Boulevard travelled to the Okanagan earlier this year for the first annual Kelowna Fashion Weekend, a showcase of innovative designs from both emerging and established designers across B.C. The event featured a blend of new fashion, upcycled designs and artistic expression, all focusing on sustainability in fashion and set against the backdrop of Kelowna’s Cultural District.
Here we share fashion from one of the designers, AesthetiKs Lab by host Erikka Moojelsky.
Erikka started sewing at the age of six and has been working at the craft for over 30 years. After graduating from fashion design school in 2009, she started her own label – now AesthetiKs Atelier.
“I have been using recycled fabrics since I started sewing as a child,” Erikka says. “I used to make Barbie clothes out of the socks that had lost their counterparts. In high school, I began buying fabrics at thrift stores and using my grandmother’s sewing scraps. To this day, I use recycled fabrics and repurpose items into clothing. I do it in a way that isn’t kitschy; it’s wearable streetwear.”
Erikka is also the creator of Kelowna Fashion Weekend, an inclusive fashion event for anyone who loves the art form that is fashion. Erikka felt it was important to create a safe space for local models, photographers, social media enthusiasts and illustrators
to learn about the industry.
Asked about the future of her brand, Erikka says, “My brand has and always will be for those who want a piece that embodies their inner child. You’ve become someone your younger self would look up to. My pieces honour that.”
Models: Patrick Mensah Kane, Rochelle Kurian, Alexandra Catrina, Navy Kaur Brar and Tegbir Singh Brar
Hair and makeup for Alexandra, Rochelle and Navy: Makeup by Isabela Stein; hair by Mya Wagner and Lisa Burke
All fashion is designed and made by Erikka Moojelsky.
This feature appeared in the summer edition of Boulevard Victoria.
