Mark your calendars for the next big native fashion show of the season: the third edition of Vancouver Indigenous Fashion Week, back from its hiatus during the pandemic. Having started in July of 2017, VIFW has already proven itself to be a dedicated and fabulous celebration that showcases some of the best work from native artists all across Turtle Island. This latest gathering will take place from November 28th to December 2nd in a series of shows all housed at the Queen Elizabeth Theatre. Read on to know all you need to be prepared for each and every fantastic event that VIFW has lined up!
To kick off the week will be VIFW’s “Red Dress” event that they hold every year to honor missing and murdered Indigenous women, girls, and 2SLGBTQ+ members of the community. Guests are encouraged to show support by wearing red as they honor and celebrate the lives of those lost.
After that event, there’ll be three fashion shows featuring the 32 Indigenous designers lined up to present their work. On the 29th, VIFW will hold its “All My Relations” show, a night of blending traditional styles with “contemporary aesthetics.” Following that on the 30th will be the “Indigenous Future” show, a look ahead into a world of Indigenous sovereignty as well as “…the intersection of Indigenous artistic practice, contemporary storytelling, and pop culture….”
As the final show of the week, VIFW will be holding “Spirit Of The West Coast” on December 1st, a celebration of the designers’ connection to their land expressed through their work. Capping off the weekend as a whole will be “The Supernatural Kiki Ball,” an out-of-this-world festivity featuring the supernatural aspects ever-present in Indigenous cultures. Attendees can expect “an extravagant evening of runway divas, sickening vogue battles, bending realness, and seductive bodies….” You can purchase tickets for that and all the other events here.
With such a talented group of designers lined up to showcase their work, including Himikalas Pamela Baker, Ay Lelum, Rebecca Baker-Grenier, Tyler Jacobs, and many more, this is not an event any fashion-lover will want to miss. They’ll be joined by 40 vendors as well as an impressive lineup of native musical artists and performers. To learn more about VIFW and the team behind it, read here.
