The Velvet Vixen Continues to Impress With Her Eco-Friendly Designs

I met with Sarah Jonasson of The Velvet Vixen at a sale last month and was totally impressed with how her fashion has evolved.  She continues with the Nordic influences but has learned to work with new fabrics and fibers, with one being a very unusual one.  She has found a way to use fish leather in her designs.  I will let her explain it because if I hadn't seen it I would not have believed her.  It looks similar to leather and has no fish smell....which I am sure every one of you was wondering about.  :)  It has beautiful texture do to the scales and it looks beautiful.  She works with it in such a way that it blends perfectly with her beautiful Nordic wear and it brings it to a new level.  It feels like art has been woven through the fish leather and blends into her other natural fabrics like bamboo, jersey, leather, and vintage pieces.

"Sarah Jonasson of The Velvet Vixen was raised in Gimli MB 100% Icelandic, taught at George Brown College in Toronto, and inspired in Winnipeg MB.

She unifies dichotomous styles between dark and edgy - to elegant and feminine, designing women's clothing and accessories.

One of her trademarks is designing with eco friendly fish leather, and she strives to be eco conscious whenever possible. For example, she offers the choice of Organic Bamboo fabrics when ordering her designs. She also offers reworked vintage clothing, using only great quality vintage fabrics like cashmere, silk, or fabrics with unique patterns, and turning them into totally new and modern designs. She is able to get the most out of the materials, such as reusing crystals from antique chandelier's into her jewelry, vintage watch bands into high quality headbands, and luxurious silk vintage drapery into miniskirts.

She drafts her designs onto paper to create the patterns, she also designs by draping the fabric onto her dress form as it speaks to her, and sometimes she mixes the two styles together. A lot of the time she doesn't even plan exactly how the finished design will look, but as she progress during the design process it is clear to her what details need to be added to create a perfect balanced design."

"...fish suede which is considered to be the environmentally friendly leather, because the harmful chemicals needed in normal leather are not needed in the process to make fish leather. Also, the canneries and fishermen would throw the skins out anyways, so it is better to not be wasteful."

"I have been keeping myself busy with selling my designs at an amazing local eco friendly shop in Winnipeg, called Mozy Rue, Sew Dandee, Ragpickers, and soon Hempyrean, and more. I have joined The Fashion Guild of Winnipeg, and through the summer we set up shop outdoors at Old Market Square, the beautiful green space in the beautiful and historic Exchange District in Winnipeg. The Fashion Guild has many plans for the future including a quarterly fashion show!
I am also an active member of The Winnipeg Etsy Street team, and I will keep you updated on our plans for the future. "

http://www.etsy.com/shop/TheVelvetVixen