Zoogala 2014
"Roaming Among The Wild" Fashion Design Competition
"Roaming Among The Wild" Fashion Design Competition
The leopard frog; The Swift fox; The whooping crane
(Promo photos by: Ateliê Coquille Photography, with make up by Douglas Cressman and hair by Sandra Cross; Event photos by: Binzento)
Calgary Zoo’s annual fundraiser, Zoogala, has always been an exciting
event. This year's was extra special given the gala was canceled in 2013 due to the devastating flood which caused tremendous damage to the zoo.
Now fully restored, Zoogala 2014 is back stronger, celebrating the “rebirth” of the
Calgary Zoo.
Leopard frong dress by Kyle Nylund
Added to this year's Zoogala, was a fashion show component comprised of talented Alberta-based emerging designers. Their task was to create a costume-like fashion piece that
resembles one of three pre-selected endangered animal of Alberta: the leopard frog, the swift fox and the whooping crane. The final five best designs (by designers: Kyle Nylund, Buki Bunkole, Ravi Gill,
Kira Sams and Maria Orduz Pinto) were entered in the final round, and were
presented at the Zoogala.
Leopard frog dress by Buki Bunkole
Swift fox dress by Kira Sams
I was honor to be asked as one of
the judges to decide the winner of the evening. All five emerging designers
have their own unique aesthetic and idea to approach creating a fashion piece
that best represents the animal. The inspiration that they gained from learning
the biology of the species, along with creativity, transformed the spirit of
wildlife into elegant silhouettes, worn by beautiful models.
After some tough decisions, the
winner of this year’s Zoogala fashion design contest goes to Maria Orduz Pinto, who created her
piece based on the swift fox. The utilization of multiple modern techniques
including three-dimensional drafting was truly something special.
Whooping crane dress by Ravi Gill
Swift fox dress by Maria Orduz Pinto
Major props to all the
participated designers – they’ve shown us some great talents that make Alberta
proud. Also a huge congratulation
to Ateliê Coquille Photography, who recently moved to Calgary from Brazil. The
promotional photo shoot of the designers’ work was amazing. Last but not least,
big thanks to Sabrina May PR for the
invitation to be a part of something worth celebrating for.
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