VIFW; RED DRESSES HAVE A MIGHTY VOICE
On Nov. 20th, 2024, Vancouver Indigenous Fashion Week (VIFW) opened its annual four-day celebration of Indigenous creativity and culture with The Red Dress Event. The first night of VIFW honours the missing and murdered Indigenous women, girls, men, two-spirited and LGBTQIA members of the community. The community is the Indigenous peoples of Turtle Island (North America) and their friends and allies. VIFW was founded by Joleen Mitton, a Plains Cree, to foster community, collaboration, and healing. Mitton, who had a successful career as a model, is also the co-founder of Supernaturals Modelling, an Indigenous modelling agency based in Vancouver, B.C.
VIFW is a celebration of fashion and a vehicle to build connections with Indigenous values, wisdom, and history. The Red Dress event is part of the healing process, as well as a memorial and celebration. VIFW's Red Dress Event is inspired by Metis artist Jamie Black's REDress Project. This Canadian nationwide art movement uses red dresses to represent the 1000s of missing and murdered Indigenous women, girls, men, two-spirited and LGBTQIA.
RED DRES'S EVENT 2024
I have attended The Red Dress Event four times. While I am never less moved by it, each time I attend, I try to highlight a different aspect of it. For last night's event, I chose to highlight the celebratory nature of the event. While this is firstly a sad occasion that draws on its audience to reflect on and support the ongoing struggle of the missing, it is also a time to remember lives and celebrate the same.
This year's celebration included dance, music, and, of course, fashion. VIFW fashion comes in a few different ways: first, the audience's fashion, who were encouraged to wear their best red ensembles.
Second, fashion is available in the VIFW Maker's Market, where one can buy anything from jewelry and clothing to various crafts and cultural arts. Third, fashion comes on the runway, which is the reason for the event and the focus of this article.
Marlene's Creations
Deline, NWT
Dene Traditional Artist
nwtarts.com
Yamelst Designs
Quw'utsun Valley, Vancouver Island
Larissa & Clayton Yamelst
yamelst-designs
VIFW SHOW REVIEWS
Chepximiya Siyam’ Janice George & Skwetsimeltxw Willard “Buddy” Joseph
WEAVING HOUSE
I met Chief Janis George backstage at VIFW. George and her husband Joseph are weavers. They weave in the tradition of the Coast Salish. George explained when I asked about her weaving, " I have studied and learnt Coast Salish weaving from others who knew the art. I never learned from my family. While my ancestors and my husbands were weavers, there was a break in our culture. That break was because of the degradation of our culture, disease, residential schools, and legislated poverty. But there were those community members that carried the skills through."
The Weaving House collection uses traditional artistry. The designs are based on robes and blankets. The thick spun wool is crafted in natural beige, reds, black, and teal blue. While following traditions, the designers have also crafted these into garments with a contemporary flair. Long fringed strands of wool hang off hems and give the movement and vitality of the garment. I asked George about the significance of The Red Dress Event as a celebration. " I love talking about this. While this is sad and devastating, at the same time, we can celebrate our culture. Being a traditional weaver, we stand on the shoulders of our ancestors. I feel very privileged to have this knowledge, not only to show it but also to teach it."
VIFW SHOW REVIEWS
Yolanda Skelton
SUGIIT LUKX DESIGNS BY YOLANDA
Yolonda Skelton (Sug-iit-looks) is a visionary fashion/costume designer from the Gitxsan First Nations. Yolanda Skelton's work is diverse and contemporary, and it is created with great love and respect for her culture, heritage, and the world around us. I consider myself a friend of Yolanda, as do many others who have the honour of crossing her path. Skelton's generous spirit is reflected in her designs; she is always conscious of the wearer and their needs.
The collection Skelton showed reflected her expansive range of skills. " While many of the garments I am showing for the first time, I was also honoured to borrow back some of my favourite designs from clients for this show." Skelton is adapt at designing for both men and women. This collection shows couples whose outfits complement each other. The opening section showed red dresses, each with striking silhouettes. A full-skirted red dress with a cranberry tulle peeking from the hem is outstanding. The male models wear original neckties with graphic designs drawn from the designer's Gitxsan heritage. The overall effect is a collection that uses colour, texture and shape to show how the traditional and contemporary can blend to make an Indigenous vision ready for fashion's future.
VIFW SHOW REVIEWS
Christina Gruben King
TAALRUMIQ
As an Indigenous Fashion Designer, Taalrumiq shares Inuvialuit culture with the world by creating meaningful fine art, couture pieces, garments, and accessories. It incorporates traditional designs with a contemporary vision, each piece telling a story.
While I never had the opportunity to speak to Christina King, the designer of Taalrumiq, the vision of her collection "IG Love, Hope, Joy" is, in her words, "a testament to the resiliency, ingenuity and beauty of my people, culture and the Western Arctic. We look ahead to the future with love, hope and joy."
