Inside Calgary’s Parkluxe fashion show and party: 28 photos of the city’s finest celebrating its up-and-coming designers
See the PARKLUXE fashion show and party photos »
A large metal door retracted into the ceiling at the end of a long runway, and a Mercedes Benz SLK 55 AMG Convertible (we checked) roared into view, casting a dark silhouette, the high beams momentarily blinding the audience. Another sleek silhouette, tall and lean, stepped from the machine and took a powerful stance before 400 guests.
By now, Calgary’s non-profit organization PARK (Promoting Artists | Redefining Kulture) has secured a reputation for hosting premier fashion events in Alberta (see our spring coverage from their emerging designer event, PARKSHOW). On Saturday night, the second annual PARKLUXE, which features four stand out Canadian designers who share a high-end market, pushed the envelope with a conceptual show at the Hyatt Auto Gallery Mercedes Benz in central Calgary.
Toronto-based designer Caitlin Power (a Calgary native) drew from the audience a collective gasp of admiration, as her bold, structured line kicked off the Fall 2012 collections from Anne B. Accessories (Calgary), Nicole Campre (Edmonton), and Lauren Bagliore (Calgary/New York). The latter designer gave us something to dream about, closing the show with a grand total of 34 looks, all luxury leather, draping, wool, and Bagliore’s signature Italian black matte jersey.
Incidentally, three of these designers—Power, Campre and Bagliore—are finalists in the Mercedes Benz Start Up competition and will show they’re Spring ‘13 collections in the tents at David Pecaut Square at Word Master Card Fashion Week in Toronto October 23.
Almost a run-through, then, for exciting exposure to the Toronto market, the cocktail hour felt celebratory, and not only was the show a real treat for all those chic Calgary fashion fans, but the team at PARK turned the basement showroom at the Hyatt Auto Gallery Mercedes Benz into a one-night-only club for the official PARKLUXE after party with German model/DJ Miss Nine.
My own one-night-only treat was being outfitted in an exclusive Nicole Campre dress from her soon-to-be-released S/S ’13 collection for the event. Thankfully, PARK’s presence in Calgary is less about one night, and more about longevity—which means I should probably just keep the dress.