Since 2017, the annual Vancouver Indigenous Fashion Week (VIFW) has served as a crucial platform for Indigenous designers to showcase their contemporary designs. More than just an array of fabulous fashions (though it is that, too), VIFW is a space that’s created for Indigenous people by Indigenous people. Founder Joleen Mitton, who is Plains Cree, established it as an event that fosters community, collaboration, and even healing. A prime example of the latter is VIFW’s annual Red Dress showcase, which was held on Monday night as this year’s official kick-off event. “The Red Dress event is part of our healing process,” Mitton tells Vogue. “At the opening night of every VIFW, we come together as a community and we honor our departed loved ones. We come together to remember and celebrate.”
VIFW’s Red Dress showcase draws inspiration from Métis artist Jaime Black’s REDress Project, a national art movement in Canada that utilizes red dresses to represent the thousands of missing and murdered Indigenous women, girls, and Two-Spirit (MMIWG2S) people in the country. Indigenous groups in Canada continue to be disproportionately affected by violence; From 2015 to 2020, the average homicide rate involving Indigenous victims was six times higher than non-Indigenous victims. At Vancouver’s Queen Elizabeth Theatre, Native designers were asked to create red designs that drew attention to this ongoing epidemic. “The red dress has become a powerful symbol of remembrance and a call for justice,” says Mitton. “Recognizing and addressing this issue is crucial for the well-being and safety of the community.”
The arresting color red boldly calls attention to the important movement, though it also has spiritual significance (in Indigenous culture, red transcends the physical world). “Red represents the fire of our people—a flame that can never be extinguished, no matter how hard it gets,” says Yolonda Skelton, a Gitxsan designer who created a gown made of precious metals and suede. She also incorporated imagery of a phoenix onto her design. “The phoenix itself is a symbol of rebirth, resilience, and transformation. It represents the strength and resilience of Indigenous women, girls and [Two-Spirit people], and their ability to rise above adversity.”
Skelton was one of six Indigenous designers who created a special dress for this year’s VIFW. Designer Rebecca Baker-Grenier (Kwakiutl/Dzawadaʼenuxw/Squamish) crafted a cape coat with her signature West Coast paintwork on it. It stems from her We Are Warriors collection. “My collection is inspired by our ancestral warriors, who were strong, courageous, and persistent in protecting our villages, communities, and culture in battle against colonial armies,” she says. “Indigenous people have always fought to resist colonization and safeguard our communities.” Inuit designer April Allen also created a red shift dress, shown with traditional matching moccasins. “My design serves as a symbol of remembrance and solidarity, weaving together the significance of this movement in every stitch,” says Allen.
Ocean Kiana, who is Ojibway/Anishinaabe, created several red looks for the showcase, including pieces such as traditional ribbon skirts. “I didn’t limit myself to a single dress—instead, each piece narrates distinct stories from my life, interwoven with the profound connection we have to the land,” says Kiana. “The significance of the color red represents my identity as Nishinaabe (Ojibway), because it is the color that we use in ceremonies to present the Manidoo (spirit). [I also used] beautiful floral patterns, inspired from my traditional territory, Biigtigong Nishnaabeg.”
For two of the designers featured in the showcase—Helen Oro (Plains Cree) and Taalrumiq (Inuvialuit/Gwich’in)—the theme of the evening hit especially close to home. Both have been personally affected by the epidemic, and wanted to use their fashions as a call to action. “It was important for me to share the story of Frank Gruben, my relative who is currently missing in our home territory of the Northwest Territories since May 2023,” says Taalrumiq, who created a traditional Inuvialuit design made of sealskin and wolf fur. “I hope by sharing Frank’s story, it encourages someone to come forward with information that can help bring him home to his mom, family, and community.”
Designer Oro shares an equally poignant backstory around one of the red garments she created (her lineup of looks were entirely in red). “My 11-year old nephew and I collaborated on designing a dress,” says Oro, who created all of the beaded jewelry to go with her nephew’s design. “His mother, who was my little sister, was murdered about six months ago: Our collaboration together is in honor of her. His mom’s name was Kehiew Iskwew Fox, and part of the material he chose to use represents her name. This has been a healing process for the both of us.”
Individually, each Indigenous designer brought a sense of strength and resiliency to the showcase, and Mitton says this variety of perspectives and styles is exactly what fashion needs. “Showcasing diversity in the Red Dress Event sends a powerful message about unity and solidarity,” says Mitton. “It emphasizes that the issue of missing and murdered Indigenous people is a collective concern that transcends individual backgrounds.” The VIFW founder hopes to make the Red Dress show an annual tradition. It’s now in its fourth year running, and has no plans of stopping until the epidemic is addressed. “I hope that the Red Dress movement continues to raise awareness and push for the justice that is so desperately needed,” says Mitton. “Fashion has a unique and powerful ability to convey messages, tell stories, and evoke emotions.”
