The Park Show was in Calgary on May 27th and 28th. This was the third time I’ve done the Park Show. It's two nights of fashion shows and a Fashion Market. Park Show is a not-for-profit fashion event. It's a giant fashion show, kind of like Toronto Fashion Week with its quality and caliber of the show. Its simply amazing.
I arrived in Calgary on Friday morning and saw all the Park Show people I hadn’t seen since last year. They're all fantastic, bubbly people. Then I met the models that were going to be in my show and did a fitting to make sure everything was on point.
From there I set up my booth where I was going to be selling my work. That all took about five hours; I had enough time after that to go home and change and then come back. The doors opened and the guests flooded in.
This year's theme was Miami. It came together super awesome. They painted all over the walls in really vibrant colours, like the Miami scene.
Krystle with some of the awesome artwork on the walls.
Some Park Show art by David Brunning.
When you walk in the door there’s a beautiful set up of all the designers' booths, called the Fashion Market. All of the designers are set up and put together tightly so I was able to see what all the designers are making. There was a Gelato stand, a bunch of different juice and coffee companies, a bar was set up, and free pizza from a Calgary restaurant called Double Zero.
At the Fashion Market with Tracy Cheung
There are people coming into the Fashion Market before the show starts and you talk to them and let them try on your work. The Fashion Market also allows me to make connections with the various store owners, fashion stylists and bloggers based in Calgary.
The runway show itself happens mega fast. My show was on and off before I could even think about it. It's a blessing and a curse. I always want to put on the best show I can and all of a sudden it's over. There aren't a lot of chances to dwell or think about it. After the show I went back to my booth in the Fashion Market and got everything in order so people can come by and buy the pieces they liked in the show. It’s really nice because I got to interact with people and see what they thought of my show. I also met a really nice lady who’s a lawyer at an all-women’s law firm, which was fabulous.
Below are some pictures from my runway show!
All photos by Larry Kwon
The Arielle Jacket and Striped Fran
The Brenda Swing Shirt, Palazzo Pant and Holster
Handpainted details
When the show is on nobody is shopping so you can just see what the other designers are doing. At one point one during the Fashion Presentation, of the Park Show people handed me a handheld sketchpad and was like “Lennard, sketch something!” I ended up sketching looks from the runway show which was fun. I’ve never used one of those pads before and it made me want one, honestly.
From the runway show, I really liked House of Nonie, our styles and womenswear aesthetics are very similar. I love SP Badu, his work is really cool; he’s also just really nice and easygoing and we get along really well. I really like Rebecca King as well, her stuff is gorgeous. Cara Cheung, her stuff s great.
Bano Emee, Suka, are few other designers that stood out to me. There's just a ton of really talented, great designers. The thing I like about it the most is that we’re not in competition with each other. We’re all trying to help each other and be nice to each other. I've found in past that a lot of other designers don’t really want to help each other and I honestly don’t really get that. I always want to help other designers that I know. The more people that are buying small designers the better it is. I always try to support other small designers as well.
If you get a chance to see a Parkshow I highly suggest, the ambiance, style and fashions of their events are truly spectacular! If you like any of the pieces in this post you can find them online or in our store :)
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