Ottawa Fashion Week took over the capital last week and I was privileged enough to be able to participate. I applied as a freelancer- they labeled me a blogger, therefore, this is my blog post on it.
Arriving on the Red Carpet- Photo by Ming Wu
I struggled deciding what to wear to the Media launch. I had a moment straight out of Almost Famous when I showed up to the swanky club. Two beautiful ladies with clipboards on the red carpet looked me head to toe, “Who are you with?”
“Me? I’m with myself.”
“No, who are you with?”
“Uh-,” I replied nervously trying to get a peek at their clipboard. The event wasn’t being advertised outside the club. “Samantha Everts? I should be on the list.” I offered, my hope dashed temporarily. Their eyes met mine again as they scrutinized their clipboard.
“Oh, Samantheverts.com?” said a beautiful fashionista beside the ear-budded security guard.
“That’s me!”
“Ok, go ahead in.” I breathed a loud sigh of relief. There were ice sculptures, chandeliers and designer heels that cost more than I make in a month. Champagne was flowing and passed out to all the designers, photographers and media in attendance. I didn’t recognize any journalists or freelancers there. In comparison to other media launches I’ve been to fashion industry people are quite different from music folks.
Birds of America- LOVE these ruched lace leggings. Check out her fab pillbox hat!
I attended the opening night event featuring Khala Morgan (very 60s vibe), Birds of America and Montreal jewelry designer Micalla.
Confession: I spent $5 on a cab from Rideau Centre to arrive on the Red Carpet outside of the event and change into my 5″ heels. Flipping through magazines before the event I wore the brightest dress out of the evening from designer brand Topshop from the UK. I didn’t know everyone else would wear black.
Mafia!
I also ran into an old schoolmate of mine who had her jewelry line Mafia Jewelry showcased in the Khala Morgan show. She has this radio necklace pendant that I am going to have to save up for. Really cool stuff that I’d only ever seen (somewhat)- similar things to in the UK. I like unique jewelry that has a story and definitely have a piece that has a dinosaur on it.
New friends! check out Lee's photography linked above.
As media, I got the “VIP” treatment at the event and didn’t know I had a plus one, which was a shame because there are many people I would have loved to have shared the experience with. I made friends with some photographers and bloggers that let me sit with them. With my VIP pass even though I was ushered to the front of the line of 200 odd people to sit in the first row I was a bit self-conscious and decided to sit in the second row. I smiled but was uncomfortably out of my element having never gone to a show like this before and unsure of the protocol. As soon as it started I just leaned forward and took it all in. Absolutely captivating in real life.
On the models, I had hoped my friend Kate Eaton would have done one of the shows but she’s so busy with other modeling jobs (and doing amazing with them). She’s done other Fashion Weeks (Montreal and Toronto) so I was eager to get her take on the Ottawa one.
Khala Morgan- my personal favourite of the collection- very feminine
With the first show it was lovely to see a mix of body sizes (lots of curves!) and ethnicities. Two girls DID slip, however but the heels were probably 6″ or higher. Watching all the different walk styles and interaction with the audience was fascinating. I wondered looking at the women in the front row furiously scribbling in sunglasses if any of them was Ottawa’s equivalent to Anna Wintour. I’ve modeled for years but only glamor and artistically so this side of the industry remains a curiosity. Also, who knew Ottawa had paparazzi?
Last note, each of the shows was less than 10 minutes but the three shows took over 3 hours to prepare.
Would have loved to have seen Adrien Wu’s collection but there’s always next year!
Adrien Wu
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