Zoe Crego (centre) and Lynn Chalati (left), on the night they were elected as co-presidents of Her Campus uOttawa, with team member Meaghan Hannah.
By Brandon Gillet
Her Campus uOttawa is holding its annual Capital Catwalk fashion event on January 30, 2016, at the EY Centre.
With a slew of local designers and vendors, the event will showcase the Ottawa arts scene while supporting a great cause—the Ottawa Regional Cancer Foundation (ORCF).
Julien Boissonnault, designer of the Julien George Fashion line (photo courtesy of Julien George, Facebook).
This year’s event promises to be bigger than ever, with 800 attendees expected compared with the 600 it attracted last year. Each year, there is more and more interest from local businesses and designers according to co-editor Zoe Crego, which is why the event needed a larger venue like the EY Centre.
“This year is an industrial theme. And our location, the EY Centre, follows that, with its concrete floor and wall design,” says Crego.
The event will also see an increase in male designers and models, including Julien Boissonnault, a current uOttawa student, who will showcase his Julien George line.
“My line is about being stylish yet minimalist. In this era, where everything is complex, fashion and style is doing a return to the basics, and that’s mostly what I'm about,” says Boissonnault. “Less is more, and it goes for fashion as well.”
One of Julien George’s many creations, showcased at last year’s Capital Catwalk event along with those of many other participating designers (photo courtesy Her Campus uOttawa).
“It’s the end of January, and it’s really fun to get dressed up and go out to events,” says Crego. “Capital Catwalk also supports the art scene, local vendors and designers and cancer research, all right in our own back yard.”
“It's a great event for the community, assembling artists, fashinonistas and others, while helping an important charity in Ottawa,” says Boissonnault. “The best thing about Capital Catwalk is that anyone, with or without experience or knowledge of fashion, can find his or her place.”
Her Campus is working with ORCF again this year, and its marketing team is helping to organize the fashion show.
“ORCF offers all-around help for cancer patients and their families, with everything from counselling to facilities, and most of their services are completely free,” says Crego.
The Ottawa Regional Cancer Foundation, established in 1995, helps patients and families deal with cancer through a variety of programs, including cancer coaching, nutritional workshops and healing therapies like infrared sauna and Reiki energy therapy.
Her Campus uOttawa was established in 2012 as a chapter of Her Campus National and is operated by students on a volunteer basis. It held its first Capital Catwalk event without sponsor support, but, according to Crego, positive feedback drew in sponsors in subsequent years.
Her Campus is an online publication aimed at the female post-secondary demographic with articles on topics like style, health, beauty and social issues, to name just a few. It was established in 2009 by three Harvard students.
“We were a new chapter of Her Campus in 2012, and we just wanted to host an event on campus,” says Crego, adding that the event has always supported a local charity.