Denim trend may be fading as shoppers opt for comfort — CTV News

Athleisure trend spells death of denim — NBC News

Despite the ominous headlines that shocked some in the retail world in 2014, denim is back again — if it ever really went away. Even teenage girls — who really had been avoiding denim — are starting to come back to jeans. 

Local high school students Kaylin Schenk, 18, and Melissa Doberstein, 17, were amazed at the feel of the new hybrid jersey-denim they found in Opulence, a store in West Edmonton Mall that specializes in high-end designer clothing. “It’s so soft,” says Schenk.

The two, who admit they don’t wear jeans much, represent a generation of teen girls who grew up mostly in leggings, yoga pants and dresses. It’s the same generation now credited with a recent surge in denim sales.

New York trends adviser Ann D’Adamo, of Women’s Marketing Inc., reports on her blog: “Tracking denim sales … in the first quarter of 2016, new product arrivals increased 8.6 per cent over the prior year — a 21 per cent increase over 2014.” Also, “denim showed up as a ‘top trend’ for upper-income female teens for the first time since fall 2013.”

Indeed, the runways of New York were awash in indigo this spring, as denim designs were unveiled by the popular fashion houses of Dolce & Gabbana, Alexander McQueen and Marc Jacobs.

Opulence owner Zoul Choucair confirms that Edmonton sales are in step with global trends. “We have seen a rise in denim sales for both men and women, as women tire of leggings and men discover the comfort and ease of jersey-denim blends.”

Industry watchers attribute the shift in denim sales to three factors:

• changes made by the garment industry in fabrication

• new sensitivity to environmental concerns

• introduction of new shapes and details.

Fabrication

Amandina Altomare, of 7 For All Mankind, a leading innovator in denim fabrications, says comfort is a key factor in appealing to youth.

“The younger generation seems to be focused primarily on comfort, and as the denim industry sets their efforts more and more on creating a comfortable denim alternative, the two are aligning.”

How has denim changed?

“We have introduced Lyocell, Rayon and Spandex into our constructions in small amounts to allow the fabric to stretch but maintain its shape remarkably well,” says Peggi Jewell, VP of Design and Merchandising at 7 For All Mankind. “This results in a lighter-ounce denim that feels thinner to the wearer.”  

The denim blends and denim-look alternatives couldn’t be more comfortable, says Choucair, of Opulence, who points to the new skinny-fit jog jeans for men, by Diesel. “They have a sweatpants feel with a denim look,” and a remarkable ability to hold their shape. “You can dance and exercise in them, just like you can with a pair of joggers, but they look like jeans, so you can dress them up.”  

Low-impact jeans are made using less water and energy.

 Environment

Responding to increased demand for sustainable and ethical practices, some garment-makers are working to change their reputation for being one of the most polluting industries in the world. Vast amounts of clean water is required in making denim and there are reports that Chinese rivers are turning blue with indigo dye.

Choucair says some clothing now comes with “safe garment” tags that detail the use of safer dyes (some made from agricultural waste). These mimic indigo but require substantially less water and energy in processing. Even recycled plastic is being incorporated into some denim fabric.

New shape

Finally what’s driving denim sales are the new silhouettes and stylings.

For women, new vintage shapes with a higher waist have a “looser and more playful” silhouette,” says Jewell, of 7 for All Mankind. “The cropped kick flare and culotte brought attention to the delicate ankle and details like raw seams and letdown hems give a much-needed update to traditional denim looks … Exaggerated knee holes and coating are also becoming important again.” 

Opulence employees Kohl Wandyka, left, and Diego Barillas demonstrate how flexible jeans can be.

For men, “look for the influence of athleisure in fabric and detailing,” says Choucair. With jog jeans showing a draw string at the top, five-pocket tapered hem and jersey hand feel, “it’s a sporty-inspired look that’s both fashionable and edgy.”

Denim dictionary

Here are a few terms to impress the denim heads in your midst:

Raw denim: not Sanforized, (skips the washing process that removes dye and starch)

Whiskers: crease lines that radiate from the crotch to the pockets

Combs or honeycombs: creases behind the knee

Roping: the pattern created on the loosely stitched hem of the cuff  

Selvage: finished edge of denim produced on smaller looms in Japan (tip: roll up the cuff slightly to show off this much-coveted detail)

Stacks: folding at the ankle caused when the inseam is too long

Codie McLachlan hits some of our city’s best bashes to snap photos for our weekly Social Seen column. He is an Edmonton photojournalist. Email your event suggestions to arts@edmontonjournal.com or tweet Codie at @fotocodie. Follow Codie on Instagram (@fotocodie) and Facebook (facebook.com/fotocodie)

Event: Mercer Summer Super Party

Where: Mercer Warehouse, 10363 104 St.

When: June 17

What: All-floors, close-the-street extravaganza

Featuring: Live music, street party, social spaces, art installations and dancing

Event: Summer Patio Series

Where: Latitude 53, 10242 106 St.

When: June 23 (Thursdays until Aug. 25, 5-9 p.m.)

What: Sip drinks on the patio while learning about contemporary visual culture

Featuring: Catering from local restaurants, music from local DJs, signature cocktails and giveaways. All proceeds from bar sales and door donations support upcoming programming.

Codie McLachlan hits some of our city’s best bashes to snap photos for our weekly Social Seen column. He is an Edmonton photojournalist. Email your event suggestions to arts@edmontonjournal.com or tweet Codie at @fotocodie. Follow Codie on Instagram (@fotocodie) and Facebook (facebook.com/fotocodie)

Event: Victoria School of the Arts graduation

Where: Jubilee Auditorium

When: June 28

Featuring: Commencement, dinner and dancing

Event: J. Percy Page High School pre-graduation

Where: Alberta Legislature Grounds

When: June 29

Featuring: Graduation photos on the Legislature grounds

If you organize your calendar around The Royal Bison, The Butterdome craft show, Make It, or any number of other Edmonton tributes to whimsy and invention, you’ll soon have more crafty options. A new, non-profit shop promoting Edmonton area arts and crafts has just opened in Oliver.

The Made Local Shop kicks off its new life with a pop-up trunk and lawn sale on Friday, July 1 and Saturday, July 2 from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. at 10149 122 St.

The shop, located in a charming, two-storey home, has been initiated by the Alberta Yarn Project, along with folks from two other non-profit organizations — Made Local Society and the On the Spot Pop-Ups. It will feature products hand-crafted by Edmontonians, including weaving, jewelry, clothing, visual art and possibly a few surprise items. 

“There will be a variety of different Edmonton makers and crafters,” says Anna Davidson of the Alberta Yarn Project, a small organization that promotes the use of locally grown and woven yarn.

“We want to support this as all craft-fair, all-the-time,” says Davidson. 

The shop will be open Monday to Saturday from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m., extending hours to 8 p.m. on Thursdays.

