“All of our clothing is made locally, so either here in the store studio or another studio in East Van, which is only a ten minute drive away,” says Devon Dale, store manager of Venus & Mars Clothing Co.
Established in 1993 in the heart of Gastown by internationally known designer Sanné Lambert, Venus & Mars is one of Vancouver’s only alternative goth clothing stores. Catering to a creative, eccentric and colourful clientele from around the world, Venus & Mars ClothingCo. has also been featured over the years in a number of films and TV series, including Underworld, Hellcats, Supernatural, Once Upon A Time, and Buffy the Vampire Slayer.
“To be around this long is pretty awesome! Basically the way Sanné tells the story is that she went to design school, then she made one outfit at her kitchen table and sold it, then she made two outfits at her kitchen table and sold them, then she opened up a shop,” laughs Devon, who also takes care of any personal assistant work while Sanné is busy designing and sewing away in the studio.
“In 2007, I came in looking for a corset and I ended up buying a gown because we have these awesome medieval inspired fantasy gowns, and I was like 'I’ve always wanted to be an elven princess, I need this in my life!' I clearly make good decisions on the fly,” laughs Devon. “Then I came back to shop some more and they had a help wanted sign posted, so I brought in a resume and got hired. Sanné and I mesh really well, so she said 'you should be the manager' and then I was!”
