on the late evening of september 6th i was walking down robson street writing this post in my head. i had all the words arranged in ways that seemed to encompass the exact feeling of what it was like to be in vancouver for canada’s first fashion’s night out. unfortunately those words escaped me as quickly as they came and now i get to write it all fresh. i am not going to lie, i had personal reasons for going to vancouver that day (and victoria the next). timing had it, however, it worked out that i had the opportunity to attend the showcase at cbc studio 40 and then hang around for the festivities that followed (or not). to be completely honest, a big group of us around here are still confused as to the ongoing existence of fashion’s night out. the recession is long over, and if you can’t make it to a store between the hours of operation just go the next day (or the next). as far as everyone is concerned, fno is just an excuse to party, which cities like new york, paris and milan successfully enjoy to their full potential (i’m only going on assumption… and instagram). toronto organized their fno around tiff and montreal always has an excuse to dress well and drink some wine, but vancouver, i think might have gotten lost in the mix a little bit. i have no good theories as to why the stores were empty past 8 o’clock (much before the extended closing time) and why h&m packed their catering up early, and why nobody in the stores themselves even knew about the events happening around the city. overall, however, i think apart from the fashion crowd there was a general lack of knowledge not only about that night but about the global event in general. in the end i think it could have been a really successful attempt at getting everyone together for the love of fashion. i blame it on the numbers. canada just doesn’t have enough people (the same excuse i use for the accessibility of my own blog. www is still, to an extent, location sensitive in my opinion, and if that is the way that the world communicates then we’ll always be lagging behind our populous neighbours). regardless of all this the fashion show brought in a big crowd, the event was open to the general public, the standing room was first come first serve, and there was a line-up around the block and then some. the designers and retailers really came forward with some great fall styling ideas, over what seemed like a VERY long presentation. the music was excellent (judging by the number of times shazam was pulled out) and evan ducharme, who won the design competition in light of the event stole the show with his feminine designs and great colour pallets. seeing all new models was also a really welcome change from the never changing scene in calgary. but hey, there is one of me, and the reviews all seem to agree that the night was a success. one thing that never disappoints are the amazingly stylish crowds that come out for these events, and this one was no exception. here’s to the successes and trials of our first fashion’s night out, on some level we can say that canada has finally joined the ranks of the world fashion capitals. let’s hope for more. xoxo
if you’re curious to find out all about toronto’s fno visit 
for his coverage from the east coast.
for his coverage from the east coast.
