Jax picks up share of
Franklin goes out on his own

HERE IS a took at some
events in the Canadian fashion
industry and Vancouver's own
fashion scene.

By Caro! Crenna
Contributing Writer

It was bad news for the
Canadian industry when our
biggest-name designer filed for
bankruptcy.

Etac. the large firm which owns
Alfred Sung. has until March 28 to
file a plan of compromise or
arrangement with the court. The
designer/retailer’s creditors are pre-
vented from taking any action
against the company until May 2.

Etac is closing 13 Alfred Sung
and [5 Alfred stores across Canada
in the next couple of months,
including those in Vancouver.

A spokeman in Toronto says
there are no plans to close stores in
any of Etac’s other chains, which
include Ports International, Tabi,
Britches und Dual Control.

The turn of events did bring
some good news for Vancouver's
Jax, however, since several retailers
who usually carry Alfred Sung sud-
denly found themselves with cloth-
ing racks to fill and money to
spend.

Jax was able to pick up a sub-
stantial amount of new sales which
would originally have gone to Sung
since they cater to similar markets.

There is now a void to fill in the
Canadian fashion industry. and we
all need a name to label as Canada’s
new star, Let’s hope this opens
doors for some enterprising young
designer from Western Canada.

Gerald Franklin is out
on his own

Gerald Franklin, who formerly
headed the bridal design department
at West Vancouver's Christine and
Co. and also worked “under
Vancouver designer Zonda Nellis.
recently opened Gerald Franklin
Couture on the courtyard fevel of
555 Georgia St., Vancouver.

At his salon. Franklin features
evening gowns and bridal dresses
using luxurious fabrics, hand-stitch-
ing and intricate details. The prices
for his work begin at about 3900.

Though the designer is original-
ly from Western Canada, he lived in
New York City for several years
where he had a company called
Gerald Franklin Design, and also in
Toronto where he opened a salon
called Hot Couture.

Art and craft
events on now
The 10th Annual B.C. Creative
Arts Show takes place from today
uncdil March {5 at B.C. Place
Stadium.

with the professional formula of
SKINNY DIP
Buy Two Wraps
And Receive the Third
Wrap FREE
(Not just water loss}
§622-0343
1360 Marine Dr.
West Vancouver

{Off Bellevue Ave.)

This popular event. organized to
help promote home-based business-

es Within B.C. attracts thousands of

store buyers and interested can-
sumers since it features an endless
selection of high-quality crafts.
clothing and home furnishings ere-
ated by local artisans.

oe

ArtQuake! Vancouver. an art
and craft exhibition presented at
various locations on Granville
Island. ends toduy.

Vancouver artisans are connect-
ing with the larger artistic comumu-
nity from throughout the province
in this full-scale event.

oo

Design Week Vancouver “94 is
on until tomorrow, March [4 at var-
ious local venues.

Heexplores the impact of design
in-all aspects of our lives dealing
with the theme “community and
sustainable design.” Contact 681 -
3236 for more info.

e090

Artin Action is an art materials
show for artisans.

It takes place undil today at the
Vancouver Trade and Convention
Centre and features Touch, Try and
Buy booths for all types of materi-
als. The show expects to draw arti-
sans from all over the province and
from the U.S. Contact 1-800-746-
2682 for more info.

BOOK REVIEW
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in the
North Shore News

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