Some of the most profitable Canadian brands today—Canada Goose, Lululemon, Arc’teryx—are known for their “technical” garments, engineered to perform under extreme weather conditions.
But thousands of years ago, Indigenous peoples throughout what we now call North America invented high-performance clothing. “We are technical designers in our own fashion,” says Cole Sparrow-Crawford, an Indigenous artist who grew up in the Musqueam Nation in Vancouver. “We took our resources and turned them into technical gear that kept us alive.”
Arc’teryx, the Vancouver-based outerwear brand, wants to honor the craft and heritage of Indigenous communities by launching a new design platform called Walk Gently, which gives voice to Indigenous artists and designers. The first fruits of the collaboration launch today, with a seven-piece collection designed by Sparrow-Crawford: gender-neutral apparel, shoes, accessories, and a blanket. The pieces combine elements of traditional Musqueam design with high-tech fabrics within the Arc’teryx portfolio.
“This collection doesn’t just represent Indigenous athletes who hike and climb,” says Sparrow-Crawford. “It also represents our carvers, our canoe pullers, our weavers. The people who must be recognized within this industry as pioneers.”
Giving Credit to Indigenous Designers
Historically, many fashion labels have appropriated aspects of native design. But some brands are now making a concerted effort to collaborate with Indigenous designers. Ralph Lauren recently launched a long-term collaboration with Navajo weaver and designer Naiomi Glasses. Canada Goose collaborates with Inuit designers, whose ancestors invented the parka.
Arc’teryx has also been on a mission to partner with Indigenous communities, starting with the Musqueam people, whose unceded territories became Vancouver. Katie Becker, the brand’s chief creative officer, had been learning about Canada’s history of separating Indigenous children from their parents and putting them in residential schools. “We started to talk internally about what we could do to make a difference,” she says. “From a creative lens, we wanted to create a program where we could bring designers into our ranks and create jobs for Indigenous people.”
Becker was searching for a partner for this work when she learned about Sparrow-Crawford, a model, artist, and designer, who had trained at Parsons School of Design in New York City. “When I left home, I realized that I didn’t necessarily thrive in the Western way of learning,” he says. “It’s only when I went back and learned from the weavers, carvers, and traditional designers that I found my source of identity. And now I want to be able to represent that in the design industry.”
Sparrow-Crawford came up with the vision for Walk Gently, and he helped shape how the program works. Indigenous designers will be embedded among Arc’teryx designers, bringing their ideas, designs, and craftsmanship. Together, they will work to develop products that authentically reflect that designer’s point of view. In the case of Sparrow-Crawford, the pieces are very much a fusion of traditional design and modern fabrications. “In my community, we’re taught to respect our elders and really learn from them,” he says. “I really wanted to learn as much as I could from them, and bring these designs forward.”
Each Garment Has A Story
Together, Sparrow-Crawford and Arc’teryx’s designers developed the collection’s seven pieces. In some ways, they reflect the kind of products you may come to expect from Arc’teryx.
There’s a pair of cargo shorts and a short-sleeve T-shirt. But each is imbued with stories that Sparrow-Crawford brings from his community. The shorts, for instance, are inspired by the cedar used to make canoes. The green colors represent the moss that covered the trees in Musqueam land, and there’s a motif of an eye embroidered along the pocket. This comes from the Salish peoples of coastal British Columbia, who use the eye to remember that their ancestors and their creator are always watching them.
The T-shirt features artwork that looks like light coming through the forest. The pinkish stitching references salmon berries. “The story passed down is that the amount of salmon seen during the spring and summer seasons reflects the number of salmon that would run into the waters that year,” Sparrow-Crawford says. “I wanted to find a way to talk about how these traditions are passed through the generations.”
With the shoes, Sparrow-Crawford took Arc’teryx’s Kragg shoe, a flat sneaker, and transformed it into something that looks like a moccasin. It has a geometric design that is meant to be reminiscent of mountains. “The intention was to bring this inspiration from our landscapes into the shoes that people will use to walk in these very environments,” he says. “The motif is inspired by the coastal mountains and the teal waters that run through them.”
There’s also an outdoor blanket, which can be used for camping or picnicking. It’s inspired by the craft of Coast Salish wool-weaving that has been used in this territory for centuries. This is perhaps Sparrow-Crawford’s favorite piece. His three aunts have spent their lives trying to revitalize weaving traditions, which were all but lost when Indigenous peoples were swept off into residential schools. These aunts have played an important role in teaching weaving and helping to keep the practice alive.
Authentic Storytelling
Beyond creating these products, Sparrow-Crawford also brought in his sister, Faith Sparrow-Crawford, to help craft the campaign around the Walk Gently launch. She is the cofounder of Host Consulting, which helps increase representation from Indigenous communities across culture, and helps facilitate dialogues around decolonization.
She helped direct behind-the-design videos, films, and photoshoots that are launching at the same time as the products. There are scenes of fishing in the Musqueam Nation, harvesting in the Squamish Nation, and canoeing in the Tsleil-Waututh Nation. The three aunts Sparrow-Crawford references are all featured in the videos, along with canoe-pullers, weavers, fishermen, and harvesters.
For the Sparrow-Crawford siblings, this partnership with Arc’teryx is an opportunity to ensure that important aspects of their heritage are able to live on. “A lot of people in my family went to residential schools,” Cole Sparrow-Crawford says. “I have so much respect for them because they worked so hard to stay alive as a people. They had to fight to keep these traditions alive. And now it’s my responsibility to carry that on for the next generation.”