It will also house workshop space for crafters, and there are five bedrooms on-site available to be rented out as studio space. A band has already booked one of the spaces in the basement.

“Music is another form of art in our house,” says Davidson.

Once the new venture is up and running, Davidson says organizers will offer drop-in hours for those who may work alone, but who want to bring their computers to a creative, common space for working and thinking.

lfaulder@postmedia.com

Follow me on Twitter @eatmywordsblog.

Codie McLachlan hits some of our city’s best bashes to snap photos for our weekly Social Seen column. He is an Edmonton photojournalist. Email your event suggestions to arts@edmontonjournal.com or tweet Codie at @fotocodie. Follow Codie on Instagram (@fotocodie) and Facebook (facebook.com/fotocodie)

Event: YEG Fitness July edition magazine launch

Where: Yellowhead Brewery

When: July 5

What: Launch party held at downtown Edmonton’s iconic Yellowhead Brewery.

Featuring: Snacks, a free drink and silent auction

Event: Commedia Burlesco

Where: Chvrch of John

When: July 5

Who: Violette Coquette, G. Venchy, Paul Blinov, Joleen Ballendine and Arabella Allure

Featuring: Improv and burlesque, what more can we say?

The Canadian fashion industry is reeling with last week’s news that Toronto Fashion Week is folding. The event served as one of the country’s largest showcases for Canadian and emerging designers and its end leaves many pondering what comes next.

“It’s shocking and really upsetting,” said Sandra Sing Fernandes, founder of Western Canada Fashion Week. “No matter what happened, I believed it would keep going. It’s very important to Canada.”

Toronto Fashion Week was considered the marquee event of its kind in Canada, but its organizers, IMG Fashion Events & Properties, decided to call it quits due to waning financial support.

“We know that it’s not easy to do a Fashion Week. It’s not easy at all in a country that is not a garment country,” said Sing Fernandes. “I think it’s always been a rough go because Canada doesn’t really support their own to give them the kind of names (designers) have in Italy or New York.”

Now it will be up to events like Western Canada Fashion Week to help up-and-coming designers cut their teeth in the industry. Sing Fernandes hopes to see more designers from Montreal and Toronto show collections at WCFW this year, but she said the full impact of the demise of Toronto Fashion Week remains to be seen. This year’s WCFW takes place Sept. 15-24 in Edmonton.

Edmonton-based designer Malorie Urbanovitch got her start at WCFW before winning the 2013 Mercedes-Benz startup competition at Toronto Fashion Week. Urbanovitch showed collections at Toronto Fashion Week five times. But she wasn’t shocked by last week’s news.

“We’ve definitely been feeling the support hasn’t been there for the last couple of seasons,” she said. “Toronto Fashion Week gave us a lot of Canadian press, and the media attendance was always good, but it didn’t really translate into sales or reaching out to Canadian or international buyers. We actually decided to move on from Toronto Fashion Week before we heard the news.”

Urbanovitch is planning a presentation in New York City, noting that she’s at a point in her career where she’s focusing less on media attention and more on driving sales. Toronto Fashion Week occurred relatively late in the buying season, she said, and many retailers had used up their budgets by then, which did little to help designers offset the costs of staging a show.

“We’re definitely a brand that loves putting on a show, and it’s one of the things we enjoy most. The energy is so amazing, and it’s super rewarding after labouring over a collection to present something in that capacity. But at the end of the day, it’s not really reaching the people that we need to be reaching.” She will concentrate more on getting her collections out through social media and photo collections called lookbooks.

Megan Szanik, co-founder of the new PARKSHOWEXPO in Calgary, also wasn’t surprised about Toronto Fashion Week, echoing Urbanovitch’s sentiments about timing. Showing a collection six months prior to consumers being able to get their hands on clothing doesn’t work anymore. Now that fashion show photos are widely shared on social media, consumers want to be able to access items immediately. She and her team at PARKSHOWEXPO want to counteract this by combining business education for designers with the glamour of traditional fashion shows.

The event will include PARKSHOP, a trade show called PARKSHOWEXPO and PARKFORUM, which teaches business skills to designers and to retailers, said Szanik, who has been in the fashion industry for 20 years and owns her own boutique, Espy Experience.

PARKSHOWEXPO will have its inaugural run in February, bringing in 350 brands — the majority will be Canadian — to show Fall/Winter 2017 men’s and women’s attire, which will be for sale then and there.

Szanik wants to see Canadian designers receive more support at home.

“What we’re not doing very well is allowing Canadians to support their own,” she said. “We don’t shine a spotlight on them in the right way, and that’s the thing we really need to change. Our designers are extremely creative. If we can give them the business skills, just you watch.”

Codie McLachlan hits some of our city’s best bashes to snap photos for our weekly Social Seen column. He is an Edmonton photojournalist. Email your event suggestions to arts@edmontonjournal.com or tweet Codie at @fotocodie. Follow Codie on Instagram (@fotocodie) and Facebook (facebook.com/fotocodie)

Event: Lawn Summer Nights

Where: Commonwealth Lawn Bowling Club

When: July 7

Who: Cystic Fibrosis Canada

What: Lawn bowling tournament over four nights

Featuring: Prizes for best-dressed teams and team names, funds go to Cystic Fibrosis Canada

Event: Kiss Freedom to Rock tour

Where: Rexall Place

When: July 12

Who: Kiss

What: Epic rock concert

Featuring: Pyrotechnics, makeup, classic rock and roll, and Gene Simmons’ tongue

After talking on the phone for a week or two, Schimine and Stephen Siemens’ first date was at a Second Cup in the West End in the winter of 2012. Stephen got the barista to bring Schimine roses out from behind the counter, and the two clicked immediately.

“I don’t think we wanted to admit we were falling that fast,” says Stephen.

“I knew right away,” adds Schimine. “I thought, ‘Well, if I ever get married it’s going to be with him or with nobody.’ ”

Two years later, in April of 2014, Stephen proposed at the same Second Cup (this time after surprise-serenading her with John Legend’s All Of Me on acoustic guitar) and the two began wedding planning shortly after.

They put down a deposit on a venue in Canmore that they loved – A Bear & Bison Country Inn – and planned to host 30-50 family and friends. They even sent out save-the-dates. Soon, though, they realized they weren’t having fun anymore.

“It seemed like it was focused on catering to other people,” says Stephen.

“It became very overwhelming very fast, and the focus was not on the reason we were getting married: because we love each other,” says Schimine. “It took the romance out of it, and the love out of it. It was too much – we really just wanted to get away, and we had never really been on a vacation together. So we just dropped it. We cancelled it.”

The two had known that they wanted to travel to Iceland together, and had toyed with the idea of going there on their honeymoon. Eventually the penny dropped, and Schimine got in touch with their wedding photographer, Nicole Ashley.

