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The Indigenous artists opening Fashion Art Toronto F/W 2025

Amber-Dawn Bear Robe curates Fashion Art Toronto’s Thursday night show with three Indigenous designers

Model holding out their hand on the runway, wearing a yellow sleeveless crop top and yellow bonnet, held together by light pink ribbon.
(Charlene Esquivel/CanCulture Magazine)
A look from Mobilize Waskawewin by Dusty Legrande.

By Charlene Esquivel

Fashion Art Toronto (FAT) returned this season with a culmination of innovative runway shows, art exhibitions and multimedia installations. FAT kicked off its opening night with a show curated by Amber-Dawn Bear Robe from the Siksika Nation. 

Bear Robe is a curator and fashion show director who specializes in contemporary Indigenous fashion through her work. Her shows highlight Indigenous fashion as a story of identity, knowledge, expression and social activism.

The lights dimmed as the first show of the season shifts the ambience with the rhythmic beating of drums and the sound of rippling water. The spotlights turned on while the models entered in sync with the audio. This staged atmosphere starts the night off strong, setting the tone for a show filled with Indigenous cultural narratives.

Mobilize Waskawewin

  • Model walking down the runway wearing a white fur tube top, white miniskirt with light purple ribbon and black vinyl knee-high boots
  • Model walking down the runway wearing a yellow sleeveless top and skirt set held together by a light pink ribbon. It's paired with a matching yellow bonnet and chunky brown shoes.
  • Model walking down the runway wearing an oversized sky-blue vest with light blue geometric shapes and black wide-legged trousers.

(Charlene Esquivel/CanCulture Magazine)

Among over 40 Canadian designers, Mobilize Waskawewin by Nehiyaw designer Dusty LeGrande opened the night with a combination of performance and design. Mobile Waskawewin is a streetwear brand and movement based on community collaboration. It paves representation for Indigenous peoples to empower, educate and reclaim identity.

Ayimach_Horizons

  • Model flares out the black and white plaid maxi skirt they're wearing on the runway. Their top is white and ruched with black textured stripes and a sage green high neck. They're also wearing long teal fringe earrings made out of hair.
  • Model poses on the runway wearing a white ruched top with black textured stripes and a sage green high neck with a black and white plaid maxi skirt. They're also wearing long teal fringe earrings made out of hair.
  • Model walking down runway wearing long green fringe earrings made out of hair.
  • Model walking down a runway holding a yellow purse with fringe. They're wearing an ombre yellow to orange dress with a thigh slit and long green fringe earrings made out of hair.
  • Model poses on the runway, looking off to the side, holding a yellow purse with fringe. They're wearing an ombre yellow to orange dress with a thigh slit and long green fringe earrings made out of hair.
  • Model walking down the runway in an oversized silhouette black and white geometric-patterned dress with black platform boots and red, silver and grey beaded earrings that have long blue fringe at the ends made out of hair.

(Charlene Esquivel/CanCulture Magazine)

Ayimach_Horizons by Jason Baerg, who is a Cree-Metis educator and visual artist, has been featured in Vogue, Toronto Star and Elle Canada. The brand is committed to sustainability and social responsibility, maintaining their connection to the planet. Ayimach_Horizons presented timeless designs, defined colour-blocking and geometric shapes to the FAT audience.

Jontay Kahm

  • Model walking down the runway wearing a red beaded dress with black stilettos.
  • Model walking down the runway wearing a space grey beaded dress with feather embellishments on its upper body. They're walking in diamanté heels.
  • Model walking down the runway wearing a shiny turquoise dress with varying flaps and brown Birkenstock-esque sandals.
  • Model walking down the runway wearing a shiny black fringed halter top and shiny black fringed pants. There are spherical studded accents on the garments.
  • Model walking down the runway wearing a shiny black fringed halter top and shiny black fringed pants. There are spherical studded accents on the garments.

(Charlene Esquivel/CanCulture Magazine)

Another Vogue-featured artist, Jontay Kahm, who is a Plains Cree designer from the Mosquito First Nation, closed the show. Many of his pieces demonstrated fluid forms complimented by diverse textures and materials. From beaded structures to feathered neck pieces, Kahm creates a theatrical statement through his pieces.

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