Every year, 150 million trees are logged to make Viscose/ Rayon fabrics for the Fashion & Textile industry. Only 3% of Vancouver Islands old grown rainforest remains. These globally rare forests are carbon rich and provide a healthy ecosystem for plants and wildlife. Gundula Couture is committed to keeping forests standing and will be donating 5% of the 2020 collections sales to the Sierra Club. At Gundula Couture we want to join the effort to protect the old growth rain forests and use sustainable materials that are better for the environment. The Sierra Clubs initiative it to keep carbon stored in old growth forests to protect against climate impacts including future pandemics and transition to sustainable second growth forestry logging. This will also strengthen the First Nations governance and community well being and provide the healthy ecosystem we desperately need. Please join me in the effort to a greener and more sustainable future and to save BC’a Old Growth Rainforests! Contact for more details on how to donate directly or donate through purchasing your couture look.
The Sierra club is an amazing organization set up to defend our natural ecosystem. Gundula Couture is proud to join the effort to a greener future. Please click below to view the Sierra Club BC website for more information.
VCAD (Visual College of Art and Design) comes to Vancouver Fashion Week Wed. Oct.9, 2019 to see Gundula Hirn show her Grad Collection: Gundula Couture. Thanks to: Julie Berg, Instructor, Laela Blanchet, Fashion Program Coordinator and Melissa Davis for supporting the VCAD Illustrator Project! Much more to come! Thanks to our Fantastic 4 for creating magic moments for a packed house! Madison Pragnell, Nakisa Nasab, Trip Taylor, Alexandra Avenn (Sandra).
Written By Colleen Tsoukalas
PRESS RELEASE BY FASHION UNITED
October 14th 2019
“Gundula Couture showcased Wedding Wear, a multi-faceted collection that combines countless outfits into one through the addition and subtraction of various layers. From wedding gown to reception dress, Gundula Couture showcased wedding wear that can transition throughout the night, giving multiple lives to a single outfit. Creating a unique spin on traditional looks, the collection challenged the idea of what a wedding is expected to be. Layering sexy corsets under chic blazers provoked the tension of opposites, while sequinned corsets, shimmering pink veils and an unexpected wedding pantsuit all held their own space on the runway. Gundula Couture is designed to be converted and customized, meticulously crafting a collection that can be molded into anything a situation demands, as quickly and easily as untying a knot.”
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Vancouver Fashion Week – VCAD Grad Gundula Hirn
October 25th 2019
MINCERO
October 11th 2019
“Gundula Couture showcased Wedding Wear, a multi-faceted collection that combines countless outfits into one through the addition and subtraction of various layers. From wedding gown to reception dress, Gundula Couture showcased wedding wear that can transition throughout the night, giving multiple lives to a single outfit. Creating a unique spin on traditional looks, the collection challenged the idea of what a wedding is expected to be. Layering sexy corsets under chic blazers provoked the tension of opposites, while sequinned corsets, shimmering pink veils and an unexpected wedding pantsuit all held their own space on the runway. Gundula Couture is designed to be converted and customized, meticulously crafting a collection that can be molded into anything a situation demands, as quickly and easily as untying a knot.”
GRADUATION FROM THE VISUAL COLLEGE OF ART AND DESIGN
October 11th 2019
The graduation Ceremony for the Visual College Of Art And Design Graduation Ceremony was held at the Vancouver Club Downtown Vancouver in the Ballroom. Gundula Hirn crossed the stage with Honours & Awarded Outstanding Achievement of her class.
GUNDULA COUTURE TOOK THE CROWD WITH HER COLLECTION
VANCOUVER FASHION WEEK – GUNDULA COUTURE – October 9th 2019 – 6pm
Vancouver Fashion Week held October 7-13th 2019 at the David Lam Cultural Centre in Vancouver BC. Gundula showed on Wednesday October 9th at 6pm and had the crowds attention with her shimmering one of a kind pieces from the GUNDULA COUTURE RUNWAY 2020 Collection. This was possible to the countless industry people, including former classmate and close friend Fashion Designer Wade Shapley who was her Designer Assistant backstage.
“Wade Shapley is simply amazing, and the experience I had with VFW made it an unforgettable night! Thank you!” – Gundula Hirn
Gundula Hirn, Cranbrook-raised designer, to debut bridal collection at Vancouver Fashion Week
Vancouver Fashion Week is the fastest growing fashion week in the world
By Keith Powell – September 4th 2019
Recent Visual College of Art & Design of Vancouver (VCAD) graduate, Gundula Hirn, will be presenting her captivating new bridal collection at Vancouver Fashion Week (VFW) for the S/S 2020 Season. Dentelle et soie, created under the Gundula Couture label, will showcase a selection of fashion-forward bridal looks featuring unique lines, dreamy silhouettes, and edgy formals. Vancouver Fashion Week is the fastest growing fashion week in the world and the only industry event that actively seeks to showcase international award-winning designers from over 25 global fashion capitals. Since its inception 18 years ago, VFW has operated with a firm belief in being a well-grounded local initiative with global instincts and intuition. “At Vancouver Fashion Week, diversity really is our greatest strength. We bring together the most incredible design talent from across Canada and around the world, presenting the most forward-thinking creative concepts to the industry. Fashion is a truly global phenomenon and it’s so inspiring to see such a strong mix of designers all under one roof here in Vancouver.” says Jamal Abdourahman, producer and founder of Vancouver Fashion Week. Hirn’s Dentelle et soie collection will feature an exquisite selection of gowns, corsetry and multi-piece ensembles, constructed from rosland satin and silk, an impressive array of lace overlays, and stunning embellishments.
