For most people, Sundays are usually reserved as a day of rest or quality time spent with family and loved ones.
On this particular Sunday, especially that evening, the inaugural Vancouver’s Emerging Designers Show (VEDS) took place at the Roundhouse Community Arts & Recreation Centre in Yaletown, a part of downtown Vancouver.
VEDS is a non- profit organization devoted to offering a public and introductory platform for Vancouver’s aspiring fashion designers. It has the intention of becoming an inimitable means for unrecognized local talent to gain exposure by presenting a mini-collection of their best and current work. This fashion show aims to empower our city’s position as an international centre for fashion.
Photographer: Mike Wu Photography
Designer: Jen Mendizabal and Meryl Noelle.
When I first received an invitation to this special event, I was very curious to find out more about the event itself, who the organizers were and who they had enlisted to become involved with them in terms of sponsors and partners, and who was actually going to be in attendance that night.
I was also interested in seeing how the space of the Roundhouse Community Centre would be utilized in this particular instance as I have rarely been to this specific venue for any special events, especially any related to the fashion industry.
Photographer: Mike Wu Photography
Designer: Sherry Cascayan
When I arrived on the evening of Sunday, November 1st, 2015, there was a queue that had already formed and I was glad to see that, as that meant that there was a lot of interest in the event.
The staff who greeted guests, and checked everyone in against a list of names of those who had been invited to attend and whom had also been requested to RSVP by email with full names of themselves and whomever they might be bringing with them, were friendly and courteous. The line moved quickly.
Photographer: Mike Wu Photography
Designer: Frederick Fung
Although there weren’t formal tickets that were sold in advance or at the door per se, the reception desk requested a minimum of $5 per attendee as a donation for this non-profit enterprise.
Once I was officially registered and checked into the event, I was given a programme with the schedule. It was nothing like I had ever seen before as it was printed on a piece of fabric like a silkscreen print, which I thought was very unique and outstanding. It was definitely artistic and creative.
Fabric Programme – Photo credit: Frances Hui
Once inside the Exhibition Hall of the Roundhouse Community Arts & Recreation Centre, I was pleased to see that there were so many people who had already settled themselves in the seats arranged for the event, with many stylish and fashionable people among the crowd.
I managed to get seats in the front row on the left side of the runway, for my guest and I, so that I could get a clear shot for the purposes of live broadcasting on my Periscope channel, a mobile app owned by Twitter which I have been using since it launched on March 26thof this year.
Photographer: Mike Wu Photography
Designer: Gisele Forget
The show began with an MC, who spoke throughout the night and announced each designer showing, and a special appearance and introduction by Canadian Designer Jason Matlo, who was in attendance with fellow Canadian Designer Evan Ducharme and came out to show support for VEDS and its fledgling event.
This year, the inaugural show featured 16 local designers and 14 collections. Each one was responsible for assembling his/her own creative crew of models, makeup artists, photographers, video editors and hair stylists to showcase their collections. Styles ranged from Urban to Avant-Garde, from casual and sporty to sophisticated and formal, with some inspiration from the past to contemporary styles. Due to his/her individual connectivity and immersion in the artistic community, each designer brought a fresh and relevant perspective to the event. Most of the collections were interesting and some even made you wonder, to say the least.
Designers in the group show included: Jennifer Williams, Secil Turhan, Jen Mendizabal, Sherry Cascayen, Lisa Kao, Fredrick Fung, duo Kel Dumana and Ajani Dharmapala, duo Ashley Parker and Cianda Bourrel, Cecilia Rosell, Jeffrey Fudjoe, Navi Johal, Giselle Forget, Adam Bungag, and Carlie-Jean Finch.
The Vancouver’s Emerging Designers Show was founded by students and designers Kel Dumana and Ajani Dharmapala as they felt there was a lack of opportunity for young designers in Vancouver to show their work.
“There’s no reason why Vancouver cannot be a fashion hub. There’s so much raw talent in the city that’s just waiting to be discovered”, said Kel and Ajani.
Photographer: Mike Wu Photography
Designer: Carlie-Jean Finch
From what I’ve gathered, there is so much heart and soul in this organization. VEDS became a reality because the youth among them came together, volunteered their time and skills without reservation to promote a common goal – to push the boundaries of local Art and Fashion in Vancouver.
Kel told me during my interview with him that “people felt inspired by the VEDS project” and wanted to support him however they could. Ajani reiterated that same sentiment when I spoke to her as well, on a separate occasion, since they both have demanding schedules which proved challenging to have them both chat with me at the same time.
Photographer: Mike Wu Photography
Designer: Adam Lin Bungag
Overall, based on my personal and professional experiences in organizing, promoting and attending many special events over the years, big or small, the team at the Vancouver’s Emerging Designers Show put on a very well organized and well-executed event, with only minor technical glitches in the sound and video department in between each designer’s showing.
The other highlight for me was the cute little goody bag, which I wasn’t expecting, with scented handmade soaps and a small bouquet of some herbal type dried greens in gorgeous designs smelling of peppermint and potpourri-like scents.