“So I called up Nicole, and I said, ‘Hey, I can’t do the mountain wedding. We don’t want that anymore. Do you want to go to Iceland?’ And she said, ‘Hell yeah, I want to go to Iceland!’ ”

Officially, they didn’t bring any guests along, though Nicole brought her husband, who is her second shooter. And after having trouble finding a hair and makeup team in Reykjavik, Schimine and Stephen asked the women of Edmonton’s Behind the Blush – Stefanie Carlson and Janna Huget – to come as well. Finally, Stefanie’s husband Drew Carlson rounded out the group – he played the guitar during the ceremony.

Schimine and Stephen got married the day after they landed in Reykjavik. After waking up at their hotel in the centre of the city, CenterHotel Thingholt, they did a first look outside on the street before packing into their two, comically small rental vehicles.

The couple had researched all of the sights they wanted to visit and, without a firm plan on where, exactly, they were going to get married, took off for the Icelandic countryside. They visited the Skogar Folk Museum, black sand beaches and all kinds of jaw-dropping scenery – even an abandoned airplane whose coordinates can’t be found on the internet. Huget had been to the country before and did a lot of the navigating.

“We left the hotel at 11 in the morning at the latest,” says Stephen. “And we didn’t get back to the hotel until five in the morning.”

The weather was great for Icelandic summer – between 16 C and 18 C. That’s perfect, notes Stephen, when you’re in heavy wedding clothes for over 18 hours.

The cavernous Fjaðrárgljúfur canyon, where they wound up having their symbolic ceremony (the couple was officially married in Canada on Sept. 29, 2015), was chosen somewhat by fluke. “That was the place that we got to when it was really good lighting and really nice out, so that’s why we decided to get married there,” says Stephen.

It didn’t hurt that it was one of the most spectacular settings on their journey. Drew Carlson played Jason Mraz’s I Won’t Give Up as Schimine walked down the “aisle” and Huget officiated.

The canyon and its cliffs were even more enchanting when the sky changed colour in an instant. “We were leaving from the cliff and Nicole said, ‘Oh my gosh, look at the sunset! And it was literally three minutes after we said our vows and we went back out to the cliff, and just admired it and took some pictures and really let it all sink in,” says Schimine.

The rest of the night consisted of more driving and sightseeing, and their wedding meal was burgers and hot dogs (Iceland is known for its gourmet dogs) at the only place they could find that was open.

They embraced the day with a sense of humour. “Schimine’s in the back seat of this tiny little car in her dress eating a hot dog,” says Stephen. “Super romantic.”

It was the wedding they really wanted – followed by another week in Iceland for a honeymoon. And, in the end, even the family and friends who missed out on the mountain wedding with the couple eventually “got it.”

“They finally understood, once they saw the photos, that it was so beautiful there,” says Schimine. “You know, it was really an adventure, and a trip, and a chance for Stephen and I to be able to connect with each other.”

Making Choices

Wedding date: July 22, 2015

Wedding location: Fjaðrárgljúfur, Iceland

Guests: 0

Dress: Pronovias, the Bridal Boutique (thebridalboutique.ca, West Edmonton Mall)

Flowers: Upplifun Books and Flowers, Reykjavik

Hair and Makeup: Stefanie Carlson and Janna Huget of Behind the Blush (behindtheblush.ca)

Photography: Nicole Ashley Photography (nicoleashley.ca)

Budget: $20,000 – $25,000 Cdn

Codie McLachlan hits some of our city’s best bashes to snap photos for our weekly Social Seen column. He is an Edmonton photojournalist. Email your event suggestions to arts@edmontonjournal.com or tweet Codie at @fotocodie. Follow Codie on Instagram (@fotocodie) and Facebook (facebook.com/fotocodie)

Event: Ladies on the Green

Where: Victoria Golf Course

When: July 21

What: A charity golf tournament where the golf is optional

Featuring: Luxe spa treatments, al fresco dining and summer cocktails, silent auction and a champagne reception. Oh, and golf, too. Funds to support Edmonton’s Zebra Child Protection Centre in improving the lives of children impacted by abuse.

Event: Comedy for a Cause

Where: The Comic Strip

When: July 21

Who: Clearly Financials

What: Fundraiser for the Alberta Ride to Conquer Cancer

Featuring: Comedy by Nick Vatterott. Funds go to the Alberta Cancer Foundation.

Codie McLachlan hits some of our city’s best bashes to snap photos for our weekly Social Seen column. He is an Edmonton photojournalist. Email your event suggestions to arts@edmontonjournal.com or tweet Codie at @fotocodie. Follow Codie on Instagram (@fotocodie) and Facebook (facebook.com/fotocodie)

Event: Interstellar Rodeo

Where: Hawrelak Park

When: July 22-24

Who: Music festival, organized by Six Shooter Records

Featuring: Marty Stuart, the Strumbellas, Faith Healer, Lord Huron, Joe Nolan, the Sam Roberts Band and many more. Also included a marketplace and food trucks.

Roxy Schendel, 4, left, and Lilly Schendel, 5, pose with their mom, Joslyn McDonald, and family friend Paula Kirman, right, during Interstellar Rodeo.

Imogen Wynters, Maria Pace-Wynters and Scarlett Wynters pose for a photo during Interstellar Rodeo.

Brock Friesen, left, poses with his wife, Elin Laaksonen, during Interstellar Rodeo.

RaeAnne Friedenberg, left, poses for a picture with Elicia Jump during Interstellar Rodeo.

Delaney MacIntosh, left, with Finn Case during Interstellar Rodeo.

Shaun MacDougall, left, with Angela Wirsta during Interstellar Rodeo.

Martin Collins, left, with Kim Collins-Lauber during Interstellar Rodeo.

Event: Le Diner en Blanc

Where: 104 Street and 102 Avenue

When: July 28

What: An unconventional picnic in white at a secret location (announced an hour before)

Featuring: Guests dressed head to toe in white, gallantry and noble values that were at the foundation of French high society.

Leila Butoyi, left, with Estella Nduwimana during Le Diner en Blanc.

Stiltwalkers Jayne Waldon and Matt Nightingale strut their stuff during Le Diner en Blanc.

Marc Solomon with Daphne Shipka during Le Diner en Blanc.

(From left) Megan Marrinan, Ava Coombs and Joyanna Mitchell during Le Diner en Blanc.

Anthony Bertrand of the Alliance Francaise of Edmonton poses with Genevieve Therrien during Le Diner en Blanc.

David Hamblin, centre, with Julia (left) and Shirley Jestadt during Le Diner en Blanc.

(From left) Olivia Latta, Julie Ferguson and Reina Gandy during Le Diner en Blanc.

Using tools and techniques that have scarcely changed over the centuries, Kristin Panylyk de Lopez creates contemporary leather accessories. Her chic leather clutches are made entirely with her own two hands, from the hand-cut and burnished edges to the hand-stitching with waxed linen thread.

