All the major fashion weeks just wrapped up, from New York to Milan, but many more regional fashion weeks are in full swing in the month of March, and Montreal is no exception. This week, a purely-Montreal brand called VOYPA took part in this fashion March Madness, and introduced its new collection called “Killing Me Softly” in Aritmetik at Les Cours Mont Royal mall. Her Campus was given the honour to take a first peak at it, so, luckily and thankfully, I got to attend the VOYPA showcase on March 18th.
Her Campus McGill members Averie Hah (left) and Katrina Kairys
VOYPA is a “high-end urban street wear” brand, offering clothes that are versatile and “cool for any occasion”. There was indeed a strong street wear vibe in the store, and VOYPA seemed to fit right in along with brands like Diesel, Cheap Monday, and others. Knowing this, I found the concept of the fashion show very interesting and fitting — it was an interactive show where models would walk through the store to stand right in the centre along with the viewers. Without any fancy catwalk or turns, the models emphasized the versatile, every-day characteristic of the brand by casually walking through the store, often on their iPhones, taking a selfie, or even dancing.
All models presented streetwear items of a neutral colour palette, often in unique combinations of textiles such as quilted or stitched synthetic leather, cotton, and/or mesh.Personally, this show reminded me very much of Yohji Yamamoto’s Y-3 in its style, chicness, and “ready-to-wear” presentation. The word that often surfaced in my mind was “normcore”, which I thought described VOYPA’s identity very well: VOYPA uses fabrics and items that are common, but the coordination of everything is very unique (keep in mind that the relatively new fashion keyword “normcore”, a combination of “normal” and “hardcore”, is used to describe a look that is unique and high fashion while remaining wearable and casual).
Once all models arrived in the centre of the store, they were encouraged to interact, entertain, and just mingle with the rest of us while looking extremely chic… but only when the music was playing. The music would stop momentarily, which is when the models paused in whatever position they were in. This allowed all models to present what these clothes would look like on the streets, in a classroom, in a restaurant, and just wherever you would normally be in your everyday life.
As mentioned before, the pieces reminded me a lot of older collections from other street brands such as Y-3, Adidas, HBA, Alexander Wang (especially its collaboration collection with H&M), and so on. However, what I appreciated most was VOYPA’s effort to showcase itself as an everyday and “ready-to-wear” brand, perfect for any and every shopper who wishes to look urban-chic. For example, VOYPA designer Daniel Sande perfectly captures the brand attitude and belief in his response to my question, “Who is VOYPA for?”
“YOU! And everyone who wants to have fun while looking cool, and casually chic in any occasion. VOYPA is very versatile — you can wear it at work, after work, at school, at a party and so on. But isn’t street wear usually perceived a style for younger audiences, rather than the older, more mature audiences? Nope: “VOYPA does not have to be for younger generations. Like I said, it’s for people who work, study, party, or whatever, but mostly for people who want to take it easy. VOYPA should surpass any age boundaries. Some pieces are much more classic, others more fun. I don’t want to make clothes that are for just one specific type of people.”
Overall, VOYPA’s “Killing Me Softly” collection preview was such a fun place to be, with great music and people. Everyone present at the show, whether it be a young university student like me or an experienced professional in the industry, seemed to enjoy and appreciate the fashion. To Daniel Sande of VOYPA and all those who were involved in the show: Bravo!
Images Obtained from:
http://www.nightlife.ca/2015/03/19/la-compagnie-montrealaise-voypa-devoi…
Others are the author’s own.