Daron Letts
Northern News Services

Yellowknife (Nov 30/05) - Avant garde fashion designer Jamie Look is preparing to unveil her latest line of body adornments with an open house at her Old Town studio soon.

These Bones Such Dancers will be the second cutting-edge series of wearable art released through Look's six-month-old company, Goddess of War.

"This collection of 25 pieces has cleaner lines, more dominant shapes and is less tribal and more glamorous than the first collection," she said.

The gothic fashions use natural materials such as black seal fur, white deer hide, black muskox leather and semi-precious stones, including blue sandstone and quartz crystals.

"The inspiration always comes from my environment," she said. "It's twilights; it's midnights; it's sparkling snow. I've decided to build this (company) in Yellowknife because this is where I get my inspiration."

Look's family history in the North goes back almost a century. Jamie's grandfather, Art Look, worked for 80 years as a hunter and trapper.

Her approach to design is a reflection of this heritage, mixed with her response to contemporary trends, she said.

"I know that I will always have Yellowknife as my home base," she said. "But, I also get the feeling that I'm going to start travelling with this soon."

The display will feature photographs of nine models showcasing Look's haute couture and commercial designs.

The pieces were to be unveiled during an ambitious fashion show, complete with performances from Crazy Legs Modern Dance Company, earlier this month.

However, Look made a business decision on behalf of her art and is planning to remake the event as a smaller open house at her studio.

As an artist and a business owner, she said she wants the event to be the best it can be.