A gown in IX Balam was seen on the runway. AMY SARGENT’S COURTESY/DESERT LILYPHOTOGRAPHY
Aboriginal designers were showcased on the tarmac at Hart House.
The family’s rhythm is also the first sound a baby hears while they are still inside the pregnancy; it is through hearing the drumbeat that we come back to our roots.
On November 3, Hart House held the Maori Regalia and Fashion Show in their Great Hall, which honored going back to one’s roots and featured a variety of Indigenous manufacturers ‘ creations. The sound of the drums is a flattering way to begin an evening that is buzzing with novelty and excitement as well as reflection.
The first few models started wearing attire, which are elaborate outfits with a diverse range of colors, styles, and materials that are worn for important ceremonies and community gatherings. To the constant hit of the drums, the girls danced down the runway.
Photocap: Models entered the present decked out in vibrant garb. Certificates: Desert Lily Photography, Amy Sargent.
As the airport went on, the pieces started to resemble the mood of the modern age more and more, from sweating sets, denim pairings, and printed jackets to evening gowns and corsets in the Western design. However, they continued to be motivated by each designer’s culture. For example, embroidery was a method that frequently appeared in novel and creative ways.
The audience is compelled by this juxtaposition to see how indigenous meaning is changing and to realize that Indigenous cultures are never static. Instead, they are dynamic, influencing popular culture and being influenced by it.
The occasion was, to put it mildly, star-studded. Lesley Hampton, an Anishinaabe actor and fashion designer, is the headliner. Earlier this year, she displayed her function at Milan Fashion Week. She is the artistic director of her own company, Lesley Hampton, a BNM Model Management curve model, and an Aboriginal entrepreneurs speaker.
Jasmine Tooshkenig in a Nauluq LeDrew photocap. Certificates: Desert Lily Photography, Amy Sargent.
At the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York City next time, Justin Jacob Louis, a prominent part of the Samson Cree Nation, appeared in Vogue and In America: A Lexicon of Fashion. Additionally, he is the leader and creative director of the Indigenous-owned trendy company SECTION 35.
IX BALAM, a Maya K’iché multidisciplinary actor, and Neechi by Nature, an sportswear brand that uses Aboriginal syllabics and motifs on its attire, along with Hampton and Louis, both featured their designs. They created spaces, services, as well as platforms for all emerging artists. Alongside them was Ocean Kiana, a Nishinaabe woodland-style designer who specializes in digital art, painting, drawing, beading, and sewing. Aaniin is Canada’s first office business that is entirely Indigenous-owned. It collaborates with companies like Lesley Hampton and SECTION 35.
Shane Kelsey and Keilanie Rose in Nature’s Neechi photocap. Amy Sargent, a photographer for Desert Lily, is credited.
The charismatic Chelazon Leroux, a contestant on the second time of Canada’s Drag Race, stand-up artist, and social media content creator, was another well-known face of the evening. Leroux interspersed between each series that made its way down the runway with witty jokes and mischievous remarks.
Leroux has ties to the Fond Du Lac First Nation and is a recognized part of the Buffalo River Dene Nation. In many ways, their identity as a Dene, two-spirited drag queen is symbolic of the fashion show’s style, which is to demonstrate how Indigenous identity and culture are changing over time. Leroux’s work in drag—a occupation that gained traction in North America as a cult within gay Black and Latino communities—is proof of how his identification as an Aboriginal person interacts with non-Indigenous, North American Queer culture while remaining firmly rooted in his two-spirit identity. They are the ideal person to lead the visitors through a display with just as many challenges because they are both products of their Aboriginal heritage and influences from different cultures.
Together, these companies and designers create a memorable display. Leroux praised the manufacturers for their perseverance and innovative spirit to end the evening. The fashion show served as a metaphor for the transformation of Maori history and culture as well as the direction that fashion is taking as an industry that values Aboriginal artists and artistic expressions more and more.