AFW

My first impression of Atlantic Fashion Week, Halifax's sophomore fashion event with the F/W '09 collections, was mixed. Unfortunately, I was only able to attend the shows on Saturday night (Katrina Tuttle, Veronica MacIssac, turbine, deux fm). I can't really say I was terribly thrilled by any of the collections I saw...mildly appreciative would probably best describe my overall impressions. Don't get me wrong, I think AFW is a great initiative by Angela Sotiropoulous of City Models to showcase up-and-coming Atlantic design talent, I just wasn't blown away. Maybe my expectations were too high? Maybe I'm just used to looking at top designers' collections on style.com? Yeah, the latter reason is totally unfair of me..its comparing apples and oranges (or should I say polyester and double-faced cashmere?)

Out of the four designers whose collections I had seen, my pick for fashion-forwardness would be Katrina Tuttle. Her collection's standout pieces included a grey bubble skirt with asymmetrical folds punctuated with button detailing, and a rust-colored strapless babydoll dress with a navy blue sash held in place by a croc-embossed skinny belt. So, even if my introduction to AFW was lukewarm, I am still looking forward to attending October's S/S '10 event. As with the world's top designers, it is the documentation of each designer's sartorial evolution that is really exciting.

Below are some images of my favorite looks from over the entire 4 days. You can view photos of all the collections at atlanticfashionweek.com

deux fm

Veronica MacIsaac

Sunset on the Eastside

Katrina Tuttle

photos: Josh Webb for Atlantic Fashion Week