PARKLUXE PERSONAL

Paul Spenard, Linda Sui Lem, Ivanka Tanafranca, Miranda Botto & myself. 

On August 26 – after what seemed like a fairly long summer hiatus for the Calgary Fashion team – it was with great pleasure to be among the fashion crowd once again at PARK‘s PARKLUXE – a fundraising initiative featuring local fashion designers.

The fashion event was everything anyone could ask for: the venue of choice – Winter Garden at Jamieson Place – was a ravishingly beautiful open space perfect for a runway show, the fashion show which featured Anne B. Accessories, Lara Presber, Bridget Bergman and Caitlin Power was to die for, and the overall ambiance felt just right – thanks to Kara Chomistek’s great professional and organized PARK team.

PARKLUXE’s official promo shoot. Photography by Jason Eng

Fashion bloggers KD Faustino (The Girl with the Messy Hair), Ashley Pettigrew (Lions Lace Lattes), Miranda Botto & Corinne McKetiak (Twenty Something Online), Vincent Law (Binzento Vincente), Rupi Sood (The Diva Lounge) & creative director at Bano & eeMee, Aleem Arif, – among many more – were spotted in VIP seats thoroughly enjoying the runway show and made for a fun group of people to mingle at Jamieson Place and  at the official closing reception at Ki Modern Japanese + Bar.  It was also nice seeing familiar faces: shout out to D.W designer Daryl White, Jacqueline Tyler & Domingo Lumanog of Eveline Charles Academy and Ania B‘s Ania Boniecka (technically, Ania and I have never formally met, but she’s just everywhere and is hard to miss!). 

Corinne McKetiak, Karolina Ciupinska, Ashley Pettigrew, KD Faustino & Miranda Botto

Ania Boniecka & Vincent Law

PARKLUXE  introduced me to new faces and, surprisingly, old ones too. The most interesting encounter was running into a former junior high classmate of mine who is a recent new hire at Live Cosmo (shout out to Live Cosmo!). 

For someone like me who tends to be on the timid side, PARKLUXE was a great success, not only in terms of its great fashion show, but also in terms of finally feeling a little bit more at ease within the Calgary fashion scene. 

Stay tuned for individual PARKLUXE designer reviews to come within the week! In the meantime, check out our photo gallery on our  Facebook page!

PARK  is a non-profit organization that stands for “Promoting Artists, Redefining Kulture”. It is an organized group of young Calgarian artists who promote and support emerging artists in the city. Check out ourparkonline.com for upcoming events. 

Words by Claire Miglionico

Photography by Claire Miglionico & Linda Sui Lem 

Main photo courtesy of Miranda Botto