This June, we celebrate Pride and the 2SLGBTQIA+ community!

There have been a number of Pride flags in the past. The well known LGBTQIA+ pride flag between the late 1970s to the early 2000s, consisted of horizontal colours of the rainbow including red, orange, yellow, green, blue, and purple. 

Shown on the left is the Progress Pride flag and its colour symbolism, which was designed by Daniel Quasar in 2018 (insert image of flag on left side). This variation of the Pride flag is one of the newer flag designs and was created decades after the previous flag. Other flags were also created throughout time, including the bisexual and pansexual Pride flags.

The Progress flag highlights the diversity of the LGBTQ community, broadening to the 2SLGBTQIA+ community, to reflect and call for a more inclusive society. 

Information retrieved from Outright International (external link)  and Very Well Mind (external link) .

We are very excited to welcome Brandon Morin, our new IFS/FZ Events & Community Relations Ambassador, to the FZ team! To get to know Brandon better, we held a short Q&A with him shown below.

Q1: Tell us a bit about yourself and what you do at the Fashion Zone!

"Tansi! I am Brandon Morin Fox (external link)  from Piapot First Nation in Treaty 4 Territory. I’m a Plains Cree, Métis, Two Spirit creative studying my second year of Fashion at Toronto Metropolitan University. Fashion is a way to explore important issues such as inequality and racial and social injustice that affects our First Nations/Indigenous community.I’m here to support any of our brands and entrepreneurs at the Fashion Zone. Still, I specifically work with the Indigenous Fashion Support program as the events & community relations ambassador."

Q2: What is a charity you love and want to shine a light on this pride month? 

"A community initiative I'd like to shine a light on is Toronto Indigenous Harm Reduction (external link) . TIHR is a 2Spirit/Indigiqueer/Trans-led community initiative helping the community with access to ceremonies, traditional foods, medicines, essential survival items, transportation, and healthcare."

After attending the Indigenous Fashion Arts Toronto, (external link)  we wanted to highlight some notable 2SLGBTQIA+ creatives that modeled or showcased their work at the event! Say hello to Scott Wabano, Ayimach Horizons, EVAN DUCHARME, and Micheal Dumont!

Scott Wabano (external link) : 2Spirit Eeyou, Scott Wabano grew up amongst the isolated Indigenous communities along the coast of James Bay, with little exposure to the fashion industry and progressive views. Scott is an influencer and now serves as a National Ambassador of Hope for the We Matter Organization and was recently awarded the Inspiring Youth of the Year Award by the Cree National Youth Council. Scott’s post-secondary education in Fashion Arts and Business at Humber College in Toronto led him to work with fashion brands Vitaly Design, Manitobah Mukluks and Lesley Hampton. Scott is also a Freelance Fashion Stylist.

Information obtained from Indigenous Fashion Arts (external link) .

Ayimach Horizon (external link) : Jason Baerg (external link)  is the founder of Ayimach Horizons ᐊᔨᒪ / Ayimach is a remix of cultural references and projects into spaces of Indigenous Futurisms as materials and pallets share a platform with traditional custom and aspirational visions of transformation. ᐊᔨᒪ / Ayimach translates from Nēhiyawēwin or Cree to "a fortunate change of events leading towards success."

Information obtained from Ayimach Horizons

Evan Ducharme (external link) : Evan Ducharme is Metis with ancestral ties to the Cree, Ojibwe, and Saulteaux Peoples from the historic community of St. Ambroise, Manitoba (Treaty 1 Territory). His multidisciplinary work examines Metis history and cultural iconography in dialogue with Indigenous perspectives on gender, queerness, and environmental responsibility. His work applies ancestral and contemporary Metis knowledge to affirm a modern representation of Indigenous peoples within the fashion medium.

Information obtained from Indigenous Fashion Arts (external link) . 

Michel Dumont (external link) : Michel Dumont is a queer Métis Two spirit artist who enjoys breathing new life into discarded vintage tile by making mosaic pieces. Making outfits for local and national drag communities allows him to work around his multiple chemical sensitivity using non-toxic materials. He is a self-taught artist, and occasional teacher, whose mediums include fiber arts, ceramics and unconventional materials for wearable art.

Information obtained from Bodies in Translation (external link) .