Event Details and Tickets
Date: October 7 -13, 2019
Location: David Lam Hall – 50 E Pender Street, Vancouver, BC V6A 3V6
For information and to see the schedule of events, visit: www.vanfashionweek.com
To register for media passes and accreditation, visit: http://www.vanfashionweek.com/forms/
About the designer
The inspiration behind Gundula Couture fashion stems from the designer’s roots – born in Germany and raised in the Rocky Mountains of beautiful British Columbia, surrounded by pristine lakes and breathtaking mountain ranges led to her love of free-flowing fabrics and flattering, natural design. Each creation is unique in its own way – from breathtaking formal wear to flattering accessories, what does remain a constant is Hirn’s attention to fine detail and superb craftsmanship. Website: www.gundulacouture.com
A PASSION FOR FASHION MAKES GLOBAL RUNWAY
Cranbrook’s Gundula Hirn launches new bridal collection at Vancouver Fashion Week
By BARRY COULTER August 27 2019
From growing up on a farm near Cranbrook to the sizzling runways of global couture, Gundula Hirn has brought a vocation for sewing a long way.
The former Mount Baker student is set to exhibit her bridal collection at Vancouver Fashion Week, the second largest annual fashion event in North America, featuring top flight international designers as well as emerging designers, such as Hirn. The event runs Oct. 7-15.
Hirn, a recent graduate of the Visual College of Art and Design in Vancouver, was picked as the the alumni-sponsored student from VCAD to be sponsored for Vancouver Fashion Week this year. “I was really honored to receive that, so I’m working really hard to get my selection together,” she said. “It’s one of those once in a lifetime opportunities, and I can’t wait to show everything that I’ve got. “It’s such a prestigious event for Canada.” Hirn’s collection focuses on bridal design, an area she got into towards the end of her time at VCAD. “[Before graduation], we had to come up with a collection and a brand name for what we’d like to see ourselves in. Everyone picked something different. I’ve always been interested in lace, and couture, I thought ‘why not choose bridal. As I got mentored — [Vancouver designer] Jason Matlow was one of my main mentors, and he helped me come up with a 40-piece collection where you have four different areas where you’re pulling from and 10 gowns in each area. The four areas I picked are Egyptian, 1960s, Victorian and then a futuristic spin.” Hirn is an enthusiast for the fashions of Victorian era, and the care and attention to detail that went into that clothing. “It’s always been a beautiful era, and the work that goes into those garments is just phenomenal,” she said. “That’s one thing I’ve always wanted in my collection. At least 50 hours has gone into each piece that I have. There’s so much hand sewing and hand appliqués done to it. For me it’s more about making something beautiful than making something and selling it quick.”
As for the designs themselves, Hirn is working ahead of current trends, in terms of both the colour of wedding garments and their practicality and wearability. “In current bridal trends, the colors are toned down — you see more whites and ivories, but I’m actually bringing more colors into the designs I’m making. Not very many people are tapping into colour. I’m coming up with a more colorful fashion line right now. Hopefully that will surprise a few people.” But the main design feature Hirn is going with are new multi-piece garments. After all, it’s more than just a stereotype that a wedding dress is worn only once, then is in the closet for the rest of its life. “Lots of brides right now are going for the reception gown, the rehearsal outfit, and [the actual wedding dress itself] — they’re getting different gowns for that and different outfits,” she said. Lots of them are just one piece, or one piece and a veil. “But I’ve made a collection where you’re going to have three pieces. And you’re able to remove something to expose a brand new outfit underneath it. It’s on a more sustainable track, because the brides are able to wear these outfits later on — they can wear and use the pieces again.”
The designers’ times at Vancouver Fashion Week will be short but intense. “I’m only showing for about 15 minutes,” Hirn said. “Every designer gets about 15 minutes — it depends on how many gowns you’re showing. If someone is showing 30 gowns, they going be getting more minutes. I’m showing eight [at present plans], but I’m hoping to show 12. I’m trying to do a little surprise. But we’ll see how far I get, because even the extra ones I’m doing are going to be quite extravagant, since it’s bridal.”
As for who will be modeling the outfits, designers provides the measurements to Vancouver Fashion Week, which in turn supplies the models. Fashion has been a true calling for Hirn. She first started sewing about 15 years ago, and even created her own prom dress the night before her prom. “I didn’t make it from a sketch, I didn’t make it from anything, I just draped it on a mannequin, and it just turned out fabulous. When she and her husband moved to Vancouver three years ago, she decided the time was right for her to go back to school, to turn that vocation into a career. “At first I was a little scared, because I’m actually from the Kootenays. I grew up on a horse farm. I absolutely love that lifestyle. But I ended up moving to Vancouver and having this crazy experience.” “They say the industry is hard, but if you want something badly enough you go and get it. That’s what I’m trying. I’m trying my absolute hardest, and I have so many people supporting me.”
For more on Gundula Hirn and her designs, check out her website gundulacouture.com.
GUNDULA COUTURE 