OBAKKI DESIGNSTAKING VANCOUVER FASHION TO A WORLD STAGE

Globalization. You can love it. You can hate it. You can shake your fists at the sky and condemn it.  But, it s not going away any time soon.   Thanks to technology,  global trade agreements and the ever-increasing presence of China the world stage, the globalization genie is out of the bottle and it s not going back in.  For the Canadian garment industry, this has meant devastating effects and near-demolition.   Since it s heyday in the early 70 s, thousands upon thousands of jobs have disappeared.  Plants have been closed, and the wages of the jobs that remain have dwindled to inhumanly low levels (got to compete with China).

So, what can we do I mean, if we care, as Canadians, about this economic devastation and want to empower the wealth of our communities  Well, we can educate ourselves for one thing.  Knowing which designers manufacture their garments locally is a big step. I don t mean we have to avoid ever stepping foot in a Walmart and buy local only - that is an unrealistic expectation at this point.  But, we can be more balance and conscious of what we purchase and try, whenever possible, to purchase Canadian (or, even better, Vancouvan).  With our busy lives, it s hard to make time to learn who designs and manufactures locally, but maybe it s worth the time.  Here, I ll start you off with one   If you didn t know the name of OBAKKI, now you know.

With stores in Canada, Kuwait, China and the USA, OBAKKI is a design house that already understands the significance of a global market.  It s modern, visually-pleasing website (www.obakki.com) not only showcases it s clean, beautiful collections, but also details it s manufacturing practice.  OBAKKI is known for super high quality, detailed craftsmanship (i.e. it is not even trying to compete with Walmart and Target).  The design house, a collective founded by Treana Peake (wife of Nickelback guitarist, Ryan Peake), features the designs of talented artists like Vancouvers own Genevieve Graham.  OBAKKI s head office and flagship retail store is based in Vancouver and so is their  prestigious atelier called  The Studio  (www.thestudiovancouver.com). Check out OBBAKI s website to either purchase their clean, luxurious creations, or find a location near you.