H&M Pre-Opening Party

I had the opportunity to check out the pre-opening party at the H&M Flagship Store at the Core on Wednesday night. I'm very excited to finally have one in Calgary so that I can get my hands on some of their designer collaborations without the assistance of an airplane!

I had a very lucky(ish) experience in San Francisco the day the Lanvin collaboration was released. I was following all the online promotion about the collection but I didn't actually pay attention to the release date or the fact that I'd be in a city where it would be available. By coincidence we rode by it on the trolley but didn't stop because I had assumed it would have sold out (bad mistake).

 

Shot of the  San Francisco H&M flagship store from the trolley

I had a gut feeling that I should go back at least to look at the displays, and unfortunately San Francisco weather decided to treat us with a torrential downpour. It took me the whole afternoon to get back to store after torrential rain got us stuck on the trolley + almost in two accidents (one involving a car driving the wrong way up a hill as we were going down). I finally did make it back, soaking wet, to find one dress I liked left in my size. Here's a picture of me wearing the dress at PARKSHOW Spring 2011:

Picture by Christine Bassit of Calgary Fashion

Back to Calgary! I had a great time shopping with plenty of familiar faces from the industry. Kind of a weird experience. I'd run into someone, we'd compare potential purchases, grab a drink, and continue shopping... very surreal! Ran into Jennie Lyle (a local stylist that helped with our PARK4JAPAN campaign) who had picked out these really great camel colored pants (definitely snagged a pair for myself!):

Also ran into a bunch of people from Sophia Models (Bill, Ania & Spencer), Alberta Fashion Week, Fabricated and Calgary Fashion. The funniest encounter of the night was with Maria, Linda and I. We were separately shopping, turned around, and realized we were all wearing close to the same shade of red pants:

 Quick shot taken on Maria's Phone

I lone wolfed it for the rest of the night, debating which items to take home. Here's some pictures of my favorite picks and some shots of the store:

H&M is now open to the public! If you're interested go and check it out on the third floor of the Holt Renfrew Building in the Core Downtown Shopping Centre.

-Kara

PARK4JAPAN Presented by The Gerry Thomas Gallery Preview Part Three

Thursday, April 7 · 6:00pm - 11:00pm

At The Gerry Thomas Gallery

602 11 Avenue SW

Calgary, AB

Tickets $30 18+

Silent Auction featuring several local designers & artists

Art Exhibition presenting works from Chris Sattlegger, Kasia Adrian & Cindy Wagner

Exclusive Show Room Presentation of Caitlin Power's A/W 2011 Collection 

Tonight's the night! I've been giving you a few peeks at the who's who of awesome people donating items to tonight's silent auction for Japan, but just to turn it up past eleven I thought I'd share the full list of who has donated items (and send them a HUGE thank you for helping us put this together for this important cause).

PARK SENDS A GIANT THANK YOU TO THESE DONORS!

DANCECALGARY.COM

ALBERTADANCESPORT.COM

CHRIS SATTLEGGER photographer

KASIA ADRIAN, artist

CINDY WAGNER, artist

KELLY LANNAN

PJ SHIELDS

TIEN HOANG

Plus we have to thank these awesome people and companies that have helped us make this happen:

SHEA DAVID SKY

And of course, our presenters and partners in this event,

Arigato and konichiwa- see you tonight!

PARK4JAPAN Presented by The Gerry Thomas Gallery Preview Part Two

Thursday, April 7 · 6:00pm - 11:00pm

At The Gerry Thomas Gallery

602 11 Avenue SW

Calgary, AB

Tickets $30 18+

Silent Auction featuring several local designers & artists

Art Exhibition presenting works from Chris Sattlegger, Kasia Adrian & Cindy Wagner

Exclusive Show Room Presentation of Caitlin Power's A/W 2011 Collection 

Oh, alright, I'm too excited about this: I'll tell you about one more tantalizing item up for auction at PARK4JAPAN Presented by The Gerry Thomas Gallery.

Our friend and frequent collaborator Caitlin Power is more than ultra talented- she is one of the nicest Calgary girls we know. Not only is she giving our guests an exclusive view of her A/W 2011 Collection, but she also donated a design straight from one her killer look books (seriously, check her collections out) for you to bid on. Wanna see?

Photo credit:
Photographer: Chris Sattlegger
Stylist : Karleen Samson
Hair: Theresa Jalotjot
Make-up: Teslin Ward

Caitlin's tailored jackets are the perfect combination of structure, fascinating detail and an intoxicating come hither of feminine wiles, so it's no wonder she's making her mark on the city and beyond. Her A/W 2011 collection will surely entice, but getting to own a truly quality piece by this designer who I know will be bigger than big AND contribute to a good cause? That's... power-ful (I had to).

Even more excited to place some bids? I am. Truth: it's going to be hard not to just try to outbid everyone on everything myself.

If you still haven't gotten your tickets for tomorrow, they're still available online (http://www.tickettrunk.com/event/buy/850) until 12pm on April 7th. See you at the Gerry Thomas Gallery tomorrow!

