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NUNAVUT - Karliin Aariak laughs when she talks about seeing the jacket she designed on a runway model for the first time.

"We were backstage and I had never seen my jacket being worn, other than on my classmates and my friends," she said. "Then there was this tall lady with tied-back blonde hair!"

A runway model wears Karliin Aariak's first place winning jacket at The North American Fur and Fashion Exposition in Montreal earlier this month. - photo courtesy of Alan Herscovici

Aariak, along with two other women from the Fur Production and Design program at Arctic College, Meeka Kilabuk and Connie Pewatualuk, won awards at the Fur Reinvented design contest hosted by the Fur Council of Canada earlier this month.

Aariak won first place for her design of a woman's spring jacket, Kilabuk won second place for her men's jacket and Pewatualuk won third for her men's jacket. Each design was made of sealskin.

The winning jackets were presented at The North American Fur and Fashion Exposition in Montreal (NAFFEM). The women received their awards at noon on May 4, according to Alan Herscovici, executive vice president of the Fur Council of Canada.

"They did very, very well. I think they were thrilled," Herscovici said. "The three women received their prizes from the president of the Fur Council, Paula Lishman, and also from Jim Gibb from the Fur Harvesters Auction, one of the sponsors. It was in front of everybody, which was really nice."

Aariak said the group was happy they each won, but they were especially happy that the normally shy Pewatualuk was able to receive an award in front of such a prestigious crowd.

"We were so proud of Connie," she said. "Connie is normally the quieter one. We were really proud of her for being able to be in front of people and showing her design."

Aariak said she designed her jacket last fall and was longing for spring, the inspiration for her design. She used different techniques to give the jacket the look she wanted, including using hair clippers to shave areas of the sealskin.

"When you shave it, you come across a different colour underneath the long fur," Aariak said. "It had an asymmetric closure, a big collar made our of the belly part of the seal and the sleeve was partly shaven with hair clippers so it turns brown and when you get to the cuffs of the sleeves I stopped shaving, so it had a bell-sleeved look."

Herscovici said winning the awards at the show is a step in the right direction for all the women getting into design.

"It’s the single most important fur business trade show in all of North America," he said.