Eco Fashion Week with Value Village Recap
I’m back from a whirlwind trip to Vancouver BC with Value Village for Eco Fashion Week (if you missed my blog post announcing my partnership with Value Village you can catch that here)! It was a thrilling few days of fashion, learning and I’ll be honest, a little shopping. To elaborate on shopping, there was a pop up shop before the shows Value Village presented on Monday with pieces that were from Value Village curated by Myriam Laroche, the founder of Eco Fashion Week. It was there that I purchased my first Hermes scarf, swoon.
A picture of me and Amanda who was there representing Value Village! Photo credit: Nic Dubeau | Louis Luzika
One eye opening stat I learned from Value Village on this trip is that on average North Americans alone throw away more than 68 pounds of clothing and textiles per person, per year. Whoa right? That’s harmful to the environment in the short and long term. Value Village is doing their part to help make the world a better place for all of us, did you know they are one of the largest recyclers of used clothing in the world? Their efforts are keeping more than 600 million pounds (that’s the size of two cruise ships!) of quality goods from landfills by selling reusable items in-store and responsibly recycling items unsuitable for resale. Now to tell you about the shows I attended!
Monday night Value Village presented two shows, the first was called the Thrift Chic Challenge and the second was the 68lb Challenge. The Thrift Chic challenge was incredibly awesome, three local designers were each given $500 to spend at Value Village, with that money they had to style a full collection of outfits all with pieces from Value Village. The 68lb Challenge was equally as cool, one designer was given 68lbs of clothes and from that it was up to her to cut, sew, and create a new collection of outfits. I was in awe of everything that came down the runway and so inspired to see how each designer brought their visions to life.
Thrift Chic Challenge Presented by Value Village
Jerome Insorio
(you can see all the runway pictures here, photo credit)
Of all the looks Jerome styled this outfit stood out to me as a favorite. The combination of the blush pants and soft vest had me day dreaming of summer and planning my next visit to Value Village to recreate this outfit.
Ghazal Elhaei
(you can see all the runway pictures here, photo credit)
The suits in this collection were unreal, it was almost unbelievable they were all from Value Village! It just goes to show the treasures that are waiting at their stores. I loved the blue in this outfit and the necktie. Maybe it’s just me but this outfit made me think of a Spanish Torero’s costume.
Hey Jude
(you can see all the runway pictures here, photo credit)
This collection was a combination of effortless cool and sophisticated edge. The neoprene clutch in this collection has been on my mind ever since I saw it come down the runway. Also this men’s fishing shirt I saw really stood out to me, I admire any guy that take a chance on wearing a cool printed shirt.
68lb Challenge Presented by Value Village
Young Oak featuring Tammy Joe
(you can see all the runway pictures here)
Tammy Joe’s collection was stunning, it was impressive to see the work she put into crafting her collection, the detail the fabrics she used, very very cool. This ombre dress caught my eye right away!
A big thank you to Value Village for bringing me along on this exciting adventure to Eco Fashion Week and congratulations to all the designers who shared incredible collections down the runway. To learn more about Value Village check out their website. There they share information on their company, their mission and how you can donate your unwanted clothes by dropping them off at a Value Village near you or schedule a home pick up.