This part-time Edmonton leathersmith is also a full-time teacher who sells her goods online and at specialty shows, like Make It! The Handmade Revolution, at the Enjoy Centre, and Vixens of Vintage Spring Fling, at the Prince of Wales Armoury.

Panylyk de Lopez’s website is a study in how to present stylish, handmade goods in an attractive, compelling way. In fact, her work so impressed the online retail site Etsy, they chose her as one of 60 finalists from among 2,000 entries across Canada for their 2016 awards showcasing creativity and new talent.

Her bags range in price from $40 to $300. You can find her handmade creations online at kristinlanedesign.com (Lane is her middle name.) 

Q: What came first, the creative impulse or the love of working with leather?

A: Definitely the creative impulse to make and design came first. I have always been driven to create, whether it is something tangible like a bag, or something fleeting, like dance. Of course, when I discovered the medium of leather, I fell in love and have found it to be one of the most rewarding of my creative endeavours.

Q: Where do you get your inspiration for designs?

A: I work by feel and intuition. In the beginning I was inspired by the natural edges of the leather when creating each piece. However, over time, my natural inclination was to clean lines, and feminine shapes have taken over. Typically, when creating a new design, I will have thought about it and already created it in my mind before I even begin the physical process of creating.

Q: Is there any connection with your other vocation, as a teacher?

A: I am a foods and fashion teacher with Edmonton Public Schools, and I feel so lucky that I am able to link some of the aspects of my creative outlet into my junior-high fashion classes. I share my love of creating with my students and am constantly blown away by their creativity.

This bucket bag is one Kristin Panylyk de Lopez’s latest designs.

Q: What’s new in your line?

A: A couple of my newest designs include a hand-stamped leather wristlet, made with a luxurious Italian leather, and a boho-chic cross-body bucket-bag featuring hand-cut tassels and English bridle straps.

Q: How would you describe the buyers who are drawn to your work?

A: They come from all walks of life, but are people who appreciate the intricacies of handmade products and who believe in supporting local designers. They like to have original pieces and wearable art and value the skill and passion that go into goods that are handmade.

 Q: Could you walk us through the process of making one of your leather items?

A: Once I have created a design, there are numerous steps that must happen to bring my vision to life. Creating the pattern, cutting pieces from the hide, finishing the edges, hand dying, punching the holes, stitching by hand, affixing the closures and making the straps are just part of what I do. Depending on the design, one bag can take me anywhere from two to eight hours to complete. 

Q: How long has it taken for you to become proficient enough to sell your wares? It doesn’t look easy.

A: I started leather work in late 2011 and did my first show in spring 2012 at the Royal Bison Art & Craft Fair. I attended a variety of craft shows and farmers’ markets over the next year and did quite well in terms of sales. Then I decided to take a step back and spent the next year and a half working hard on refining and polishing my skills in my studio.  

Q: How do you see your business evolving?

A: I see it continuing to grow, especially online. I have showcased my work at craft and art shows such as Make It!, and plan on continuing to do that. I am also a passionate educator, so I’m currently developing an instructional manual for beginning leatherworkers, to share my love of leather in more ways than one.

Q: Any advice for creative types out there who would like to market their goods?

A: Have confidence in the unique quality of your work, constantly strive to improve and evolve, learn to utilize the power of social media and to connect with others in the handmade community.

Edmonton jewelry designer Cara Cotter began honing her craft 11 years ago, selling her wares through local boutiques and public markets. Since then, she has expanded her So Pretty jewelry line to international retailers, and is preparing for a series of trunk shows at Bloomingdales this fall.

Now situated in a bright, modern studio space on 124 Street, Cotter continues to create pieces characterized by soft, feminine qualities juxtaposed with tougher organic elements that are versatile and striking. Similar descriptors can be used to describe her personal style, a blend of classic and modern pieces with an emphasis on investing in quality rather than relying on fast fashion.

We asked Cotter about her style influences, her favourite local shops and designers, as well as what’s on her fall fashion wish list.

Q: How would you describe your personal style? 

A: Definitely classic, but always with a twist. If I buy a piece, I want something about it to be different. Good tailoring, stitching details, and unexpected elements are a big deal to me. I also want to feel feminine but strong at the same time.

Q: How has your sense of style changed in the past few years? What’s shaped it?

A: I really want quality pieces over quantity now. It’s something I first learned from my husband. For work he would invest in good-quality pieces, and they would last for a long time and he could get so much wear out of them. I realized quickly that although the upfront cost was higher, the cost-per-wear was much less over time. Plus, there is a lot less to go in our landfills.

I’ve always loved fashion, but in the last couple of years when I started travelling to more industry shows in New York, I met so many other wonderful designers. Having meetings with boutique buyers and large department stores like Bloomingdales, and having upcoming trunks shows for them, I really wanted to step it up and find my “fashion voice.” I know I’m not just selling myself, but pitching my entire brand. That being said, I’m a mom and I also need balance. When I’m at hockey or at the pool with my boys, I need to be comfortable and practical at the same time. But even then, most days I still try and look pulled together and wear items that are a little different.

Q: What inspires you when it comes to fashion? 

A: When it comes to design I’m inspired by a piece that is well made, has a story behind it, and is in any way refreshing — that’s hard. With each season I really look forward to what’s new and fresh on the runways. This fall, I was really inspired by the whole ‘Neo Victorian’ look. It’s super feminine while also being strong, edgy, and dark. I loved how pearls were incorporated in a way that wasn’t so traditional.

Q: Which fashion icon do you look up to most? 

A: When I think of a unique, strong and feminine woman, Cate Blanchett immediately comes to mind. She’s a classic beauty, and regal at times, while still always surprising us on the red carpet. She bends the fashion rule book and sets herself apart. I adore her. 

Jewelry designer Cara Cotter.

Q: What are your go-to pieces for jewelry and clothing?

A: For jewelry, I love a statement ring. Right now I’m constantly wearing the So Pretty BRAVE ring, with a couple of layering necklaces and a small stud earring.  For clothes, I’m addicted to a really nice jacket. No matter if you have a pair of jeans or dress pants on, a well-tailored jacket can really make an outfit. I can’t get enough of Smythe & Marie Saint Pierre jackets — both Canadians. I love boots, too. I could wear these all year round: Poppy Barley Two Point Five Boots in desert tan.

Q: Where are your favourite places to shop in Edmonton? 

A: What makes all the difference for me is a really good relationship with sales staff — Lisa Foster at Blu’s, Dana Creran at Who Cares, and Kelsey Bulmer at Cerulean Boutique. They all carry amazing brands, know what I like, and keep an eye out for me. It is so helpful, and I really appreciate the one-on-one service.

Q: Who is your favourite local designer, and what do you like about their work? 

A: I love Poppy Barley. Every season they blow me away with their new collections. I always look forward to seeing their next launch and buying a piece.  

Q: Which summer trend have you embraced most this year? 

