection em- phasizes diversification, for *‘one-stop’’ shopping that creates a total look in a woman’s ward- robe. It includes a full line of casuals that take a sophisticated approach to activewear fabrics. Termansen ~ works directly with fabric mills to choose the exact colors and quali- ty of materials that she uses for her casualwear. Stretchy cotton/lycra jersey separates in solids with coor- dinating floral jersey prints are styled into leggings, skirts and scooped neck T-shirts. An exceptionally lightweight cotton fleece material inspires femininely designed sweats that are garment-dyed, producing a much higher quality color. Hood- ed tunics, drawstring pants and an oversized sweatshirt with the Margareta crest are featured. Japanese washer cotton sepa- rates, cotton with a permanent crinkled look, and soft cotton chambray pieces make up an ex- tensive casualwear grouping that is very practical for travelling. Termansen has imported a highly sophisticated viscose print from Italy that is made similarly to how a magazine is printed. An actual photograph uses four-color separation to be transferred to the material, producing highly detail- ed floral pictures. She is the only retailer in Canada to have this fabric. There is a sophisticated line of suits that is highlighted by dressy ‘evening viscose’’ draped blazers and printed viscose blouses in rich shades of khaki, sand, navy and cream. A small grouping of floral viscose dresses includes a full cir- cle style. For evening, silk dupionni and silk velvet are cut into smartly fit- ted jackets with spare skirts and bustier dresses. All designs are silk lined. Eveningwear is made by Margareta’s in-house designer, Renate Bruce who will also custom design bridesmaid and wedding gowns. Margareta Design in West Van- couver is an impressive boutique with a glass and marble exterior and a terra cotta and antiqued wood interior. Store manager Janice Pelling stresses personalized service and wardrobe consultation. The shop in North Vancouver is a smaller location that includes. some discounted ends of lines and samples. ¢ Parisian designer moves ta Gastown Sonia Rykiel’s third Canadian boutique opened in Vancouver recently at 199 Water St. in Gastown. The store carries Rykiel’s Signature, Impressions, Boutique and Speciale Fete clothing lines. This highly respected Parisian couturiere and pret-a-porter de- signer creates clothing with sophisticated, understated lines and colors. Knits, crepe fabrics, jerseys, cotton veiour and silk are favored by Rykiel who designs for the in- dependent woman with the kind of personal style that owes nothing to the seasonal vagaries of fashion trends. Store manager Kathleen Ouelette explains, ‘‘Rykiel still designs as she did when she began in the ’60s, in a demi-mode fash- ion. She designs in a continuous cycle, not following particular trends. . “All pieces from season to season and all collections from year to year co-ordinate with each other. Women come here wearing 20-year-oid Sonia Rykiel sweaters and I am expected to immediately recognize the label.”" The locuiion in Gastown was chosen because of its atmosphere as a tourist area. Japanese co- owner Mitsuo. Kojima is par- ticularly interested in the store because of its overwhelming popu- larity in his country. There are 41 Sonia Rykiel stores in Japan, and many of Vancouver’s customers are also Japanese. : © Germany becomes fashionable in Vancouver | Vancouver’s prestigious Sinclair Centre, at 757 West Hastings St., now houses Plaza Escada, pro- viding. Western Canada with an extensive selection of German de- signer labels. Situated directly beside Leone, . the new multi-level boutique has been designed within an antique setting in the city’s first post of- fice. (Postal Station #1) It is the first of its kind in the world, though there are many Escada boutiques, because no other store carries all of the large firm’s designer labels under one roof. Plaza Escada features clothing by Crisca, Laurel, Nina Cerruti, St. John knits, Kemper coats and the Escada designer collection. This store provides a dramatic setting for its clothing, and is sim- ilar to the criginal Escada store in West Germany. A_ hand-laid mosaic tile floor entrance leads to a massive spiral staircase of gold, slate and glass in the centre of the boutique. The merchandise encompasses knitwear, casual separates, dresses, suits, coats and even- ingwear with co-ordinating ac- cessories that include luggage, jewelry, perfume, shoes, gloves, handbags and scarves. Innovative, high fashion styling provides a complete and distinc- tive look. You'll know it when you are wearing an Escada label by the garment’s bright primary colors, intricate quality details and statement-making shapes.