Did you watch Project Runway Canada? If so, you might remember Evan Biddell – self-taught, outspoken, superhero-inspired and winner of Season 1.

Biddell has gone onto a thriving fashion career with well-received collections and ever-creative showings at Fashion Week. “People have come to expect the unexpected with my shows.”

For his last collection at Eco Fashion Week, Biddell took on the 81Lb Challenge. 81 pounds is the average amount of clothing that a North American person throws away each year. “81lbs, that’s the challenge,” says Biddell. ” I can’t believe we all throw that much away.” “There really is no need for new, factory-made clothes anymore. It’s all already here. We have enough stuff here already.”

For the challenge, Biddell started at Value Village, filming his adventures along the way. “I love Value Village. I find some of the best pieces in my wardrobe at Value Village.” He hunted for core components to deconstruct and recombine for his 2016 collection. “You have to cut it apart from its bones. It almost felt like you were harvesting.”

The show included a repurposed fuzzy tiger throw. “A fleece blanket from Value Village, come look at this, and now we have supermodel Stacey McKenzie opening the show with it.”

Twenty-four looks from Biddell’s VV by EB Collection are on display at the Museum of Vancouver until April 17th. The mannequin masks are made with recycled newspaper and white glue. ‘The masks,’ stylist Ellen Balsevich writes, ‘suggest a sense of duality, a division, an opposition between old and new, dated and current, pertaining to the central them of this collection.’

You’ll note a lot of leather in Biddell’s 81lb collection. “I love leather. It lasts forever. It has a life-force in it that woven fabric just doesn’t.”

“I guess I wanted to create a fantasy that you would never expect to come out of Value Village.”

Written by Elizabeth Newton
www.creatorsvancouver.com