Calgary Fashion Designer D.W. presents his 2012 Collection at Vancouver Fashion Week

Two years ago, Calgary's Daryl White took the leap from designing elaborate Halloween costumes and reworking his own style, to creating the attention garnering, eco-conscious fashion label D.W. 

“I had this goal to design a collection,” says White. “I didn’t have any expectations, but then Alberta Fashion Week contacted me and it just exploded from there.”

Working exclusively from found materials — everything from used clothing, to curtains, to orange juice containers — White is proud that his collections are nearly impossible to mass-produce.

“I’ve always thought the fashion industry was a wasteful one, with clothing companies throwing out all of their scraps,” says White. “I want to show that fashion can be sustainable.”

Currently, White’s most sought after items are his custom “recycled rocker chic” denim jackets and his line of socially aware thirtyoneo'seven graphic t-shirts. 

But after promoting his brand and selling out his 2011 Spring Collection at Milan, White is gearing up to present his 2012 Spring collection, Vauxdeux, at Vancouver Fashion Week this November — a collection White says will offer some exciting surprises. Collaborating on the runway performance with Vancouver musician Peter Breeze, D.W. is keen on setting the mood for his new garments, and straying from his classic street style to show his diversity as an haute couture designer.

“This collection will be bleached out, oversized, unfit,” says White. “It will be an off-white colour palette, with a really creepy, eerie vibe.

I’m excited to bring D.W. to an international audience and I’m open to see what will happen.”

Follow D.W. on facebook at facebook.com/D.W.fashion.ca, check out his website or purchase the fundraising Vauxdeux inspiration necklace on etsy.com.