After a two-year hiatus, a Vancouver fashion event returned this weekend with a new look.
Couve Couture, a fashion show and marketplace that showcased several Washington designers, returned Saturday and Sunday to the Fort Vancouver National Site. After matinee and evening shows Saturday, a marketplace Sunday at the Red Cross Building gave designers an opportunity to speak with customers and sell products.
Alisa Tetreault and Brett Allred, who cofounded the event in 2012, took two years off from organizing as they scoured for venues of the correct size and price to hold the increasingly popular occasion. This year, Couve Couture featured a matinee show in addition to the evening program. It spanned two days, rather than one, to let designers participate in the Sunday marketplace after taking a breath from the shows.
“They definitely set it up well,” said Carlie Bailes, who owns Caliber Designs and participated in her third Couve Couture this year. “This just, kind of, gives you a little more time to prepare.”
Bailes, who grew up in Vancouver and lives in Olympia, showcased a collection called Icelandic Summer. She calls her rock and roll-inspired attire a reflection of her “alter ago.”
“I’ve just always kind of liked it,” Bailes said. “It’s always been my inner personal style that I don’t always let out.”
Natalia Duarte and her mother, Ana Yancy, have lived in Vancouver for four years after emigrating from Colombia. On Sunday, they showcased items from their handmade bag company, Yancy Handmade.
The items, made by indigenous Colombian tribes, are purchased and sold locally. Items on display Sunday included a single thread bag created by a member of the Wayuu tribe. The bag designers are often women who view them as pieces of art, Duarte said.
“This is a way for them to show their feelings,” Duarte said. “It has a meaning for us.”
One designer had yet to enter his teenage years the last time the fashion event took place. Kian Mirfathali, 14, of Vancouver, revealed 10 designs at Saturday’s shows.
Mirfathali, whose passion for style comes after years of watching his parents work at hair salons, said his designs incorporate textiles and that he is trying to bring corduroy back into style. One eye-catching red dress had fragments of sheet metal attached to it for aesthetic effect.
“I think what surprised me the most was that each designer had a different personality,” Mirfathali said. “Everybody had something new to bring to the table.”
That diversity can also lead to profits. Kate Beeman, who owns Origin Design, had sold three outfits two hours in to the Sunday marketplace.
“I’m shocked,” Beeman, of Hazel Dell, said. “I guess I’ve been underselling myself.”
One customer was Kerry Yu, a producer with Oceana Blue Productions who has participated in fashion events across the globe. Yu was measured for a dark-colored, faux-leather wrap dress.
“I like simple, but you also need a little fashion-forward,” Yu said.
Beeman, who participated in the event before but had recently stopped designing, was asked about a month ago to participate again.
“I think they do a good job, not just with the show, but for the business of designers,” Beeman said.
In addition to organizing the event, Tetreault displayed her own collection. The clothes — using vintage materials — were meant to exude a 1920s feel as a new decade approaches.
“I predict the 20s will make a big resurgence,” Tetreault said, adding she liked featuring something different from the other items in the show. “It just gives variety for the show.”
The evening program was near capacity, and the matinee was about half full, Tetreault said. Organizers have some ideas to continue bolstering the event’s popularity, including bringing food, wine, beer and live music to an outside courtyard at the historic site.
“I think it worked. If The Historic Trust would have us back, we’d like to be back here. We have a lot of room to grow within this space,” Tetreault said. “And next year, it’ll be huge.”
