Santa Cruz designer wows at Vancouver's Eco Fashion Week

Santa Cruz native Emily Christensen, designer of the women's clothing line FILLY, was invited to show her designs at Canada's Eco Fashion Week in Vancouver, British Columbia, on Feb. 24. With only three international designers asked to show, Christensen was given the task of representing the Monterey Bay Area in a sea of Canadian talent. She apparently did not disappoint. Her vibrant collection of rich and wearable dresses and separates wowed the audience and confirmed the Bay Area's standing as a center of stylish and sustainable design.

Christensen's participation in the prestigious Eco Fashion Week was almost not to be. Contacted just two weeks before the show date, Christensen was given the herculean task of designing a 24-piece line in 10 days.

"I did not think it was humanly possible, but I knew I had to try," she said. Working 18-hour days, Christensen finished with only minutes to spare.

And the audience was none the wiser. Fifteen strong and dynamic looks graced the runway. Models with brushed-out and parted afros, stacks of colorful bracelets and delicate men's oxford flats strode down the runway to a thrilling soundtrack compiled by Luke Wyland of Portland, Ore., band AU. Citing 1960s modernist architecture as her inspiration, Christensen used silk gauze, raw silk tussah and bamboo twill in a sultry palette of tans, purples, rust and gray to express the refined and moody modernism of mid-century design. The result was soft, rounded shapes.