First Nations designers from Canada, Linda Lavallee and Luugigyoo Patrick Stewart made their New York debut under the label creenisgaa clothing during Fashion Week 2013.
Linda Lavallee learned to make boots from her mother and grandmother and she studied at the Shoe School in Port Townsend, WA. “creenisgaa” stands for the Cree and Nisga’a nations to which Linda and Patrick belong. creenisgaa has been seen on the red carpet at the Canadian Juno Awards, the Aboriginal Music Awards, Cannes Film Festival and the Disney movie premiere of The Lone Ranger.
In their latest collection to be shown in New York, Ms. Lavallee and Mr. Stewart use a mixture of fabrics, from leather, cedar and birch bark to cotton, wool and ultra-suede in traditional Nisga’a and Cree colors featuring red, white and black. The collection features handcrafted and hand-painted leather boots based on traditional cree boot design.