CANAB Fashion 2010 Review, Round 3

For this final installment of my Canadian Aboriginal Festival fashion show review, I’d like to show pictures of garments by a variety of designers. Each year the CANAB show presents the clothing designs of several dozen designers and t-shirt companies. Here are some fashion designs seen on the CANAB runway:

CANAB Fashion 2010 Review, Round 2

Happy New Year everyone!

A couple of days ago, I wrote a brief review of the fashion show held at the Canadian Aboriginal Festival. For this post I'd like to focus on two of the designers - Bruno Henry and Ronald Green of Ronald Everett Design.

Bruno Henry:
Originally from Six Nations of the Grand River in Ontario, artist Bruno Henry brings his artistic visions to life through stone carvings, jewellery, photography and fashion design. Described as a self-taught artist, Henry is inspired by the traditional use of hide for clothing. He is known for creating classy clothing that blends animal hide adn ancient designs with chic modern styles. Most of his custom designs are made with traditional materials like moose and deer hide stitched together using leather stitch-work instead of thread or sinew.






Ronald Green of Ronald Everett Design:
Ronald Green, founder of Ronald Everett Design, is Tsimshian from Northern British Columbia. He studied at the International Academy of Design in Toronto, where he graduated at the head of his class with an award winning collection of Native Inspired designs. Images of Raven, Killer Whale, Moon and Eagle are just a few of the icons that he incorporates into his designs, which bring First Nations culture and images to the world of fashion.







If you'd like to learn more about Ronald Everett Designs, check out this video:



Stay tuned for the final round of images from the Turtle Concepts CANAB fashion show

Canadian Aboriginal Festival Fashion 2010 Review, Round 1

Each year during the annual Canadian Aboriginal Festival in Ontario, Turtle Concepts hosts a fashion show to highlight First Nations fashion designers.

I attended the latest event, held November 26-28, 2010 in Hamilton. The show featured various local designers and t-shirt companies (who also had booths where they sold their gear during the festival).

Headed up by Dave Jones of the Garden River First Nation, Turtle Concepts has hosted the Fashion Pavilion at the Canadian Aboriginal Festival for over a decade. Through his company, Jones seeks to bring a healthier image to the runway by introducing different standards to the model industry – standards that are centered on confidence-building and boosting self-esteem.

The Turtle Concepts show, titled “Confidence Meets Fashion,” presents models of all shapes and in various shades of brown wearing garments made by top First Nations fashion designers. To date, over 700 Aboriginal youth have modeled at the Festival.

For the Aboriginal teenagers participating, Jones explains, this is not about fashion; it is about opportunities, gaining confidence and demonstrating it publicly, and experiencing expanded options for life.

I didn’t catch all of the designers’ names – but I did get a ton of images. Here's the first round of designs made by Dave Jones and his brother Dan Jones:

(Turtle Concepts models strut in front of a packed house)

(Dave Jones' Bone Collection)

(The Bone Collection - a take on the sexy confident Aboriginal female)

(Even the lil ones are enjoying the show)

(Dan Jones' Jingle Collection)

(The Jingle Collection - A contemporary take on the traditional jingle dress)

Stay tuned for Round 2, featuring the designs of Bruno Henry and Ronald Everett.

Find Turtle Concepts on Facebook by clicking here.