A Fashion Speaks Saskatchewan event will help bring awareness to the issue of missing and murdered indigenous women.
The Fashion Speaks shows and designer meet and greet on Saturday will give a voice to aboriginal families who have lost mothers, daughters, sisters, and grandmothers.
They’ve invited families to speak about their experiences, and the mother of one of the women going down the runway has been missing for more than a decade.
Organizer Chelsa Riel says this is the indigenous fashion industry’s way of speaking up about serious issues.
The event will celebrate indigenous designers and music from across Canada. Eleven designers from as far at British Columbia and Ontario will be featured on the runway.
Riel says she didn’t need to seek out the designers other people sought her out.
Fashion Speaks B.C.’s “organizer approached me because she wants to take it all over North America,” Riel said of the show.
The aboriginal fashion industry is making major strides, and a sale after Saturday’s will give people a chance to support its growth.
“It’s a great way to support the indigenous designers is to purchase from the indigenous designers. There’s places in other countries that are mass-producing these things that are not indigenous, they are fake I guess, they’re not authentic,” Riel said.
One big goal for the event at University of Regina’s Shu-Box Theatre is to see a multicultural audience.
Tickets will be on sale at the door, or $25 in advance at Tatanka Boutique. The event starts at 7 p.m. on Saturday at the University of Regina’s Shu-Box Theatre.
All proceeds will go towards South Saskatchewan Sisters in Spirit.
For more information, go to the event’s Facebook page here.