Breeyn McCarney's Vessel 2012

Let's talk about something a little out of the ordinary...and then we'll get back to 50 Shades of Puce or whatever you guys are reading this week.

Last week in Toronto, I was invited to a decidedly un-fashion-week show Vessel 2012—a collaboration between designer Breeyn McCarney, and artist Irena Komadinic (and styled by the most talented stylist I know, Arianne Young). Breeyn and Irena started their collaboration because they both hated zombies, and then somehow got to talking about the heart (Vessel, get it?). In their first collaboration (I personally, hope there's more because as you guys will see, the stuff they produced is amazing!), Breeyn felt that their distance (Irena lives in Hamilton) made it a bit difficult, but she assured me, "I hope to collaborate with her again one day, so we will have to find a way to solve this issue." I hope so too.

This is the dress that opened Vessel 2012

red-and-white-breeyn-vessel

This dress floored me. It's red-carpet ready and just flowed beautifully. Breeyn does a lot of hands on work—take a look at these two pieces

Breeyn-100-hour-dress

This dress was called "The 100 Hour Dress" no guesses why.

Breeyn-leather-brocade

For this piece, Breeyn hand stamped and stitched individual pieces of leather together which Irena then painted. I need this in my life.

Breeyn-flapper

This dress is another amazing piece I would love to see on the red carpet somewhere...Natalie Lisinska, I'm looking at you!

There were a lot of other pieces, and since the show had a very specific Haute-Couture feel, I asked Bree if she had any plans on making more pieces like this. She said, "There are some pieces that we are unable to reproduce, thought many could be made to order. I am releasing a Ready-to-Wear line based on Vessel in September for the holiday season. There will be some recognizable elements of the collection, so for those who can't afford to commission their own art dresses, there will be some wearable versions to choose from."

Probably the most interesting aspect to this show for me was Breeyn crowd-sourcing for funds to produce the show. She got some flack, but I thought it was an awesome idea. She said, "I got the idea to crowd-fund from Juma. They had attempted to use Kick-Starter to fund their s/s show in NY last year. Because I'm so hampered by my political views, there are very often conflicts of interest in receiving money from companies...It was largely successful, though we took some rather nasty criticism."

Breeyn's work has always spoken to me, and she's even called me her muse (More than once! I die). She's building her brand and name with both this signature line and her flirty line Another Word For Pink. I own at least 10 dresses from both lines and a boatload of custom stuff. Breeyn also does weddings and custom pieces (including for my friend Shlo who's getting married in two weeks!) and her star is definitely on the rise.