Party Hardy!
Finally—I’ve been waiting to say that ever since
FASHION received an invite to Canadian design star
Paul Hardy’s 10
th anniversary bash in Calgary on Saturday. It was an exclusive guest list, after all, (including
Dragon’s Den billionaire
W. Brett Wilson and his date, the
Real Housewives of Vancouver’s
Mary Zilba as well as Vancouver’s blonde and bubbly country singing sisters,
Carly and Britt McKillip of
One More Girl), and might have been the biggest, brightest, boldest birthday party to ever hit the Alberta fashion scene.
Mr. Hardy, Tourism Calgary and Travel Alberta flew in fashion’s top editors, bloggers and VIP’s from Vancouver to Toronto, including the
Globe & Mail’s
Tiyana Grulovic,
Hello! Canada’s Tara Henley,
FASHION’s resident street style photographer
Stefania Yarhi, and Style Panel’s
Gracie Carroll.
After waking up in the swanky Hyatt Regency Calgary and chic-boutique
Hotel Arts, the first snowfall of the season made our trek to the island
River Café feel like some kind of wonderland—or as Hardy perfectly
positioned it, “Narnia”.
From prairie roots to international runways, Hardy thanked everyone
who’d helped him reach the 10-year milestone, like his grade 7 teacher
(who was in attendance), interns, stylists, and celebrities
Bette Midler,
Sarah McLachlan,
Diane Kruger,
Alanis Morrisette and
Chantal Kreviazuk. The brunch was over-the-top delish, with hot apple cider, champagne, and four gourmet courses.
But the big Hardy party didn’t start until 6 p.m., when we were
shuttled over to the designer’s brand new Inglewood studio and walked a
red-turned fluffy white carpet before cocktail hour, hors d’oeuvres, a
whopping 45-minute fashion show, and a lively afterparty that seemed to
have an endless supply of rouge.
Amidst bejeweled chandeliers and rustic furnishings, famed country singer
Paul Brandt,
Greg Sczebel and the
Calgary Philharmonic Ensemble
performed a song for each segment of Hardy’s intimate Spring ’13 show,
called “Breaking Amish” (there were eight “chapters” in the collection
and a grand total of 60 looks). The designs followed the evolution of a
plain, nameless girl who, wrestling with the confines of her reverent
traditional environment, emerges in glittered couture with blissful
illusions of the big city she visits (I’d like to read this as Hardy’s
own journey through the fashion industry). Eventually, she accepts her
flawed humanity and is softened—in flowing, light pink and to-die-for
nude gowns—by embracing who she is, and understanding that her
circumstances are not what define her.
But we’re pretty sure that the night’s circumstances were the
definition of success: Paul Hardy is one of the most iconic Canadian
fashion figures of this generation.
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