A:  Upscale ‘70s. Of course, layered jewelry (long necklace with a shorter tiny pendant), fringe — I have a Tahari sleeveless sweater I’m obsessed with that has fringe all around the bottom. It’s great for layering. I also wear fringe earrings a lot. I also love peep-toe booties. I live in Vince Faye ones in black.

Q: What’s on your fall clothing wish list?

A: I am loving dark lace, leather, ruffles and still fringe, even though it’s been a trend for a few seasons now.  

My wish list: Smythe Peaked Lapel blazer with fringe on the back, Victoria Beckham Ruffle Sleeve Tee, Rebecca Taylor Lace Skirt, Rebecca Taylor Lace Top and for the hockey rink, Elie Tahari Sport Vest

Oh, and I’ll be buying the So Pretty FIERCE ear jackets. You can wear them with or without the pearl and up or down so you get three earrings in one. My fall collections launches in stores and online on Sept. 8.

Q: Do you have any advice for people when it comes to style? 

A:  It’s good to be aware of trends but not to create an entire outfit out of them, otherwise you start to look like you’re heading out for Halloween. Also invest/splurge on classics and spend less on really trendy items you’ll want to switch out more often.

Codie McLachlan hits some of our city’s best bashes to snap photos for our weekly Social Seen column. He is an Edmonton photojournalist. Email your event suggestions to arts@edmontonjournal.com or tweet Codie at @fotocodie. Follow Codie on Instagram (@fotocodie) and Facebook (facebook.com/fotocodie)

Event: Cariwest Friday Night Extravaganza

Where: Winston Churchill Square

When: Aug. 5

What: Costume extravaganza and party

Featuring: Tunes from the Caribbean, vendors, food trucks and a costume party

Event: First Time Fringers Workshop

Where: Chapters, Whyte Avenue

When: Aug. 9

What: A veritable “how-to” session for guests who have never experienced Edmonton’s Fringe Festival

Featuring: Longtime Fringers Douglas Oakley and Ross Bradley (who are not associated with the festival) divulge their best tips and tricks to navigating the event.

Will Pharae, left, with Kevin Kabongo during the Cariwest Festival Friday Night Extravaganza.

Blessing, left, and Abraham Eghujouba during the Cariwest Festival Friday Night Extravaganza.

(From left) Jimmy Feka, Tabitha Tshibula and Papy Akemba during the Cariwest Festival Friday Night Extravaganza.

(From left) Philip Wilson, Joshua Fernandes and Jordan Fernandes during the Cariwest Festival Friday Night Extravaganza.

Steves Koumapie, left, with Kuki Abera during the Cariwest Festival Friday Night Extravaganza.

Hirut Birhan, left, with Memar Zeleke during the Cariwest Festival Friday Night Extravaganza.

(From left) Kristina Buhler, Melissa Young, Matt Buhler and Ingrid Carlstrom during the First Time Fringers Workshop.

Elisabet Ingibergsson, left, with Kelly McKean during the First Time Fringers Workshop.

Carmen Chan, left, with Audrey Lum during the First Time Fringers Workshop.

Bill and Helen Romanchuk pose during the First Time Fringers Workshop.

Organizers Connor Meeker, left, and Amanda Townsend during the First Time Fringers Workshop.

Cary Brown, left, poses with Annette Rivard during the First Time Fringers Workshop.

Workshop leaders Douglas Oakley, left, and Ross Bradley pose for a photo during the First Time Fringers Workshop.

Want an intense feeling of well-being, happiness and excitement? The upcoming fashion festival called Euphoria may be just the ticket.

The event is a new and original concept for Edmonton, a sort of pop-up store meets fashion week. Organized by DeepMode Creative Consulting, the festival runs Aug. 19-21 at the Edmonton Expo Centre at Northlands. Organizers say it will have some of the theatrics of a high-octane fashion show, but also give designers a chance to connect directly with consumers.

For Edmonton-based designer Stanley Carroll, participating in Euphoria is a chance to tell the creative story behind his designs. “When you do a fashion event like this you start a dialogue with consumers, which is way more interesting than just putting something on a rack,” he says. 

“Fashion shows give designers a focus while allowing them to experiment and push the envelope.” That’s the “show” part of the fashion show, and people love it, says the Dutch-born designer, who has been selling his distinctively edgy clothing for men and women for more than 30 years.

Outfit from fall 2016 line of menswear by Stanley Carroll.

Carroll will be showing his men’s fashion line on the night of the festival devoted exclusively to menswear. Part of the proceeds for admission will go to help promote prostate awareness.   

DeepMode has been involved with the local fashion industry for some time now, says Carroll, and they seem to be very vested in its future.  

“Anyone who shines a light on the fashion industry here and creates a buzz, brings excitement,” says Carroll.  “And that’s a positive.”

We caught up with the creative director of DeepMode, Aman Matharu, to ask him about the Euphoria  festival.

Q: Why is it called Euphoria?

A: Euphoria means a feeling of intense excitement and happiness; we want to create that feeling for fashion in the city. We want the people of Edmonton to be excited about fashion and the designers to be happy to showcase their collections on the runway.

Q: Why here and why now?

A: There is no other major fashion event happening in the city then, and we figured what better time to have a fashion festival here than during festival season? The location was chosen because we wanted to get really creative with our staging and we needed a lot of space, so we chose the two biggest ballrooms at the beautiful Expo Centre.

Q: What fashions will be on display?

A: There will be a mix of summer ready-to-wear as well as fall collections by most of the designers. 

Q: What is your company, DeepMode, all about?

A: Mode is French for fashion and Deep is profound. We are about creative marketing, fashion styling and runway production, as well as visual merchandising and event planning. We produced the fashion shows for Fashion Against Cancer as well as Kumari Fashion. We do the runway shows annually for Anika Designs at WCFW and did the KIXS fashion show at Club XO. 

Q: What prompted your decision to stage this event? 

A: We have worked individually with designers to produce their fashion shows and after two years of building on our success, we decided that we had enough of a client base to combine all of their talents into one big festival. 

Q: Unlike fashion events, such as the recently defunct Toronto Fashion Week and the upcoming Western Canada Fashion Week (WCFW), your three-day event is targeting consumers (as opposed to retailers or wholesalers). Who do you think will attend?

A: We are expecting a wide demographic of both males and females between the ages of 25 and 65, as well as local fashion patrons who love everything fashion.

Q: How does Edmonton factor in the fashion scene in Canada?

A: Although we have superb talent among our local designers and boutiques, we do not have the same exposure as larger cities. Part of the reason we are hosting this event is to help these designers get the exposure they deserve and build the fashion community here.

Tickets to Euphoria are $35, which includes parking. Doors open daily at 7 p.m., with the shows starting at 8. For more information about the festival go to www.euphoriafashionfestival.com. To learn more about Stanley Carroll’s designs go to www.stanleycarroll.com.

Early afternoon at the not-quite-finished Brewery District and on the patio outside the Loblaws City Market, firefighter Krisztian Schmidt tucks into a heap of salmon sashimi.