They had a great turnout of about 400 people who were all interested in seeing fashion shows on a Sunday night. Not a bad way to end the weekend and a pleasant way to bring the community together.
BACKGROUND STORIES About KEL DUMANA & AJANI DHARMAPALA, FOUNDERS of VEDS
Photographer: Mike Wu Photography — Ajani Carter, Kel Dumana and Erandi DeSilva.
As a creative child growing up who felt inspired to draw and paint, Kel Dumana now spends time doing sketches in graphite and ink as well as painting with acrylic on canvas. He likes graphic design and abstract work; exploring fashion through artwork is how his interest in fashion came about.
Kel loves the idea that one’s imagination could transform another human being’s personality or persona to something completely different from the original image perceived by others. To him, it could also be a form of rebellion to what one may usually present to others or is expected to present to others.
Originally born and raised in the Philippines, Kel Dumana’s family immigrated to Canada when he was in hi s 20’s and settled in Calgary, Alberta. Armed with an undergraduate degree in Business and also a few course credits from a Clothing Technology degree from his birth country, he has worked full-time for one of the largest telecommunications companies in Canada by day for the past four years while also pursuing his passion for fashion. Side gigs have included working as a men’s fashion editor for a local blog in Calgary and as a sales associate in a few fashion retail chain stores.
Wanting to further his education and knowledge of fashion and fashion design eventually led him to enroll in a program of this nature at the Visual College of Art & Design (VCAD), which prompted Kel to also move to Vancouver in the process in order to attend this private college in town.
It was at school, between classes, where he met his soon to be co-founder and co-collaborator for Vancouver’s Emerging Designers Show – Ajani Dharmapala.
Photographer: Mike Wu Photography — Ajani Carter and Erandi DeSilva.
Ajani had seen Kel around campus since last October, in 2014, but she hadn’t had a chance to chat with him until one day they happened to come across each other, in between classes, and chatted at this first meeting, where Kel unexpectedly predicted and stated to Ajani that they would be working together in the near future, to her surprise.
Born in Sri Lanka on an island, Ajani Dharmapala’s family immigrated to Canada when she was very young. Settling in Vancouver, she grew up always painting and drawing all throughout her childhood and was very much focused on the visual arts.
Since the age of 13, Ajani has known that she wanted to be involved with fashion and the fashion industry. After high school, she took private sewing classes as well as draping and fashion design courses, as they weren’t offered at the high school that she had attended.
Photographer: Mike Wu Photography
Currently, she also has a part-time job at a fashion retail store in Kitsilano on West Fourth Avenue and has volunteered and participated in fashion related events, such as Eco Fashion Week, to get as much exposure and experience in the fashion industry as possible.
Ajani likes the concept of “presentation” and having things organized and shown in a particular way. She loves information and the personal story behind each creation of a garment, of a fashion piece or of an outfit.
She is slated to graduate from her current program of studies in 2016 and has always had her sights set on attending one of three top fashion schools in the world since she was a little girl: Central Saint Martins – University of the Arts (London, UK), Parsons – The New School of Design (New York, NY) and the Royal Academy of Fine Arts Antwerp (Antwerpen, Belgium).
As I discovered, Kel Dumana and Ajani Dharmapala are very passionate about the artistic expression and creativity involved with fashion design. However, Kel felt from being a student of fashion design, and while commiserating with his classmates, that there was a disconnect between those who are fashion program graduates and those who want to become fashion designers as a career choice, once their formal studies have finished, as there are not many, if any, opportunities for them to showcase what they are able and capable of producing.
Whether due to a lack of finances or a lack of connections or a lack of any other possible yet necessary resources, Kel decided to take matters into his own hands and create his own fashion event to showcase what he and his fellow fashion designer friends could do.
With mostly his own financing, sheer will power and lots of hard work, Kel enlisted Ajani to join him as his co-founder and organizer of the Vancouver’s Emerging Designers Show and assembled a team of producers, public relations representatives, social/digital media creators and fashion show coordinators to bring his vision and dream to fruition.
Additionally, Kel and Ajani also designed a collection together which they showed that night, other than their duties as Founders of VEDS.
If they’re not busy enough already with school, their day jobs and VEDS, they are also collaborating on their other project called Kaizen Orb – an online site where they will curate art and fashion items, and which will also be showcasing the designers who have presented their collections at VEDS previously.
Their plan for Vancouver’s Emerging Designers Show in the future is to do it up bigger and better next year, with more corporate sponsorships and partnerships, now that they have proven themselves with their first one under their belt.
Live Periscope Broadcasts Saved on Katch.me of all the Shows at VEDS:
Video 1: https://katch.me/FrancesHui/v/
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Video 2: https://katch.me/FrancesHui/v/
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Video 3: https://katch.me/
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Video 4: https://katch.me/
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Video 5: https://katch.me/
FrancesHui/v/6118cfe0-d42d-
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The post A Year In Review: Vancouver’s Inaugural Emerging Designers Show (VEDS) 2015 appeared first on BLUSH Vancouver Magazine.