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PHOTOS: Surrey designer uses toilet paper to make a dress for annual Toronto show

‘The dress is very experimental and avante garde,’ says Guildford-based Alex S. Yu
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Alex S. Yu’s dress design for the annual Cashmere Collection fashion show in Toronto. (submitted photo)

When Alex S. Yu went about creating a dress made of toilet paper, he said there was a lot of experimentation in the process in order “to see what works and what doesn’t.”

The Surrey-based Yu was among 16 fashion designers invited to be part of this year’s Cashmere Collection event, for a special runway show in September.

“They emailed me to ask if I wanted to be part of it, and yeah, it seemed like a fun project and I wanted to get involved,” said Yu, whose studio is located in the Guildford area.

It took him about two weeks to make a dress inspired by Martin Margiela, a notoriously reclusive Belgian fashion designer.

“I was pretty happy with it, and it worked out pretty well,” said the Taipei-born Yu, 30, a Johnston Heights Secondary grad.

“The dress is very experimental and avante garde,” he added. “I would describe it more as a showcase art piece, with lots of little details, paint and glitter, and stitches.”

Photos showing parts of Yu’s dress were sent to the Now-Leader by a publicist for the Cashmere Collection show. In Toronto on Sept. 25, the 16 dresses will be revealed in full for the first time during the 16th annual Cashmere Collection: Legends of Fashion, an invite-only benefit event connected to Breast Cancer Awareness Month. This year, the collection is curated by TV show host Joe Zee.

CLICK HERE to see more dress drawings and event info.

Yu created his first collection of “fun-loving, eye-catching women’s wear in 2015, after graduating from the London College of Fashion,” according to a bio. “His colourful looks are all about the youth subculture in general, with updated elements of Japan’s Harajuku style thrown in.”

Examples of Yu’s work are shown on his website, alexsyu.com.



tom.zillich@surreynowleader.com

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Alex S. Yu’s dress design for the annual Cashmere Collection fashion show in Toronto. (submitted photo)
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Surrey-based fashion designer Alex S. Yu. (submitted photo)
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Drawing of Alex S. Yu’s dress design for the annual Cashmere Collection fashion show in Toronto. (submitted photo)


Tom Zillich

About the Author: Tom Zillich

I cover entertainment, sports and news stories for the Surrey Now-Leader, where I've worked for more than half of my 30-plus years in the newspaper business.
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