Exploding Violets
Bryanna Brown
This last fashion week, Canadian designers showcased their talents in Nathan Phillips Square during the week of March 17. Zoran Dobric was among the designers, showing his collection for a third time at the L'Oreal Fashion week tents on March 20th.
Dobric's designs are known for their architectural construction, Asian influence, strong patterns and use of eye catching silks. The designer likes to accommodate both men and women in his designs unlike the majority of designers who prefer to make strictly women's wear.
The Fall/Winter 2008/2009 collection was filled with bright prints in shades ranging from indigo to black. The runway was filled with pieces that seemed to be geared towards artistically inclined and adventurous men and women.
Such pieces are not for the faint of heart. This included a darling purple felt caplet dripping with gold chains and charms strewn haphazardly across the shoulders of a statuesque redhead. Dobric seemed to capture effortlessly the essence of playful maturity with modest hemlines by placing abstract paint striped skirts and tasteful winter coats. Designing practical clothing for dealing with the long Canadian winters is always welcomed among Canadian fashionistas (one can only wear a parka for so long before they go mad with winter depression).
The men's collection has come leaps and bound in terms of wear-ablility for its clientele. Male models showcased beautifully tailored skinny black pants, blazers, jackets and vests. This is a great improvement as Dobric previously had men in long rough silk skirts and loose fitting pajama pants in his Spring/Summer 2007 collection.
Despite filtering into the mainstream, the designer was not afraid to take risks with his styling and even had a few of the male models wear gold chainlink chokers and gold umpire masks as hats.
While the wear-abillity of his collections has changed, Dobric kept his trademarked Asian and Middle Eastern inspired prints and highlighted understated pieces with large gold accessories.
As I watched the models strut down the catwalk, I predicted that I would be seeing much more of the silk printed knee length dresses and that they would fly off the racks. Key items such as the rumpled silk shirts seemed that they would be favorites amongst fashion editors and professional women alike.
The crowd applauded the designer's transition to an expressive but still wearable collection.
Dobric realizes that not all women and men want to look like each other and has been able to tap into the trend of creating unique personal style for each of his clients. |
