A petite blonde in vintage Valentino speeds across the Shangri-la lobby and apologizes, breathlessly, for being late. Meet Myriam Laroche, the mastermind who had a vision of running Eco Fashion Week in Vancouver and made it happen. She owns her own vintage line, Myriam's Closet, and acts as chic-incarnate for Mayor Robertson's push to make Vancouver the greenest city worldwide by 2020.--Taraneh Ghajar Jerven
ShopGirl: You were involved in the fashion industry long before you launched Eco Fashion Week. At what point did you decide to go green?
Myriam Laroche: I was the girl with 100 pairs of shoes. I would buy one tank top in five colours and wear only three. At that time in my life, I was already into vintage because I didn't want to look like everybody else. I did some research and found that the average North American throws away 68 pounds of clothes in their lifetime. I looked at my relationship with clothes. I looked in my closet. Then it hit me! I said "No more!"
SG: Explain eco fashion. Most people think it means shopping vintage, or buying garments made from organic cotton. What more can we do?
ML: Instead of "eco" I want to bring in the words "conscious" and "responsible". Responsible fashion is about the treatment of people and the earth during the entire garment-making process. Right now the fashion industry is a 300 billion dollar a year business and it's causing damage. There's so much fabric waste, damage from the chemicals used in textile manufacturing.
SG: Still, fashion week is all about updating your look by buying the latest seasonal trends. Eco friendly movements are all about "reduce, reuse, recycle." Explain how we can shop our way to sustainability.
ML: I always say, "It's illegal to be naked in public." Fashion is clothing, apparel. Fashion is here to stay. Why shouldn't responsible production be paired with good design?
SG: You are a self-proclaimed vintage fiend. What's your favorite vintage era?
ML: The eighties (laughing). I love them. I'm stuck, stuck, stuck in the eighties!
SG: What are your top Vancouver destinations when hunting for vintage goodies?
ML: I go to Value Village, in the suburbs is better. This means I usually go shopping alone; my friends won't come with me. In the city Salvation Army is good. I also like F as in Frank.
SG: How did you get Jason Matlo on board for this year's Eco Fashion spring show?
ML: At first he did not know what we were about. Then I met with him and I talked to him about how we define eco. We discovered together that he meets much of our criteria. Jason has no wastage, he uses his fabric scraps. He treats his employees well. He produces everything locally.
But Jason is high fashion and high fashion is all about shape and draping. He cannot use eco fabric in everything he does because he will not get the effect he's after. Living an "eco" life comes with a lot of pressure. Some people say, "Oh you're taking a flight, that's not really eco." Well, bring me an eco option. Until you have the eco option that satisfies your need, you have to use what's available.
