Halifax: Fashion Week, Round One

September has arrived and so has the dawn of the fashion weeks. For Haligonians, this typically means logging on and tuning in to top style sources for runway rundowns from this continent’s fast and fashionable cities.

But now, Halifax is adding to the mix with it’s own incarnation of fashion week—times two. It’s the war of the weeks here on the East Coast and two separate organizers have taken on the task of raising our fashion profile.

First on the calendar is the inaugural Atlantic Canada Fashion Week (acfw.ca), brought to us by director of events Linda Buchanan of Strut International. The event flooded the city last week, coming to a glitzy, though retail-heavy, finale at the Holiday Inn Halifax Harbourview in Dartmouth on Friday night. During the week there were shows at bustling bars: the South Shore’s Deux Fm (www.deuxfm.com) took over Mosaic on Wednesday, and a sexy soiree featuring Jen Graham’s lingerie fired up The Argyle on Thursday—ACFW round one hit Halifax with a surprising bang.

But this city still has a little work to do before we can stand up to the rest. Organizers hope to divide the designer and retailer events by next September (this season’s fashion week had the two sharing the runway), arguably a necessary first step that unfortunately hindered the polish and success of the main event.

Amidst the runway retail, someone did ceaselessly grab my attention: model Nadine Bona (Strut International). Hailing from small-town Grand River, Nova Scotia, this 16-year-old brought an intoxicating confidence to the runway all week. With barely a toe print in this industry, she’s one to look out for.

Halifax will see its second fashion week this fall in October. Atlantic Fashion Week (atlanticfashionweek.com), organized by Angela Sotiropoulos of City Models, runs from October 29 to November 2.

Shown: Model Nadine Bona at Friday night’s Fashion the Future gala. Photo courtesy of Brent McCombs, Alter Ego Photography, Halifax

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