Show brings B.C. design talent together LAST MONDAY night at the Plaza of Nations a crowd of more than 400 designers, manufacturers, educators and fashion writers reveled in the wealth of culture that makes up B.C.’s appare) industry. By Layne Christensen Fashion Reporter The glass-enshrined B.C Pavilion, Expo °86's legacy to the city of Vancouver, served as a suitable venue for Culturalweaith "94, the B.C. apparel! industry's salute to the XV Commonwealth games. The three-storey-high atrium was the site of a three-course din- ner, awards presentations and high-voltage hour-long runway that showcased the talents of 13 of B.C.’s premier designers. Suspended above the stage was an enormous golden globe pierced by an arrow. This symbol of the wealth of culture that drives this province's sixth largest industrial employer, the B.C. apparel indus- try. set the tone for the world cali- bre event that was to come. The evening marked the first presentation of the newly created Apparel! B.C. Award. The |4-inch- “tall bronze statue was created by B.C. artist Thomas McPhee and the Susan Clark Gallery of Gem Art on behalf of the Yvon Bourgeois Foundation. “The Yvon," was awarded to former North Shore resident Lisa Tant, a fashion educator, market- ing and promotions consultant and frequent contributor to the Vancouver Sun, B.C, Woman, Sivle and Flare. Tant received the Photo submitted NETO LEATHER’S commemorative design for Culturalwealth 94 is a salute to the apparel! industry and to those who helped build it — Chinese workers. The coat is on display in Victoria for the duration of the XV Commonwealth Games. Models’ agent prefers classics, notices quality From page 14 black shirt to wear with black trousers as a change from the darker shades he normally wears, Though her husband is her part- ner in the fashion manufacturing company, she still often buys his clothes and says he almost always prefers to have a second opinion before he buys. “TI shop with him or for him,” she says. Tissington stresses that shoes are important. “I always look at a man’s shoes. They should be really good Icather and not scuffed. You can tell a lot by a man’s shoes.” ee Liz Bell, owner of Liz Bell Model Management, says she prefers a casual look which may include a shirt, dress trousers or new jeans, a good-quality belt and fine Italian leather shoes. She prefers classics and always notices quality. Bell, a married West Vancouver resident, feels that the most impor- tant part of a man’s appearance is a good haircut, because it can make or break the clothing he wears. “Llike vests on men. They add personal style and there are So many great ones out there now,” she adds. Bell doesn’t like cowboy boats. She says she prefers her husband in casuals, even just in a pair of shorts, because he has a great build. award for her efforts to increase the provincial, national and inter- national profile of B.C.'s apparel sector, Receiving foundation scholar- ships were designers Dinny Landsdowne, a graduate of the Helen Lefeaux School of Design, and Kara Ardan, a Smirnoff Award winner and student of Vancouver Community College's design program. Gillian Carr, a graduate of the Richmond School of Hairdressing, was also awarded a special scholarship. The high-impact runway pre- sentation that followed proved that B.C. designers can hold their own in the international fashion arena. As the lights dimmed and smoke swirled around the stage singer Ann Mortifee, like the pied piper, led the first set of models down the 60-foot catwalk. Though the smoke set off the fire’ alarms, the audience’s attention remained riveted on First Nations designer Dorothy Grant’s high-end Feastwear collection of coats, jackets and separates. The designs, in camel red and black cashmere, wool or leather, with appliquéd motifs drafted by husband, Haida artist Robert Davidson, were a highlight of the show. As the city’s top models coursed the runway, parading one designer line after another the audience was given a picture of the range of talent this city has to offer, Roze-Merie Cuevas for Jacqueline Conoir showed tone- on-tone career dressing in aubergine. black and teal wool. Fitted jackets were paired with short, sexy skirts and same-co}- ored tights. Neto Leather showed cyber- punk schoolgirls in silver lamé minis, bikini tops and knapsacks. Neto designer and West Vancouver resident Deborah Tissington continued the back-to- school theme with models who stormed the stage, lunchpails and satchels in hand, wearing black leather pinafores, kilts and apron dresses. Jayne Scandolari lived up to her design philosophy — maglia che abbracia, knitwear that hugs — with a stunning presentation of curve-cruising tunics, floor-graz- ing skirts and sexy dresses in sen- suous knits of silk, wool and linen. Limbo presented its take on ‘50s bowling attire, with nerdy peaked caps, monogrammed bowl- ing shirts and short, flippy skirts. Poorboy's signature acetate- lycra ribbed separates were lay- ered to produce striking color combinations —- peach with cinna- mon, plum with fuchsia. And for evening wear, models were poured into chocolate knit dresses with delicious velvet-lace bodices and short, A-line skirts. Jax's taffeta and tulle ballgo- wns and Virani’s sexy backless black wool pantsuit with wide, white-banded JapeJs and shiny, gold buttons were other standouts. Zonda Nellis showed Fortuny pleats and silk velvet cutwork in mushroom, champagne and sage. Christine Morton's delicate silk chiffon lingerie arrived en pointe, worn by Goh Ballet dancers who pliged and jettéed their way down the runway to the strains of Debussy's Claire de Lune, But it was Catherine Regehr’s evening wear that stopped the show. Her music-box-dancer dresses paired scalloped lace tanks with short, silk tafetta circle skirts. Black velvet bodices topped pewter, blush or bronze tafetta floor-length skirts for Grace Kelly elegance. For the finale, each designer presented a garment to commemo- tate the Commonwealth Games and to convey that designer's vision of the cultural wealth of our province and nation. Be Our Guest. We take pleasure in inviting you to our Open House. 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