CREATIVE DIRECTION & WORDS Amanda May Daly
PHOTOGRAPHY Taralyn Sanderson
MAKEUP Jay-Lee Seymour at Hyperelations
HAIR Nicole Johnson at Hyperelations
TALENT Jaida Aquash & Nicole Johnson
PRODUCTION ASST Jim Kyle BTS Ashley Chisholm
VIDEOGRAPHER Lon Gross
BEAUTY MENTOR Marlayna Pincott
LOCATION: Sea To Sky Gondola, Squamish, Vancouver, CANADA
The New Luxury: how the practice of Visual Sovereignty is helping Indigenous culture break fashion’s 4th wall.
In decolonial practice and the imagining of Indigenous Futures, Visual Sovereignty refers to the rights of Indigenous people to assert our identities, our rights to self governance and to create, manage and dictate these representations of ourselves in visual media. The concept of Indigenous Visual Sovereignty is credited to the groundbreaking work of Indigenous filmmakers on Turtle Island, who began self producing work in the 1970s that challenged the colonial gaze, tokenism, exotification, othering and cultural stereotypes perpetuated in North American film and television.
Vancouver, British Columbia is a Canadian that is located on the traditional, ancestral, and unceded territories of the xʷməθkʷəy̓əm (Musqueam), Sḵwx̱wú7mesh (Squamish), and səlilwətaɬ (Tsleil-Waututh) Nations. It is here that a burgeoning Indigenous fashion scene is thriving, thanks to the longstanding vision and dedication of Indigenous fashion maven Himikalas Pamela Baker, who has been producing First Nations ready to wear since the 1990’s and mentoring and inspiring the next generations of Indigenous fashion excellence along the way. Pamela is of Dzawada’enuxw/Kwaguilth/Tlingit/Haida and Squamish ancestry.
Blanche MacDonald, a world class fashion and beauty college, offers an Indigenous student program led by make-up industry legend Marlayna Pincott. Marlayna, who recently was key hair and makeup for Pamela Anderson’s new show Cooking with Love, is expertly mentoring and instructing new talent, skilled, savvy and set ready at what feels like breakneck speed. Graduates from the Indigenous Access programmes at Blanche MacDonald get to sharpen their skills backstage at Vancouver Indigenous Fashion Week, featuring designers such as Himikalas Pam Baker and Rebecca Baker-Grenier. These new artists are moving forward grounded in both culture and gold standard industry training, working on both Indigenous and mainstream fashion and film productions, and they are absolutely crushing it.
In these unprecedented times, when the public is grappling with our changing relationships with legacy media and an increasingly uncertain future for the creative autonomy of the film and television industries, the question of who is behind the camera, and why matters more than ever. The recent supernova success of a low budget Canadian production like Heated Rivalry points to a global appetite for real stories told with authenticity. This is a joyfully queer series that could really only be made here in Canada, and that is its strength. The resonance that people feel with Heated Rivalry is a potent mix of queer visibility, strong and complex female supporting characters and corrective emotional experiences. There is, of course, some hockey too. Most of all, Heated Rivalry lands because at its core, it is about authenticity, love and the rejection of oppressive social norms that landed precisely at a time in history when oppressive regimes and anti DEI initiatives are dominating our news cycles.
I really think the same formula that makes Heated Rivalry so appealing in this global climate can be applied to our approach to fashion and meaning making in fashion, especially when it comes to decolonised fashion. We have a luxury goods sector here on Turtle Island creating space and place specific, couture level and ready to wear fashion on an annual schedule, and it shows no sign of slowing down. Indigenous design is the extension of traditional techniques and oral histories, modern Indigenous fashion design is both communicating and co-creating the history of Indigenous Nations in real time, often using rare and place specific materials and techniques that have preserved Indigenous ways of knowing and being for millennia.
It doesn’t get much more authentic, more real or more resonant than seeing Indigenous fashion Matriarchs in motion on the sacred land of their ancestors. This combination of collaboration, community and creativity, through an Indigenised female gaze is a literal invitation to step into the imagining of a world under Indigenous Matriarchy, a circle that places children and the most vulnerable at the centre.
From Rebecca Baker-Grenier’s corset made from the shavings of traditional mask carving to Himikalas Pam Baker’s evening wear inspired by trade relationships with Hudson’s Bay Company, which recently shuttered after 335 years as Canada’s first department store, these collections speak unapologetically on the power and eternal presence of Indigenous women.
When an all Indigenous, femme-led team ascended on the Sea to Sky Gondola many were seeing Mount Habrich from this perspective for the first time. It is with great honour and humility that we invite the viewer in to experience this sacred space and the work of this collective through the lens of Indigenous Matriarchy and to reflect on the women who have come before.
Designer: Rebecca Baker Grenier
Himikalas Pam Baker
T.O.C. Legends House of Design
On the iconic Mount Habrich at the Sea to Sky Gondola, a couture collection comes to life—where Indigenous artistry meets high fashion.