“I’ve been here pretty much every day since it opened,” he said with a grin. “That way I don’t have to keep food in my fridge.”

Schmidt lives in the Quarters, the other side of the downtown. But he’s such a fan of the Brewery District in Oliver, he just joined the Goodlife Gym, which is set to open here in October. 

“They’ve got a good mix of businesses and a good vibe going here,” he says. “Even the parking lot is nice, with its big curbs and its green space.”

Jackey Gibson lives just a few blocks from the Brewery District and walks over often with her son, Declan, to pick up a few groceries or grab a quick lunch. Declan, nibbling an arugula and prosciutto pizza, identifies himself as a part-time engineer, full-time welder and part-time DJ. The five-year-old also starts kindergarten next month. 

“I think it’s lovely,” says Jackey Gibson. “Far better than the big dirt hole that was here before.”

Grant Schneider is co-owner of Aligra Wine and Spirits in West Edmonton Mall. This is his first time to the Brewery District. Schneider moved to Edmonton from Vancouver nine years ago. This reminds him of Vancouver’s Granville Island. 

“I like it. It’s not that strip-mall effect. I find a lot of the buildings here in Edmonton are built on the cheap, so it’s nice to see this.”

The Brewery District.

When designs for the development at 104 Avenue, east of 121 Street, were first unveiled, there was an outcry from the surrounding community, urbanists and heritage preservation fans. This was a property with such potential, the site of the historic Molson brewery tower, linking Oliver and Westmount to downtown and Queen Mary Park to Oliver. Yet the initial designs looked little better than a conventional suburban strip mall.

But after heated debate and quiet negotiations, the project, now opening bit by bit, is charming many shoppers. The developers, First Capital Realty and Sun Life Investment, together with architects Dialog, have retained the historic brewery tower, used some of the vintage brick salvaged from old brewery, and built the surrounding commercial development in an idiom that respects the original 103-year-old brewery. There are wide sidewalks, several outdoor patios, attractive benches.

“Two-thirds of our parking is underground and only one-third is aboveground,” says Ralph Huizinga, First Capital’s vice-president of acquisitions and development for Western Canada. “We wanted to create an urban experience and we don’t people don’t like to see parking at grade.”

Not every critic is convinced. For Lisa Brown, president of the Oliver Community League, the development remains a deep disappointment.

“It’s a very inward-looking structure. It’s hard to summarize how bad it feels. It’s like a walled city with nothing inside it. The ‘courtyard’ is a parking lot.” 

Journalist Omar Mouallem, who writes often on urban design, was one of the Brewery District’s toughest critics. He’s also the editor of The Yards, a magazine published by the Oliver and Downtown community leagues. 

“It’s too early to say whether it’s a disaster or a success,” he says.

While he likes the wide sidewalks and the open patios, he, like Brown, is disappointed the shops and cafes don’t open onto the street, but turn their backs on Oliver. And he faults the development for a lack of cycling infrastructure. The design is better than the original proposal, he says, but he’s waiting to see whether the new tenant businesses really bring the space to life. Still, as a resident of Queen Mary Park and a regular visitor to the shopping centre, he sees upsides, too. 

“When I went in to Loblaws on opening weekend, I don’t think I ever saw more smiles in a grocery store in my life.” 

Of course, any development would be better than an empty, blighted lot. But is the Brewery District better enough? Does it do enough to rejuvenate its neighbourhood and preserve the brewery tower? Or is it still too big a compromise?

“We’re still not open all the way,” cautions Huizinga. “Give us some time.”

In May 2014, Ralph Huizinga of First Capital Realty, posed for this picture atop the Molson brewery tower. Two years later, that empty lot is home to the new Brewery District.

While there isn’t much cycling infrastructure yet, Huizinga says there will be two bike paths through the development which connect to the city’s multi-use path behind the site, which will also be widened. They will be more bike racks, too, he promises. There will be two landscaped pocket parks as part of the finished development. As for the interior orientation? Huizinga says part of that is because they had to leave a big setback to accommodate the LRT right-of-way planned for 104 Avenue. 

The plaza is now about 70-per-cent leased or committed, he says, with new shops and restaurants opening over the next months. Huizinga says they hope to finalize a deal with a brew pub to move into the base of the old brewery tower soon. 

And there’s the trick. More than parking, parks or bike paths, the Brewery District needs people. If its tenants draw visitors to the site morning and evening, all year round, if it maintains that good vibe, the development will be an urban asset. By this time next year, perhaps we’ll know for sure. 

psimons@postmedia.com

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Codie McLachlan hits some of our city’s best bashes to snap photos for our weekly Social Seen column. He is an Edmonton photojournalist. Email your event suggestions to arts@edmontonjournal.com or tweet Codie at @fotocodie. Follow Codie on Instagram (@fotocodie) and Facebook (facebook.com/fotocodie)

Event: Feast on the Field

Where: Commonwealth Stadium

When: Aug. 17

What: A table event on the end zone

Featuring: Award-winning local chefs Brad Smoliak, David Omar and Steve Buzak. Proceeds to CapitalCare Foundation

Event: JOEY Bell Tower Launch Party

Where: JOEY Bell Tower, 10310 101 St.

When: Aug. 17

What: Restaurant launch party

Featuring: Sample plates, charcuterie, music and drinks

(From left) Siblings Danny, Lindsay and Abby Jamieson at Feast on the Field.

(From left) Tessa Gregson, Faiz-Ali Virji, Marc Yu and Christina Dao pose at Feast on the Field.

Avalon Hrabec, left, with Megan Henwood at Feast on the Field.

Karen and Pat Brousseau at Feast on the Field.

Erin Balkan, left, poses with Crystal Hall during Feast on the Field.

Jodi and Michael Abbott pose during Feast on the Field.

Chiana Castro-Telechea, left, with Brittney Matejka during the launch party for Joey Bell Tower.

Devyn Jones, left, with Kiana Lee during the launch party for Joey Bell Tower.

(From left) Megan Schrader, Paige Stenson and Charli Elber during the launch party for Joey Bell Tower.

(From left) Tammy Thompson, Shannon Robichaud, Tammy Riordon and Cody Mattson during the launch party for Joey Bell Tower.

Mike Zouhri, left, and Daisy Amador during the launch party for Joey Bell Tower.

Justin LeBlanc, left, poses with general manager Cody Robichaud during the launch party for Joey Bell Tower.

(From left) Tom Gazzola, Heather Weigum and Max Urquhart pose together during the launch party for Joey Bell Tower.

Danielle Thoreson, left, poses with Tracey Schick during the launch party for Joey Bell Tower.

Sometimes, when you’re an artist, working in two dimensions seems so yesterday.

For Hayley Wright, it was a yearning to create something in three dimensions that lead her to a burgeoning new career as a designer of skateboard decks. 

