The following designers are three of many who will be participating this year’s Alberta Fashion Week, which started yesterday:

Camille Prins (Dutch Blonde):  A graduate of the fashion program in Toronto’s George Brown College and former Project Runway Canada (Season 2) contestant, Camille launched her line, Dutch Blonde in 2008.  The name was inspired by the fact that Torontonians have a habit of asking people where they’re from (which really means asking what one’s ethnicity is) – Camille is Dutch on her father’s side.  Her collection, which consists primarily of solid-coloured dresses, is very versatile and is inspired by the vintage Bond Girl and Brigitte Bardot.  Dutch Blonde is definitely for the woman who loves

Though her Fall/Winter 2009-2010 line consists mostly of dark, solid colours, her Spring/Summer 2010 line is vibrant in colour.  Currently, Dutch Blonde is only available through the designer, but an online shop will be available soon.  Please check the line’s blog.  Dutch Blonde shows on October 6 at the Banke.  Show starts at 7 pm. 

Sara Chalupniek (Divka):  Alberta Fashion Week will be Sara’s first fashion show using the Divka name (she has previously designed under her name).  Czech for “girl,” Divka is a line of mostly hand-made dresses, each with its own unique flavour.  Sara enjoys creative freedom with her clothes.  In fact, she feels that her self-taught fashion background has allowed her more room to do what she feels is right, without the influence of former instructors.

So what kind of woman wears Divka?  According to Sara, the “Divka girl” is someone who is fashion aware and enjoys being in the scene or going to parties.  She would love to see her line on celebrities like Victoria Beckham.  Divka is showing at the Banke October 10, starting at 5 pm.

Nina Rahal-Kahrey (House of Nonie):  Nina Rahal-Kahrey is actually an engineer by day, designer by night.  She started sewing when she was younger, predominantly making Indian dresses, and started making shirts and pants when she was in junior high school.  Though fashion was put on hold during her post-secondary studies (she first majored in biosciences, but later switched to engineering). Nina was encouraged to go back into fashion after the death of her brother, who had lived a full life and always did what he wanted to do. House of Nonie’s first collection was for Spring/Summer 2009.

Nina’s style is geared towards smart sophisticated women.  In fact, a famous woman she would love to dress is none other than Michelle Obama.  Her first two collections consisted of skirts and dresses – Nina is a big fan of dresses and believes that women should wear them more often (even to the mall).  This week, Nina’s collection will be shown on a larger scale for the first time.  Unlike her current collection, the Spring/Summer 2010 line will be vibrant in colour (a lot of yellows, pinks and purples) and will also consists of shorts.   House of Nonie shows on October 9 at The Banke, starting at 5 pm.