Rooted in Sḵwx̱wú7mesh land, each design tells a story of heritage, strength, and modern elegance. This shoot represents more than clothing – it’s about legacy, innovation, and the future of Indigenous luxury fashion.
“The photoshoot took place near the Stawamus Chief – a place that’s woven deeply into my childhood. My father used to take us fishing there, and on every trip he would point out the Chief’s profile, the dog with the eagle on its head, and all the stories connected to that mountain. Being back on that land brought those memories right to the surface.
Standing there with my designs felt grounding. It reminded me how much my creative language is shaped by place, story, and ancestry. Being on the land with my father in my younger years taught me to stay connected – to the land, to our people, and to the history that lives in these mountains. The story being told is one of timelessness and continuity”.
Designer: Himikalas Pam Baker
“When the fog rolled in, everything shifted. The landscape became spiritual, majestic, and almost otherworldly. The wind catching the skirt, the soft movement of the models walking the path – it all felt like the ancestors were close.
That moment was incredibly moving for me. The sky, the trees, the mist – it amplified the emotion and meaning of the shoot.
Our models were First Nations, our stylist was First Nations, and the entire team understood the responsibility of honouring our stories. Because they come from a place of authenticity and lived experience, they understood what I wanted to express through my work”.
Designer: Rebecca Baker Grenier
“The final images aren’t just fashion – they’re the result of shared history, shared intention, and shared pride.
The Nobility Collection was inspired by my great-great-great grandmother, Anisalaga, who ran a Hudson’s Bay store on Northern Vancouver Island in the late 1800s and early 1900s. After her husband passed, she continued to run that store on her own – something incredibly rare for an Indigenous woman of her time.
She was a noble woman from Tongass, Alaska, and her strength, resilience, and leadership live in every piece of this collection. The imagery of the model standing tall against the forest reflects that legacy – our women have always been powerful, dignified, and deeply connected to the land”.
Designer: Himikalas Pam Baker
“I hope people can see the depth of our artistry and where it comes from.
Indigenous fashion isn’t a trend – it’s a continuation of our histories, teachings, and visual languages. When people view First Nations design in a place like the Pacific Northwest, they can immediately feel the connection between land, identity, and culture. This region – our forests, mountains, waters – shapes how we create. I want that to be felt through every garment.
One of my biggest goals has always been to show our young people that they can do anything – fashion, art, storytelling, digital media, or anything they dream of. If my work can spark an idea or show them a path forward, then I feel I’ve done my job.
I also hope future generations continue sharing our stories with the world so they never fade. Indigenous people around the globe have powerful histories and artistic traditions, and when the public supports our work, it strengthens our communities and our future.”
Designer: Himikalas Pam Baker
Rebecca Baker Grenier
“Going up to the top – where my fashion meets my traditional Skwxwu7mesh territory. Behind the scenes of an epic and memorable photoshoot!”
Rebecca Baker-Grenier, of Kwakiuł, Dzawada’enuxw, and Sḵwx̱wú7mesh ancestry, is a fashion designer whose work carries deep ancestral connection and cultural strength. A regalia designer since age eleven, Rebecca has created pow-wow and performance regalia for her family and for the Dancers of Damelahamid, with her designs featured on national and international stages since 2016.
Designer: Rebecca Baker Grenier
Holding a BA in Indigenous Studies from the University of British Columbia, Rebecca began her fashion design journey in 2021, apprenticing under Himikalas Pam Baker and completing the Indigenous Couture Residency at Banff Centre. Her collections have since appeared at New York Fashion Week, SWAIA Santa Fe, Indigenous Fashion Arts Toronto, and Vancouver Indigenous Fashion Week.
Her garments have been worn on red carpets such as The Emmys and Canada’s Walk of Fame and featured in Vogue, Elle Canada, and museum exhibitions, and are known for their elegance, cultural grounding, and refined detail. Through her work, Rebecca offers bold, beautiful reflections of Indigenous resilience, pride, and creativity.
Designer: Rebecca Baker Grenier
Rebecca was the recipient of the Polygon Award 2025 for First Nations Art. In the video below hear Rebecca and her mentor (and Auntie) Himikalas Pam Baker in their own words discussing art, fashion, process, family and legacy. The town of Squamish is recognised as the traditional, ancestral, and unceded territory of Sḵwx̱wú7mesh Úxwumixw (Squamish Nation).
“Some looks from my new collection “Our Roots Run Deep”, looking at the integral relationship between our waterways and forest systems”.
Designer: Himikalas Pam Baker
References:
Reading Nanook’s Smile: Visual Sovereignty, Indigenous Revisions of Ethnography, and Atanarjuat (The Fast Runner). (2007, December). American Quarterly Johns Hopkins University Press, Volume 59,(Number 4,), pp. 1159-1185.
https://muse.jhu.edu/article/228182