“It started as an art project,” recalls the local illustrator with Paper + Ink and founder of the Skateboard Collective.

Wright was researching skate shops and on-line skateboard options and could find nothing to appeal to her aesthetic sensibility. The images were either very macho – with mass-produced decals and high-contrast graphics – or else of the simpering Hello Kitty variety. But the colours, textures or architectural elements that she thought would be cool in a skateboard were simply not to be found.

“As a self-proclaimed girlie-girl, I wasn’t finding what I would want in a board,” says Wright, 26, who was born in Ontario and studied fine arts at the University of British Columbia in Kelowna before coming to Edmonton for a management job at Simons.

Illustrator Hayley Wright poses for a photo with some of the custom skateboard graphics she has created, in Edmonton on Wednesday Aug. 10, 2016.

In order to fund her experiments with deck art, Wright launched a modest Kickstarter campaign a couple of months back to raise funds to buy supplies including blank decks, spray paint and gold leaf. She ended up exceeding her goal of $1,200 by $300. With that money, Wright has nearly finished creating 10 custom decks.

“I would like people to think of them as female friendly, or just gender neutral,” she says of her designs. “I try to put together colour combinations you might not think of.”

Some of the custom skateboard graphics created by Edmonton artist, Hayley Wright.

Now, calls are coming in for commissions and custom work. Her spray-painted boards start at $100 to $150, and her wood-burned decks go for between $250 and $350. Ultimately, Wright hopes to launch an online shop and sell the boards independently.

Funny thing. Wright doesn’t skateboard herself. She’s tried, and says she’s bad at it. But she hopes her boards will be attractive to those who skate, and even those who don’t, but would like a nice piece of local art.

“I am hoping to appeal to all kinds of folks,” she says. “I would love it if someone saw one of my boards and was inspired to learn to skateboard.”

lfaulder@postmedia.com

Follow me on Twitter @eatmywordsblog.

Climbing a mountain on your wedding day to get the perfect photo probably isn’t realistic for most couples. It wasn’t for Chris and Joanne Pawluk, either. After all, they had 315 guests to celebrate with in St. Albert.

But that didn’t stop them from shooting wedding portraits in the midst of the breathtaking scenery of Jasper.

Chris and Joanne opted for an “adventure session” with their photographer, Carey Nash: a post-wedding photo shoot – in full wedding attire – that allows the couple to spend hours posing for gorgeous shots, without having to worry about getting a little dirty in the process.

By the end of their six-hour session, for example, the bride and groom had been captured at a sandy beach area just off the highway going into Jasper; Pyramid Lake; and the aforementioned mountain, where, they say, some passing tourists were so impressed to find a fully clad bride and groom, they requested a photo-op.

That was on Monday. Two days earlier, the couple was wed in what they loosely define as a “garden-greenhouse” celebration at the Enjoy Centre (101 Riel Drive, enjoycentre.ca).

Head table

“We’d go through magazines, and we had no idea what we wanted,” says Joanne of the planning process. “So we just had lots of beautiful flowers everywhere. My two biggest things on the wedding were that I needed to have fresh flowers and I wanted top-shelf booze.”

Joanne had never been the type to fantasize about her wedding. In fact, Chris ended up doing the lion’s share of the research. “As he puts it, he did the background work and I was the CEO,” says Joanne. “I just said yes and no. He did a phenomenal amount of work … It’s nice to know that your partner cares about this day as much as you do, maybe the details a little bit more than you do!”

Some of the groom’s favourite wedding details were the homages to their respective heritages. “The most memorable part of the wedding was being able to bring so many people together to share our cultural traditions,” Chris says. His grandparents, for example, had Ukrainian wedding bread made. And the couple performed a traditional Korean paebaek ceremony – complete with ceremonial Korean wedding attire called hanbok – in which the couple honours their parents and relatives, who in turn offer blessings for the bride and groom.

The bride’s favourite moment was Chris’s wedding speech, in which he spoke for three-and-a-half minutes in Korean for the benefit of her family.

That planning and attention to detail dates back to the couple’s engagement. Chris and Joanne, now in their mid-30s, actually went to the same junior high school in Edmonton, but didn’t start dating until much later. In fact, Chris, a chartered accountant, had been living in Calgary for several years when he finally reconnected with Joanne, an occupational therapist currently doing her PhD at the University of Alberta, at a mutual friend’s engagement party in Edmonton in September of 2011. That encounter kicked off nine months of long distance before Chris eventually moved back to his home city.

He completely surprised her with an elaborate engagement plan in May of 2014. An injury sustained during a half marathon earlier that month had left him on crutches, but he was determined to carry on with his plan. “At that point, I already had the ring,” he says. He also wanted to include all three of their dogs, as Joanne is a huge dog-lover and supporter of rescue agencies.

“It was at Terwillegar Dog Park. The question was, How do I organize the logistics here? How do I get everything there? Joanne was really wondering why I was pushing myself to walk so much, but I had to. Planning it, I was able to force myself to walk, limping around Terwillegar Dog Park trying to scope out a spot that was secluded.”

In the end, with the help of his two sisters, he pulled it off. There was a sign reading “Happily ever after starts here,” photos of the two of them were strategically hung on trees in the park, a picnic and a bottle of wine. And even though Joanne was completely caught off-guard (first thinking the picnic was someone else’s; then thinking she’d forgotten their anniversary), the two of them did arrive with three dogs in-tow, and she did say yes.

Incredible views during Joanne and Chris’s adventure session.

The wedding went much more smoothly, thanks in part to the fact that, while they did take plenty of photos on their wedding day, Joanne and Chris saved the bulk of it for their adventure session in Jasper.

“We wanted to spend as much time with our friends and family as possible,” says Joanne. “That’s all we cared about. We had even picked a place in St. Albert to go to take a few photos, but the day of the wedding, we just kiboshed it. Just seeing so many people who were there to celebrate us, we wanted to be around them. We didn’t want to leave!”

Besides, the mountaintop photos were totally “them.”

“Our story has been such a wonderful, crazy adventure. And the adventure sessions that Carey does — that’s what they are,” says Joanne. “They’re very unplanned and beautiful. And really, our story has kind of been like that. I think it fit perfectly with who we are.”

Making Choices

Wedding date: Aug. 22, 2015

Wedding & reception location: Enjoy Centre (101 Riel Drive, St. Albert; enjoycentre.ca)

Guests: 315

First dance: Thinking Out Loud, Ed Sheeran

Dress: Allure, Bridal Debut (2B – 153 Pembina Rd, Sherwood Park; bridaldebut.com)

Suit: Harry Rosen

Flowers: Fabloomosity (10947 120 Street; fabloomosity.com)

Photographer: Carey Nash Photography (careynash.com)

Adventure session photo-shoot location: Jasper

Joanne and Chris’s wedding had a loose garden-greenhouse theme.

Just married.

Parents of the bride and groom.

