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Fashionable teamwork
Trade, fashion a winning combination for designers

Darrell Greer
Northern News Services
Published Wednesday, October 16, 2013

RANKIN INLET
A stunning array of creations were unveiled during a fashion display held in conjunction with the Kivalliq Trade Show in Rankin Inlet earlier this month.

Trade show spokesperson Robert Connelly said the fashion show returned after a year's hiatus due to popular demand.

He said the fashion show is a great way to showcase Kivalliq talent producing both traditional and modern clothing, which is becoming increasingly popular.

"The fashion show allows us to showcase some of the great talent that exists here, especially the great young talent," said Connelly.

"We have Victoria Kakuktinniq, who just finished a year-long program on fashion design, her sister, Faith Kreelak, who is a very active designer in Rankin, and many of the up-and-coming producers we have in the Kivalliq.

"It ties in very well with the trade show, which is all about promoting business development and opportunities that exist here.

"Fashion-clothing production is, very much, an active and very big contributor to our economy."

Connelly said some fantastic clothing is being produced across the region's growing market.

He said Rankin's fashion community is blossoming, thanks to a number of training programs delivered in the community recently.

"The Nunavut Literacy Council ran the Miqquk program in 2011 and 2012, as well as an amauti-sewing program in 2013.

"It's already gearing up to deliver another sewing program for young sewers early in 2014. Basically, they use elders and instructors to teach both traditional and more conventional wdesign methods to developing clothing.

"The success of those programs has really helped a lot of young producers to gain confidence in their abilities."

Connelly said artistic innovation has been quite evident in recent designs.

He said many influences still remain from traditional designs, but more innovation is making its way into the fashion mix.

"We're now seeing young designers incorporate new technologies and influences from modern life into their designs," Connelly said. "Apart from the clothes we see with a hockey influence, shall we say, not too long ago I actually saw a Facebook-styled logo.

"It struck me as a little odd, but, nonetheless, those are the types of influences we're starting to see.

"We're seeing other edgy designs that have moved away from traditional looks of the past, and their new, modern streak is very striking."

Nunavut Arts and Crafts Association executive director Rowena House said it's very important to have fashion displays tied to events such as the Kivalliq Trade Show.

House said designers in small communities rarely have the opportunity to highlight their work.

She said when a fashion show is tied to an event, it always helps people creating at the grassroots level.

"It gives them the opportunity to be seen as a designer, and that often changes how they see themselves," said House. "They realize they're more than just the mom who sews at home.

"Also, when events like the Kivalliq Trade Show have a fashion connection, a community often realizes it has a lot of great artists it didn't know it had."

House said the mix of contemporary designs with a touch of the traditional past is a good way to move forward.

She said most Inuit art today is moving toward the contemporary side of things.

"So, it just makes sense for fashion to evolve with that.

"A lot of people in the south will wear a parka made in the North, as long as it reflects a contemporary style.

"That's what today's designers are trying to do.

"Everyone reads the same magazines and tries to emulate, to a certain extent, what's in them, but they also think about how they can tie it to what grandma used to do."

While designers can be more traditionally artistic when producing clothing for family and friends, they need to be keenly aware of market trends to earn a solid economic return on their work.

House said another fine line Nunavut designers must contend with is the ongoing controversy surrounding sealskin products.

She said it's important for people purchasing sealskin items to know where it comes from and the history of it.

"A product being custom made in an Inuit community from the sustainable harvest of ring seals, versus harp seals, is a big selling point," she said. "We work hard to market our products in a way that not necessarily disassociates us, but makes them distinct rather than have them lumped together the way everyone thinks they are.

"In fact, we work well with Newfoundland's government and sealing industry to make sure the overall image of seal products is positive and acceptable to Canadians.

"But it's always a difficult sell and the controversy isn't going away any time soon."

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