Edmonton and Fashion go hand-in-hand

Many volunteers and participants in Edmonton Fashion Week are pleased with the event this past week in our city.

Most helpers and designers seemed impressed with the improvement of the event that took place from April 2 to 9 at the Transalta Arts Barn on 10330-84 Ave.

Fiona Fung, a participant in the Emerging Designers Contest and a volunteer was extremely satisfied this year.

“They definitely didn’t have as much funding, but they stepped it up from last year with more shows, with over 2000 people attending,” she said.

Fung believes that all the positives came out of how organized and professional the event planners were, and how they used their volunteers.

“They were really organized and creative this year, “ Fung said. “They found their new home at the Transalta Arts Barn on Whyte, which is a plus because in previous years, they have been floating around venues.”

Maggie Chan, a first time volunteer, said she found out about the event quite easily and had lots of work to do once she got there.

“I like fashion, and I found out about the event by just searching the Internet,” Chan said. “I helped out in front of the event with info, passing out pamphlets or raffle tickets. I also helped photographers in the back take pictures of collections and models.”

All though she had tremendous amounts of work to do, Chan didn’t feel stressed out or displeased with giving up so much of her time. She even hopes to take on more work at the next Fashion Week.

“I do plan to get involved next year, but I hope to do a larger role though, like help plan the actual event,” Chan said.

The volunteers don’t walk away empty handed though. The experience they get will help them greatly down the road, especially with Fung.

“I’m interning as a production assistant for Zac Posen in New York this summer,” she said. “They will be preparing for their Spring 2010 Collection and Edmonton Fashion Week really helped me understand the whole fashion industry and people in the community.”

Edmonton Fashion Week will be expected to elevate themselves again this Fall, as they set up the runway again from September 17 to 24.