PARK4JAPAN Presented by The Gerry Thomas Gallery Preview

Thursday, April 7 · 6:00pm - 11:00pm

At The Gerry Thomas Gallery

602 11 Avenue SW

Calgary, AB

Tickets $30 18+

Silent Auction featuring several local designers & artists
Art Exhibition presenting works from Chris Sattlegger, Kasia Adrian & Cindy Wagner
Exclusive Show Room Presentation of Caitlin Power's A/W 2011 Collection 

PARK4JAPAN is just a day away and we're busy putting together the finishing touches on this awesome (if I say so myself, and I will!) event to aid Japan. There have been so many incredible people and companies coming forward to donate their time, efforts, and some awesome items for the silent auction. 


We're talking deluxe gift certificates, local designer fashion, nights on the town and, oh- well, why don't you take a sneak peek for yourself...


One of our generous donors is Andi Strand from Hoakon/Helga, who is donating not one but two completely unique and absolutely beautifully bags crafted from new and vintage/antique materials. Many of us at PARK already have cherished pieces from this talented and keen-eyed local designer in our personal collections and we're over the moon that she's sharing her designs with you for Japan. 


Oogle these beauties, and get ready for the bidding war:

Aztec and Dark Brown Leather Tundra laptop overnight bag

made from a vintage leather jacket

  This bag is ONE OF A KIND. Because each bag uses vintage leather, Andi can only recreate the style with different material. Because of this, you are getting a bag that is uniquely yours.

1952 Vintage Book Clutch

Made from a gorgeous old book from 1952,  this unique, one-of-a-kind clutch was inspired by the gorgeous couture hand-embroidered book clutch that Natalie Portman carried to the Black Swan premiere, given Andi's own take on it, using the recycled/vintage items she loves to turn into beautiful new pieces. 

Get ready to hang out by the bid sheet for these ones... and look for a few more sneak peeks to come! 

PS Have you got your tickets yet? They're still available online at 

http://www.tickettrunk.com/event/buy/850

until 12pm on April 7th. See you at the Gerry Thomas Gallery tomorrow!

NRT: Pure in Plastic

Screws, stripes, and strategically placed tape- oh, my. While it was a winter wonderland in April outside, there was a whole topsy turvy wonderland inside of NRT's showcase of her latest designs this April 2nd.

On Saturday, Kara and I had the chance to catch NRT by Nicole Rita Tomney's showing of her new collection "Pure in Plastic" that we gave a sneak peek of at our S/S 2011 PARKSHOW on March 12th (Nicole will be formally debuting the full collection at FAT Toronto's alternative fashion week). Inspired by Lady Gaga, metal music, and dominatrix ladies, Nicole's collection of darkly dreamy dolls also reminded me of the fantastical geometric silhouettes of Tim Burton's creations (sidenote: I've been reading the exhibition book for MoMA's retrospective on the director/artist, Tim Burton by Ron Magliozzi and Jenny He).

Photo via  Litrato - Images by Bonskie Photography & Ariel Arrieta

We arrived with our friend Jennifer Lee of Pumped Shoes (which sponsored the heels in the show) to models in wig dresses- taking a cue from Gaga and Maison Martin Margiela's S/S 09 collection (and a 1960s mod design I've seen, although I can't find the reference image I'm thinking of). Starting the pre-show with some drama- I like it.

Taking over all of Belgo restaurant's downtown space, it was cool (get it?) to see the eclectic crowd of people who were willing to brave snow flurries to check out NRT's designs. Before the show started fashionable late, we caught up with local fashion/creative world friends and recent collaborators for PARK4JAPAN Ania B., Sandra Cross (who did models' eerie chic makeup), designer Shae Kearwood and stylist Jennifer Lyle, all in fine form despite braving the weather to come out. We also chatted with Alberta Fashion Week's David Politi about their awesome venue this year and we can't wait to see it come May.

And as for the designs? Something wicked this way comes...

(Note: neither Kara nor I brought the right camera- for better pictures of the designs, I recommend you check out Ania's blog or Litrano Image's photoset on facebook)

NRT's new designs meld concept with structure, and the dramatic shapes created by the pieces' exaggerated maximal/minimal elements have intriguing effects: huge shoulders bring a post-modern guerilla street war style to the 2011 runway, teeny floor-length hems on slim full body dresses draw attention to the way a model moves putting her in a world of her own. Beyond that, there were some bold but wearable items I could picture mixed up or down into looks for events or daring nights out (I've got my eye on the capes). To top it off, DJ Adrian Villanova from Paris spun a commendable mix of tunes for the show, adding to it's underground wonderland feel (I wish I could get my hands on The Killer's remix tune he played).

The overall look of the show packed a punch and I am impressed by the meticulous vision of Nicole as a young designer. In the end, I think it was fitting that the weather outside was so frightful- as the "Pure in Plastic" show proved, it's what's to be found under the spotlight inside and underground that can be delightful.

-Suzie.