Ottawa Fashion Week Spring / Summer 2012 shows was a five day event (three days of shows) that swept through and really took the Ottawa fashion scene by storm. The three days of shows offered designers from Ottawa, Toronto, Montreal and over-seas a chance to showcase their designs to Ottawa! Pops of colour, fabulous accessories and some really great model line-ups filled the runways this season at Ottawa Fashion Week.
Opening night was met with a terrific line-up that let you know this season elevated itself a fair degree. The venue was the new and very gorgeous Ottawa Convention Centre sitting right in the heart of downtown Ottawa. Highlights (and my personal picks) of the line-up included Ottawa based Amber Watkins Swim, Montreal based Micalla and sister brand to Rudsak, Rud by Rudsak.
The second evening had a noticeable larger volume of attendees even for the very first show and continued to grow as the evening moved forward. The first three shows were outstanding, Toronto based Illyria, Montreal based ‘Everyone Has a Dream’ by Karine Breton and Ottawa based Kania. Each show brought something very different, fresh and in most cases especially vibrant. Kania’s collection specifically had a theme that got everyone moving and the closing of the show was met with a standing ovation from the crowd. The evening finished with a fabulous collection from Montreal based designer Travis Taddeo.
The third night where the crowd seemed to the largest for fashion lovers but fewest for Media was met with an interesting mix of shows. The evening started with a very colourful collection by design duo Jana Hanzel and Emilia Torabi. Throughout the evening there was also great collections by Montreal based Samuel Dong with the evening closing show being EDIT by Jeanne Beker in support of Dress For Success which featured local celebrities walking the runway.
Over all the event was excellently executed minus a few timing issues between shows, that being said, the line-up definitely made up for that. Another fantastic thing I was very happy to see was the shoes, it seemed that several designers this year (local and abroad) went to the trouble of sourcing a shoe sponsor opposed to asking the models to bring some of their own. Much applause is due for this because this is something that at fashion shows is sometimes neglected and really adds that extra something.
Looking forward to next season!