Joanne and Chris chose to get married at the Enjoy Centre – partially because it could hold their large wedding of 315 people.

Seven bridesmaids, in blush pink, with the bride.

Chris and his groomsmen.

First dance.

Joanne and Chris wanted to incorporate elements of their Korean and Ukrainian heritage into their wedding. To honour the latter, they had a traditional paebaek ceremony.

In a lighthearted take on an old tradition, Chris endured a “feet-beating” in order to prove his worthiness as a husband.

Groom and groomsmen. 

Getting married in a greenhouse was the perfect venue for a couple who wanted to have flowers everywhere.

Husband and wife. 

Joanne and Chris put all their trust in their photographer, Carey Nash, whose knowledge of Jasper helped their day go very smoothly.

Joanne and Chris chose Jasper as the location for the “Adventure Session” they did with their photography, two days after their wedding.

Having the sandy beach, water and mountains all in one shot seemed too good to be true.

Incredible views during Joanne and Chris’s adventure session.

Joanne and Chris steal a kiss in Jasper.

Joanne and Chris get their feet wet in Jasper.

Codie McLachlan hits some of our city’s best bashes to snap photos for our weekly Social Seen column. He is an Edmonton photojournalist. Email your event suggestions to arts@edmontonjournal.com or tweet Codie at @fotocodie. Follow Codie on Instagram (@fotocodie) and Facebook (facebook.com/fotocodie)

Event: Euphoria Fashion Festival

Where: Edmonton Expo Centre

When: Aug. 19-21

Who: Deepmode

What: Fashion Festival (men’s fashion night)

Featuring: A three-day event featuring up to 30 local designers and retail brands, and up and coming local vendors. Proceeds go to Prostate Cancer Canada.

Event: Canadian Derby

Where: Northlands Park

When: Aug. 20

Who: Northlands

What: The 87^th Running of the Canadian Derby

Featuring: Horse racing, stylish hats and a concert in the infield by country music star Paul Brandt.

Emily Nokes, left, poses with Sarah Dawn during Canadian Derby at Northlands Park in Edmonton, Alta., on Saturday, Aug. 20, 2016. 

Sue Layh, left, Luisa Sheremeta, Cheryl Ruthven and Karen Padlewski pose for a photo during Canadian Derby at Northlands Park in Edmonton on Saturday, Aug. 20, 2016.

Andreana Falouk and Stephen Kaczmar pose for a photo during Canadian Derby at Northlands Park in Edmonton on Saturday, Aug. 20, 2016.

Jasmine Aleman, left, poses with Spencer Andriashek during Canadian Derby at Northlands Park in Edmonton on Saturday, Aug. 20, 2016.

Katherine, left, and Sandi Collings during Canadian Derby at Northlands Park in Edmonton on Saturday, Aug. 20, 2016.

Randall MacDonald, left, and Sue Jaksich show off their fancy hats during Canadian Derby at Northlands Park in Edmonton, Alta., on Saturday, Aug. 20, 2016. 

Evan Smith, left, poses with Randy Cusack during Euphoria Men’s Fashion Night at the Edmonton Expo Centre in Edmonton on Friday, Aug. 19, 2016.

Organizers Aman Matharu, left, and Ali Vaezi pose for a photo during Euphoria Men’s Fashion Night at the Edmonton Expo 

Avtar Matharu, left, poses with Jody Matharu during Euphoria Men’s Fashion Night at the Edmonton Expo Centre in Edmonton on Friday, Aug. 19, 2016.

David King, left, poses with Stan Bissell during Euphoria Men’s Fashion Night at the Edmonton Expo Centre in Edmonton, Alta., on Friday, Aug. 19, 2016. 

Chris Klimek, left, poses with Caleb Fischer during Euphoria Men’s Fashion Night at the Edmonton Expo Centre in Edmonton on Friday, Aug. 19, 2016.

Daniel and Zeina Hassan pose during Euphoria Men’s Fashion Night at the Edmonton Expo Centre in Edmonton on Friday, Aug. 19, 2016.

Josh Woo, left, poses with Andrew Williams during Euphoria Men’s Fashion Night at the Edmonton Expo Centre in Edmonton on Friday, Aug. 19, 2016.

Codie McLachlan hits some of our city’s best bashes to snap photos for our weekly Social Seen column. He is an Edmonton photojournalist. Email your event suggestions to arts@edmontonjournal.com or tweet Codie at @fotocodie. Follow Codie on Instagram (@fotocodie) and Facebook (facebook.com/fotocodie)

Event: YEG Fitness September launch party

Where: Central Social Hall (Jasper Ave)

When: Aug. 31

Who: YEG Fitness

What: Magazine launch party

Featuring: Snacks, free drinks and mingling

Event: ART + ACTIVISM

Where: CARFAC Project Space

When: Sept. 1 to Nov. 26

Who: Mary Joyce, Paula Kirman and Juan Lopezdabdoub

What: Art gallery exhibition

Featuring: Political works of art (photography and paintings) aimed to change lives

Andre Lam, left, poses with Mei Li Liaw during the YEG Fitness September launch party at Central Social Hall in Edmonton on Wednesday, Aug. 31, 2016. 

Paul Laking, left, Chris Berry and Jessica Shmigelsky of Dodgeball Edmonton at the YEG Fitness September launch party at Central Social Hall.

Dan Hague, left, Laura Keegan (with HIV Edmonton) and Rosalyn Fung pose for a photo during the YEG Fitness September launch party at Central Social Hall.

Anna Morris, left, and Tasha Davidson during the YEG Fitness September launch party at Central Social Hall.

Eleisha Jones, left, Jessie Griep and Kiran Keldie pose for a photo during the YEG Fitness September launch party at Central Social Hall.

YEG Fitness editor TJ Sadler poses with CircoFit owner Meghan Schech during the YEG Fitness September launch party at Central Social Hall.

Exhibiting artists Mary Joyce, left, Juan Lopezdabdoub and Paula Kirman at the reception for Art + Activism at Visual Arts Alberta’s CARFAC Project Space in Edmonton on Wednesday, Aug. 31, 2016. The exhibit runs until Nov. 26.

Sydney Lancaster, left, and Chris W. Carson at the Art + Activism at Visual Arts Alberta’s CARFAC Project Space.

Sharon Moore-Foster, left, poses with Candace Makowichuk at Art + Activism at Visual Arts Alberta’s CARFAC Project Space.

Brenda Kim Christiansen, left, poses with Stacey Cann at Art + Activism at Visual Arts Alberta’s CARFAC Project Space.

Ray Harper poses with Yvonne DuBourdieu at Art + Activism at Visual Arts Alberta’s CARFAC Project Space.

Marlena Wyman, left, poses with Michael Caskenette during Art + Activism at Visual Arts Alberta’s CARFAC Project Space.

Netta Phillet, left, poses with Karen Farkas during Art + Activism at Visual Arts Alberta’s CARFAC Project Space.