A unique and environmentally conscious fashion show is set to take the stage on Canada Day in Victoria's Inner Harbour.
The newly constructed Victoria International Marina will host a wearable art and eco fashion show, where all the clothes and jewellery on display will be made entirely out of sea junk.
"We believe art has the ability to communicate things that are very complex, to a very diverse audience," said Catherine Larose, creative director of the Natural Talent Alliance. "Fashion is a great tool to make people look."
Larose said the fashion show is using a "made you look" strategy to deal with the global crisis of plastic waste.
The crisis she's talking about – the vast amount of plastics floating around in the world's oceans – is a problem that doesn’t just live in our waters.
"One piece of plastic will break down, turning into thousands of little pieces, then becoming millions," said Matt Leprairie, Larose’s business partner with Natural Talent Alliance.
"This gets consumed by plankton, working it’s way up the food chain to eventually being consumed by humans."
The fashion show will benefit the Oceans Legacy Foundation. The Vancouver-based environmental group is a volunteer-run operation, travelling up and down B.C.'s coastline to clean up beaches and get all plastic waste out of the ocean.
With a goal of $500,000, Larose hopes the money can be used to help cover costs associated with clean-ups and boats to help facilitate their work.
"They are our heroes,” said Larose. “They collect it, sort it, clean it and sell it back to industry.”
And if anyone suspects what they'll see at the fashion show will be something along the lines of a bad sweater vest at a Christmas house party, think again.
There are 10 fashion designers from around the world participating who have been shipped a large tote of sea waste. This material is deconstructed, repurposed and turned into something new.
“What you are going to see is unrecognizable as to what it once was when it was found on our shores,” said Larose.
Tickets are still available ranging from $60 for standing room to $350 for VIP tickets along the runway.
“Not to mention, this will be a great place to watch the nights fireworks display in the Inner Harbour," said Lacrose.
