Vancouver Fashion Week FW19 - LaSalle College Vancouver Celebrates 10 Years on the Runway at VFW

At Vancouver Fashion Week FW19 in March, Lasalle College Vancouver celebrated a huge milestone - 10 years of showcasing their talented students on the VFW runway.  10 years, 2 seasons a year - that's 20 shows.  WOW!

“Our partnership with Vancouver Fashion Week over the years continues to 

support and celebrate the creative talent demonstrated by both current students 

and alumni. We are fortunate to have this relationship as it fosters opportunities 

that allow for our students and community to grow,” LaSalle College 

Vancouver’s Fashion Design Program Director, Katherine Soucie said, 

explaining the benefit of having fashion students participate in the biannual shows. 

For this special occasion, Lasalle moved their runway show to the night of the opening gala. The theme was All Things Forbidden, and just 3 students were chosen for the honour of presenting their collections on the runway at this prestigious Taboo-themed opening gala event - Prisco, Shaghayegh Tafreshi, and Valentina Valor. In honour of this year year celebrations, attendees were given a special treat - fabulous canapés created by students in the school’s Culinary Arts program. They were absolutely delicious and a hit with the audience. 

“The benefit of our relationship with LaSalle College Vancouver, given its 

commitment to the latest upcoming talent from Vancouver, is to provide 

students with a platform to show their designs to the world and give them 

an opportunity to build their name and their brands,” said VFW founder 

Jamal Abdourahman, who each year sponsors one of the student presenters 

in showcasing their work. “We take great pride in engaging with our local 

community in this way and in being a part of the LaSalle College Vancouver 

students’ journeys on the road to success in the fashion industry.” 

The runway show had everyone on the edge of their seats as each student presented collections that were unique, well constructed, with interesting silhouettes and beautiful fabrics.  Congrats to everyone involved in this seasons shows.  I am in awe of these students and can't wait to see what they bring to the world of fashion. 

Design student Prisco first came to Vancouver over 9 years ago on a work permit. When deciding where to go and what to do in school fashion was the obvious choice, because from a very young age he would make clothes and sketch designs. For VFW, he presented a genderless collection that celebrated the raw beauty of natural fabrics and effortless flow. 

Shaghayegh Tafreshi was designing garments in her family owned with nor formal training in fashion, but has a B.A. in Architecture. She arrived in Vancouver in June 2017 to attend LCV to learn pattern drafting and sewing. Tafreshi’s collection is influenced by the merging of Western and Persian cultures coupled with architecture, which she previously studied. 

Valentina Valor is a young Venezuelan artist and designer based in Vancouver, who merges art, history and society in her gender-fluid designs, with the goal of making people feel confident.  

For more information on the Fashion Design program at Lasalle College Vancouver, please visit the website at  www.lasallecollegevancouver.com.

About LaSalle College Vancouver

LCI Education traces its origins back to LaSalle College in Montreal, which was founded in 1959. Present today on five continents, the LCI Education network consists of 23 select higher education institutions, and some 2,500 employees offering instruction to over 15,000 students throughout the world each year. From one country to the next, LCI Education favours the harmonization of its programs, which makes for greater flexibility, better control over the quality of its services, and deeper respect towards the various cultures it works with.