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It's early June and Treana Peake, founder and creative director of Obakki, sits in a windowless boardroom surrounded by racks of clothing from her Fall/Winter 2011 collection. Leaning against a wall is the "inspiration board" for fall: 25 carefully chosen images-photos of 1930s film stars, peacock feathers, oversize chandeliers-that set the mood, tone and palette for the season. "Marketing collateral comes out of [the board]; our fashion show, photo shoots and films are informed by it," explains Peake. "It's our reference point for all the work."
Down the hall, swaths of chiffon, lace, wool and custom-print silks are piled high around seamstresses bent over sewing machines. In an adjoining room designers are huddled around iMacs, hard at work on graphics for the upcoming spring collection. Through a large sliding metal door the factory is busy producing Fall/Winter 2011. Marketing, design, production, retail and wholesale all operate under the same roof. "It streamlines every process," says Peake. "If there's a question on the factory floor, a designer is right there to answer."
Founded in Vancouver in 2005, the edgy-luxe Obakki label grew slowly, keeping volume in check and maintaining the all-important sell-through rates. Today it garners plenty of international buzz, appearing in publications like UK Vogue and Women's Wear Daily, and draping the lithe frames of celebs like Gwyneth Paltrow and Kate Hudson. Peake clocks serious travel miles: two trips to Cameroon and one to Sudan for Obakki Foundation work, two trips to Paris, two to New York, plus hops down to L.A. and stints on tour with her husband (musician Ryan Peake, guitarist for Alberta-bred, stadium-rock group Nickelback). "I'm a travelling, working mom with two kids, a dog, eight stick bugs, two bunnies and an active, social lifestyle. I design clothes to work with my lifestyle," she says. "The Obakki woman loves fashion but wants it to be effortless. To make a quiet statement."
"These are clothes that make a woman feel real and sophisticated," says judge Joe Mimran-a tidy summation of both the label and the creative mind behind it.
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Judges
Fashion
BEVERLEY GORENSTEIN launched her Moulé clothing line in the 1980s from her dining room table in Winnipeg. She now owns four Moulé boutiques in Canada and the U.S.
JOE MIMRAN, chair of the Fashion Design Council of Canada, is the creative director of the Joe Fresh Style brand. The Toronto-based designer founded both Club Monaco and Caban, and currently oversees the President's Choice Home collection.
CHIP WILSON founded Lululemon Athletica in Vancouver in 1998. Previously, Wilson created Westbeach Snowboard and served as CEO there for two decades. He is also on the board of directors of Imagine1Day, a nonprofit organization supporting primary education for children in Ethiopia.
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ONE TO WATCH
Dina Gonzalez Mascaro
Argentinean-born Dina Gonzalez Mascaro blurs the boundaries of jewellery and sculpture. The co-owner of Vancouver’s hybrid gallery/store JewellerBau, she designs architecturally influenced rings that tidily sum up her ethos, cheekily titled "Sorry I’m not an Architect, Sorry I’m not a Jeweller." The rings are their own miniature landscapes, three-dimensional studies in twisted metal. Judge Joe Mimran appreciated the industrial influence, commenting, "The raw feel to this work really lets the material speak for itself." -Thom Atkinson
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