The Indigenous peoples of Canada have had a troubled history under the persecution of the Canadian Government.

One example of this is that under the Indian act, indigenous people were not allowed to wear their traditional regalia off the reserve without the permission of an Indian agent until the law was changed in 1951.

In modern times, Indigenous  and first nations people have been taking back their culture and strengthening their communities through events like the Vancouver Indigenous Fashion Week.

This festival was started in 2017 by indigenous model Joleen Miskinahk, who saw that many indigenous brands were doing well abroad but were not getting the recognition they deserved in their homeland.

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It came back for a second year in 2019 and is finally back again in 2022 for a third year.

This years festival runs over four days, each day hosting a different runway event. Each day has a different theme or concept:

November 28th – Red Dress: this is the opening night of the festival, paying respects to and commemorating the memory of all the missing/murdered indigenous woman.

November 29th – All my Relations: Mixing tradition with the contemporary, a show featuring both new and well-known indigenous designers.

November 30th – Indigenous Future: Mixing Indigenous designs with some futurism with the intention of taking back sovereignty.

December 1st – Spirit of the West Coast: the last night of the festival closes with a spotlight on designs with a distinctly west coast influence

The festival will also boast 40 different Indigenous vendors between the runway shows, with the intention of encouraging appreciators of indigenous art and design to buy directly from the source: “If you love Indigenous art, honour those who create it by being in direct relationship with them.”

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