My Fashion Stories Never Get Published

My fashion stories never get published at school.
Over the next couple of days to keep things flowing I will be uploading articles.
They were written all within the 2007 year about local designers facing all sorts of problems.
Problems range from not enough coverage in the city, to moving away from the city and so on!

I'm not sure how interested Calgary is but I think designers need to tell their stories.
In my opinion The Calgary Herald, Avenue or whoever are not doing enough for our designers!

The first article is about Haithem El Kadiki, who is a wonderful wonderful man with a wonderful wonderful label!
This article was written approximately 6 months ago or more but I do hope to do an update so every one knows what his plans are for 2008!

Enjoy

Haithem Elkadiki is a fashion pioneer, born in Libya and bred in Toronto; Elkadiki is working hard to bring men’s fashion to the foreground.

A graduate of The International Academy of Design in Toronto and Graphic Design at the Applied Multimedia Centre in Calgary, Elkadiki has accomplished several goals including starting his men’s label KaaDiki as well as showcasing his line at Toronto Fashion Week.

“I’ve always wanted to be in fashion since I was 12, I was always creative I would always draw. I was interested in cutting paper, this all didn’t come together until I started fashion school.” Elkadiki says, the unconscious preparation, as a child is what has contributed to his success.


Trained in women’s wear Elkadiki always thought his future would be in women’s wear. “I was beginning to have a difficult time finding clothes that I could relate to, that was when I began to see there is a lot of potential with men’s clothing.”

The focus remains menswear for now but Elkadiki plans to include a women’s line to the label. “ I’ll move on, I will definitely move on. When men’s wear gets established, that is when I will begin to think of expanding the label to include a women’s line.” Elkadiki said.

The prospect of keeping the label alive in a constantly growing and expanding province is an exciting one. “There have been some big changes, with the city growing so fast and people moving from all over the world it is certainly changing peoples taste.”

The influx of people brings along style and inspiration to designers and the people of the city. “ The growth of the city is definitely bringing new things, we’ve started to see new fashions from all over the world on our streets. So I think fashion wise it’s slow and has a lot of room for improvement but as long as we see the change and improvement that means it’s here and it’s definitely not boring.”

The KaaDiki line is full of sleek cuts that mix traditional men’s wear with contemporary silhouettes that have a well-proportioned and fashionable appearance. Details on the clothing include patch pockets in unpredictable places with whimsical graphics silk screened on button down shirts as well as t-shirts.

The KaaDiki line is made up of solid somber colors with Elkadiki’s trademark color red accentuating his designs. Most times the color red is placed on minor details such as buttons on the lining of a jacket or a shirt. “Red is something I love, I think I use red in every season even if it’s just inside the lining. It’s my own personal touch, I feel it represents life.” Elkadiki believes red to be the color of life “ I hate to sort of think of it as blood but blood is life. It’s inside us, it’s what keeps us going and it’s a hungry color filled with desire.”


Despite being well know on the North American circuit Elkadiki rarely does shows in Calgary. “I don’t do a lot of shows in Calgary, in total maybe I’ve done 2 or 3 just for benefit shows nothing major.” Elkadiki spends his time showing the KaaDiki line at clothes shows in the States and recently showed his spring/summer 2007 line in Las Vegas.

“Nobody carries me in their stores yet. The collection is available through me exclusively. I have control but it would be great to get into the right retail outlet at one point because people aren’t always open to orders because thy are intimidated by the issue.”

The fear of cost amongst customers is a struggle that many local designers battle with in a city full of retail outlets with big brand names. “ People aren’t always open to orders because they are intimidated by the cost. It will cost a bit more picking up items from me than at the store but when you think about the item they have purchased from the store, these items have been mass produced and it’s coming from a major factory.”


For any local designer, showcasing your work at Toronto Fashion Week is a major accomplishment. “ Doing fashion week in Toronto was definitely a big step for me. It was scary as hell so I think that for me that is an achievement. I really always focus on what’s next and how I can improve and move forward.”

For a one-man show Elkadiki is definitely breaking through the fashion barriers for men.

All Photos Courtesy of www.kaadiki.com.
Photos are of Winter 2007 Collection.