The Taalrumiq collection on the catwalk transported the audience to the Arctic. The designer used some traditional parkas trimmed with fur. At the same time, the collection was contemporary and fashion-forward. King did not shy away from colour, with a palette that included brilliant red and neon green details and a handkerchief-hemmed skirt in a rainbow quilt. Various materials, such as coloured fur, swinging tassels, and braids and trims, give the details of the garments. A rich cultural tapestry reflects the Inuit people's resilience and shines with the designer's message of love, hope and joy.
VIFW SHOW REVIEWS
LINDSAY KING
Lindsay King is Saulteaux, Mohawk, and Ojibway and a member of her father's First Nation, Little Grand Rapids, Manitoba. King has a story that follows an unconventional path to a career as a fashion designer. King worked for twenty years as a social worker. In researching King's story, I found that, like many designers, she had a lifelong love of fashion. Lindsay King decided to leave social work for the fashion world, fearing her dream would die. King pursued a fashion education In Canada and Italy. After years of studying and working in 2020, Lindsay King, the eponymous label, was born. King designs clothing that focuses on sustainability, body positivity and Indigenous representation.
The Lindsay King customer is a professional woman. Lindsay King is a brand that focuses on women's resilience and empowerment. King's collection takes this client from the office and boardroom to the cocktail party and gala. The red and black palette shows such control, emphasizing the clean lines, sophisticated shapes, and inclusive sizing. The streamlined silhouettes are classics, from a fitted leather suit to a shimmering wrap dress and a red column gown with a series of roses at the shoulder that is as flattering as it is elegant. Lindsay King shows a bright future for Indigenous designers with a brand that celebrates womanhood and culture with timeless elegance.
VIFW SHOW REVIEWS
OCEAN KIANA
Ocean Kiana is a Nishinaabe designer from Northwestern Ontario who crafts sustainable fashion inspired by Indigenous values. She is known as Waabshki Memegwans (White Butterfly). She blends timeless elegance with eco-conscious design rooted in Ojibway principles. Kiana strongly advocates for her people and their traditional lands and waterways. Her deep connection with the land has shaped her into a visual arts storyteller and an interdisciplinary artist specializing in drawing, beading, and design, primarily focusing on fashion design.
I sat down with Ocean Kiana for a conversation at VIFW. I asked her about her brand: " I am an Indigenous woman; I want my brand to be about uplifting women. I'm a young designer, and I want my clothes to reflect that with a sense of fun. I still make traditional items like ribbon skirts; however, I like to incorporate contemporary styles. The clothes I design are also for the young Indigenous woman in the city." When asked about the Red Dress Event's significance and celebration, Ocean Kiana said. " The significance of this event as an Aboriginal woman is crucial; we are dealing with a delicate and traumatic conversation. The colour red is very significant to my people. It is the colour we choose to represent the spirit and who we are in ceremony. I also don't want to dwell on the negative and use red in my collections as uplifting, joyous, and celebratory."
The Ocean Kiana collection was everything the designer said it was—a youthful collection using vibrant colours, emphasizing red. The silhouettes varied from long skirts to short, sassy mini skirts. The clothes are detailed with ribbons and Nishinaabe floral embroidered designs. Stand-out pieces include the designer's contemporary interpretation of ribbon skirts, one beautifully executed with a rich burgundy sequin. These clothes carry forward traditional craftwork in new and unexpected ways.
VIFW SHOW REVIEWS
REBECCA BAKER GRENIER
Rebecca is of Kwakiuł, Dzawada'enuwx, and Sḵwx̱wú7mesh ancestry. She is a multidisciplinary artist with a BA from the University of British Columbia, Majoring in the Indigenous Studies Program. Rebecca began fashion design in 2021 and is currently apprenticing under established Indigenous designer and artist Himikalas Pam Baker. She completed the Indigenous Couture Residency at the Banff Centre for the Arts and Creativity in 2022.
Having seen Rebecca Baker Grenier's collection, We Are Warriors, several times, I am continually struck by the depth and complexity of her designs. Rebecca, a designer with a rich academic background, infuses her work with her culture and heritage, creating intimate and ancestral pieces. Her collection includes not just clothes but also sculptures and symbols, each with a unique story to tell.
The We Are Warriors collection harmoniously blends the traditional and the contemporary. It incorporates materials not traditionally used in clothing construction, such as a copper bodice-like shield and laser-cut leather breastplate on an evening gown. This fusion and the designer's meticulous craftsmanship exude a sophisticated aura. The We Are Warriors is a powerful message to the audience and the world, a testament to the vitality and creativity of Indigenous fashion, designed for all who appreciate its unique vision.
IN CONCLUSION, MY THOUGHTS
This is the fifth VIFW I have attended, and my congratulations must go out to Joleen Mitton, The Wisdom Circle, all the models, volunteers, and others who made it such a success. Each year, this event gets better and better. As a non-Indigenous guest, I have been made to feel welcomed and included. The strength of the community and the boundless love and energy are only matched by creativity and ingenuity. Thank you!
CIAO FOR NOW J ANDREW JACKSON
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