A crowd of Ryerson fashion students and media rush into the crisp, white Ryerson Image Arts Building. Plush, white chairs are set-up in three circular rows as Earth Wind and Fire plays in the background. The music stops, and Riley Kucheran begins introducing Angela DeMontigny’s Of the Stars Fall/Winter collection which was recently released during London Fashion Week.
“We were given an incredible gift, this beautiful blue planet of ours. And every day we need to protect her,” Kucheran said in his opening remarks.
DeMontigny said she creates sustainable pieces that are inspired by her indigenous background as a Cree-Metis woman.
“It’s sustainable in that it’s clothing that’s going to last a very long time because it’s really well-made,” DeMontigny said. “It’s timeless design.”
Indigenous music began to play, and the first model strutted out, commanding attention. She wore a fluffy blue, slightly cropped jacket and leather pants and made her way around the circular runway. More models began to make their way down the runway, each look was unique but they all tied together.
The collection featured metallic leather looks from a trench coat to a fringe dress, as well as fur jackets that added texture and contrast to each look. DeMontigny said her inspiration for this collection came from the Pleiades constellation, which is where the name Of the Stars came from. The centrepiece to her collection was a blue leather fringed jacket, with moons and stars embroidered up the sleeves and down the back of the garment.
At the conclusion of the show, the models made their way back onto the runway and DeMontigny gave a speech about how grateful she was to have her collection debut in Toronto.
“How the whole university is indigenizing right now is really awesome to see,” DeMontigny said. “It’s been a wonderful experience.”