Vancouver Fashion Week provides a stage for emerging designers

Choice snippets from the runway at Vancouver Fashion Week 2016.

Last week, the 28th season of the Vancouver Fashion Week (VFW) kicked off in Chinatown, where local and international designers took to the runway with their Spring/Summer 2017 collections.Locals were loud and proud, with Vancouver-based talent making up 35 of the 80-plus designers running shows through the week-long event. In case you missed it, here are five collections that got our attention (spoiler alert: there will be hummingbirds).1. JAC by Jacqueline Conoir is Vancouver-based designer RozeMerrie Cuevas’ new line, which reflects her personal style: chic, contemporary, sensual and detail-oriented, according to Cuevas. The designer opened the week with this collection, as part of the must-see designers show.2. Blanche MacDonald alumnus Alex S. Yu is all about the contrast of the two different cultures he was raised in, describing his collection as Canadian-meets-Taiwanese.3. Architect-turned-designer Bahareh Memarian, whose work appeared in the New York Fashion Week earlier this year in February, owned the show with her luxurious collection made with 100 percent cruelty-free materials.4. Artist Alano Edzerza, who belongs to the Raven clan of the Tahltan Nation, made a name for himself during the 2010 Olympic Winter Games when he designed the Dutch Olympic Team’s outerwear. This collection celebrates First Nations identity through fashion.5. Twenty-two-year-old fashion designer and photographer Sam Stringer combines the traditional and modern to create luxurious evening gowns focusing on elaborate detail and draping. This is her premier gown collection.Find out more about VFW at vanfashionweek.com.