Issue 1

The research held at the heart of this article engages with a praxis of decolonial love through garment construction and beadwork as a practice-based method of inquiry. The body of work centres decolonial love as methodology with the expressed purpose to physically and conceptually re-stitch alternative worlds that are grounded in ethical practices based on respect, empathy, reciprocity, consent, and love. […]

This visual essay presents Material Kwe, a project of five different wearable art ensembles that premiered at Indigenous Fashion Arts 2020. As an Anishinabekwe artist-researcher, the author draws on Anishinabe ways of knowing, theories of materiality, and Indigenous futurisms to situate this collection within a context of Indigenous art that aims to press back against historical and present-day settler-Indigenous relations predicated on the exploitation of Indigenous lands and resources and the erasure of Indigenous women’s lives and stories. […]

Panelists: Meghann O’Brien and Lisa Myers, with Sage Paul

Artist Meghann O’Brien has described her woven textiles and baskets as threads that connect to ancestral knowledge. Visualizing the strong connections between generations as the literal threads in garments inspired A Thread That Never Breaks, an art exhibition that brings together artworks by seven Indigenous artists: Joi Arcand, Angel Aubichon, Leanna Marshall, Caroline Monnet, Meghann O’Brien, Pacific Sisters, and Olivia Whetung. […]

Panelists: Jaymie Campbell, Adam Garnet Jones, Tania Larsson, Katie Longboat, Christine Tournier-Tienkamp, Theresa Stevenson, and Brit Ellis, with Justine Woods

In 2020 beading circles across Turtle Island went virtual, ensuring that community support and kinship ties remained strong despite the pandemic. These virtual spaces extended the possibilities for community growth, creating circles that were more accessible for remote artists to connect beyond colonial borders. […]

Panelists: Christi Belcourt, with Sage Paul and Riley Kucheran

Riley Kucheran and Sage Paul talk with panelist Christi Belcourt about her work with camp Nimkii Aazhibikong reclaiming traditional arts and practices used when creating Indigenous clothing and accessories. Christi discusses how she brings these traditional items and material cultures into her contemporary designs through her own arts practice as well as collaborating with independent brands and high-end fashion houses. […]

Panelists: Alethea Arnaquq-Baril, Bobby Itta, Tania Larsson, and Amber Sandy, with Riley Kucheran

While the mainstream fashion industry fumbles to balance its capitalist values and commitments to environmental protection, Indigenous creators in fashion have always taken a sustainable land-based approach to design and production. In the Fashioning Resurgence panel entitled Land Based Fashion: A Leading Fashion Framework, Riley Kucheran mediates a discussion with Alethea Arnaquq-Baril, Bobby Itta, Tania Larsson, Amber Sandy on Land being at the heart of Indigenous fashion. […]