Two Indigenous fashion designers from Chilliwack will have their clothing on a national runway this weekend.
Justin Louis and Rebecca Baker-Grenier have been selected to be part of Indigenous Fashion Arts Festival in Toronto which runs from May 30 to June 2.
Louis, co-founder of Section 35, is a Nehiyaw fashion designer and photographer known for subversive streetwear designs that blend history and modernity.
He was at the same show back in 2020, then called Indigenous Fashion Week Toronto. Due to the pandemic, it was a virtual show that year, so he shipped his clothing line to Ontario.
READ MORE: Indigenous Chilliwack fashion designer steps onto national stage
“I’ve done quite a few shows since 2020 so I feel much more prepared than I used to be. I generally prefer to be in-person at shows as it allows me a chance to style my looks properly,” Louis said.
His collection will be presented on the ‘From This Ground We Grow’ runway on Saturday, June 1.
“I am showing a completely new eponymous label (Justin Jacob Louis) which has only been seen once before at New York Fashion Week, so I definitely feel like my work has progressed and I am excited to put it out there,” he said.
Louis also has a special project launching that will be announced during the festival.
In 2022, Section 35 had work featured at the Metropolitan Museum of New York’s ‘In America: A Lexicon of Fashion’ exhibition alongside some of biggest designers in America. Last year, the brand attended the prestigious White Milan Trade Show in Milan, Italy during Milan Fashion Week.
He said he gets inspiration from just about everything related to his culture and language, to the lands he grew up on, to the colours he sees.
“My family keeps me inspired as well,” Louis said.
Baker-Grenier is of Kwakiuł, Dzawada’enuwx, and Sḵwx̱wú7mesh ancestry. She is an emerging fashion designer who began in 2021. Her debut collection premiered at the 2022 Rise New York Fashion Week and the 2023 Southwestern Association for Indian Arts Santa Fe Indian Market. Last year, she has presented her collection at Vancouver Fashion Week and Vancouver Indigenous Fashion Week. She also designs regalia for the Dancers of Damelahamid.
Her Warrior 2024 collection is inspired by Kwakwaka’wakw and Tlingit warriors and celebrates Indigenous resilience and challenges gender norms.
Her collection will be presented on the ‘Fierce + Fearless’ runway on Friday, May 31.
There are two other runways at Indigenous Fashion Arts Festival: My Tender Bundle, and Materialize.
Louis said what he’s looking forward to the most is seeing everyone’s work and being surrounded by talented artists and designers.
“It is always great atmosphere out there at this festival and I just look forward to taking it all in,” Louis said.
People will be able to watch the runway shows after the events by going to youtube.com/c/IndigenousFashionArts.
For more, go to indigenousfashionarts.com.
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