Ottawa Fashion Week S/S 2013

Ottawa Fashion Week Spring/Summer 2013 shows flew by during the show dates of October 12th-14th. The venue this season was the quaint and comfortable environment of Sala San Marco on Preston St. The three days of shows offered designers locally from Ottawa as well as designers from Ottawa, Montreal, USA and more. The location was a great and not obvious choice, wonderful atmosphere and fairly easy flow for moving around between shows with a portion of the street being closed down to allow easy access to the Marketplace/L’Oreal tent. However, the layout for seating on the runway while did allow more attendance, wasn’t the best.

Elena Hinke

More Elena Hinke

You know, I love Ottawa, and I’m very supportive of the rising fashion market here. More fashion publications are starting, designers are more confident (some too confident), fashion artists are learning how to not only survive, but thrive. The past couple of seasons of Ottawa Fashion Week really honestly, were great. You could see definite growth as the seasons progressed, this season I feel as though they didn’t move forward. It felt like something similar to a season 3-4 seasons ago when Ottawa Fashion Week was much younger. I wasn’t alone with my thoughts.

Y!D.N.A.

Illyria and Good Luck Shirts

That being said, there were some absolute stand outs, that I truly enjoyed! Y!D.N.A once again delivered a spectacular show, DARE by Gwen Madiba showed us evening wear with an edge, Illyria and Good Luck Shirts convinced us that wearable and casual can be cool and Elena Hinke let couture gowns glide down the runway. Looking forward to next season!

All photography by Lindsey Gibeau of Valberg Imaging

About Christopher Massardo

Christopher Massardo is a writer, creative director, publisher and former fashion stylist based in Ottawa, Canada. Massardo's work has been published in PRESS the fashion, Dolce Vita, Italian Vogue, Capital Style, Wedding Dreams, Canadian Brushstroke, Papercut, Supplementaire, IDOL, Photographer & Muse and more. His first book, "The funny, horrible and (possibly) true stories of #setlife" was released on May 15th and has been talked about on CBC Radio, CTV and Daytime Ottawa. Not to mention a hit amongst fashion bloggers including Style x Beauty Department, 613Style, Homoculture The Polished Pretties, Loafers & Polish and more!