Two Cree designers are not letting the COVID-19 pandemic stop them from showcasing their work and culture.
The second annual Indigenous Fashion Show organized by Dolores Gull and Jennifer Wabano will be held virtually this fall.
For this year’s “bush walk” show, there will be a video with models walking and showcasing Wabano’s and Gull’s work such as masks and ribbon skirts.
Wabano will film a video from Peawanuck, where she currently lives, while Gull will shoot her video from Hersey Lake. They will then combine their videos into one which will be published on Facebook. Organizers are still working out the details of how many designs will be presented and when the video will be available for watching.
Wabano said she will incorporate different themes and teachings in her work like masks featuring caribou or a skunk.
"Each theme will have a meaning to it," she said. "These are what sustain us, keep us going. To us, in the Cree Mushkegowuk culture, caribou is the keeper of the spirit of the medicines. The skunk is also a powerful medicine for us. It’s actually one of the medicines that helped us during the COVID pandemic. We’ve been using that medicine for thousands of years."
Last year, the fashion show took place in November at Ramada Inn.
“It was so amazing, it was first of its kind,” Gull recalled. “We told the story of our history and what we’re so connected with. It was really moving. We had a bunch of models, it just made the event so exciting that night.”
When the pandemic started, organizers initially planned to postpone the event to summer 2021 but Gull said she had an idea of doing it virtually instead.
“Something in me couldn’t go on leaving 2020 with nothing, with no inspiration, with a memory to look back,” she said. “I just couldn’t leave 2020 blank. We needed to fill it.”
“I was excited to start designing and planning. I’m excited when it all comes together. I’m looking forward to it," Wabano said.
Before launching their fashion show last year, Wabano and Gull were invited to an Indigenous fashion week held in Toronto in December 2017. After that, they decided to host their own event to show their work and what they can do, Gull said.
Both of them are from Weenusk First Nation (Peawanuck). Gull lives in Timmins and Wabano has recently moved back to Peawanuck.
Wabano, who owns Designs by Jenii, said she’s been designing, sewing and beading since she was 17. She grew up seeing her mother, aunts and grandmother making moose hide or caribou hide, moccasins, parkas and beadwork.
“Not all art is the same with each culture and we just want to put it out there. Our art is part of our Cree culture,” she said.
Gull said she knew she wanted to be an Indigenous fashion designer since she was five years old and she was first shown how to make moccasins at the age of 11. Under her business, Cree Style by De Lores, she makes a wide variety of handmade crafts and apparel including hats, masks, ribbon skirts, gloves, purses, mukluks, earrings and necklaces.
“I totally love what I do and creating new things that inspire people, that move people. I love seeing that, it really motivates me,” Gull said.
