This Magazine

Progressive politics, ideas & culture
Menu

fashion

January-February 2024

Next-gen gender

Parents and designers are taking kids' fashion to the next level

Isabel Harder

  Gender-neutral clothing is a growing trend in Canadian fashion, and one that is trickling down to the wardrobes of the youngest Canadians. From chains such as La Tuque, Quebec’s Aubainerie, to small businesses such as Vancouver’s Pley Clothes, options for parents looking to build their children a genderless closet are growing across the country. […] More »
September-October 2020

A certain swanness

On Korean adoption and beauty

Jenny Heijun Wills

A quarter million Korean adoptees live (or have lived) around the world. Aren’t our black eyes so cute when they get pushed up by our cheeks as we smile for the photo displayed at the office? Don’t we garner the most likes and applause on those mommy blogs when we’re sent to show-and-tell in a […] More »
September-October 2020

What fashion blogging taught me about being genderqueer

An essay about coming out in front of the camera

Sanchari Sur

I am not sure what compelled me to ask him, and what compelled him to say yes. But there I was, craning my neck like a chicken about to be slaughtered, and smizing my eyes for all they were worth, while he clicked. The photos were for my new fashion blog, my experiment with fashion […] More »
September-October 2020

Cover models

Six Canadian writers tell us about doing makeup looks to match beloved book covers

Various

“Terese has the best #booklooks and what a nice surprise to see this this morning,” tweeted author Casey Plett this spring when Terese Mason Pierre posted her #booklook based on Plett’s Little Fish. Later in the spring, Canthius, a feminist magazine of poetry and prose, tweeted that “the best thing on Twitter right now has […] More »
September-October 2020

Black art matters

Spotlight on Shaya Ishaq

Francesca Ekwuyasi

Shaya Ishaq’s work moves fluidly between mediums—words, ceramics, fibres, jewellery—while maintaining a central locus of honouring Black lineages and sparking light toward liberated Black futures. Tenacious and ever-evolving, Ishaq walked away from journalism school and signed up for a hand-building course at a pottery studio in her hometown of Ottawa. “I really fell in love […] More »
November-December 2017

B.C. clothing line takes back the appropriated designs of Indigenous communities

Section 35 tackles Indigenous stereotypes head-on with political statements people can wear

Isabelle Docto

What do the Chicago Blackhawks, Washington Redskins, and Cleveland Indians have in common? Sport and its continued appropriation of Indigenous culture. Section 35, a B.C.-based apparel company, is pushing back. Founded by friends Justin Louis and Andrew Kazakoff, Section 35 tackles Indigenous stereotypes head-on with political statements people can wear. “You can still create conversation […] More »
November-December 2016

REVIEW: The women who challenged—and influenced—fashion

From Cleopatra to Lady Gaga

Ophelie Zalcmanis-Lai@ophelieZL

Bad Girls of Fashion: Style Rebels From Cleopatra to Lady Gaga By Jennifer Croll Annick Press, $24.95 Fashion is often mistaken as temporary, nothing but a wave of passing fads—but not in Bad Girls of Fashion: Style Rebels From Cleopatra to Lady Gaga by Jennifer Croll. In her vividly illustrated book, Croll takes us through […] More »

Gender Block: Pina Newman, model and trans* activist

Hillary Di Menna

  A fashion model fighting for trans* rights, Pina Newman is making sure she is heard, while inspiring others to find their own voices. Maxing out the time in her jam-packed schedule, Newman is involved with the Trans Collective, a group of trans* identified people at Ryerson University, “We are advocating for more single-stalled and gender-neutral […] More »

WTF Monday: The Urban Outfitters Kent State shirt and other offensive fashion items

Hana Shafi

The hipster palace of fashion: Urban Outfitters. I’ll admit, I shop there. Of course, I speed walk immediately to the sale section in search of $7 sweaters—did I mention I’m the queen of bargains?—but even in my sprint to sale racks, I never fail to catch a glimpse of at least one totally offensive clothing […] More »
January-February 2010

Interview: sealskin clothing designer and lawyer Aaju Peter

Paul McLaughlinWebsite

Europe’s sealskin ban threatens her runway-ready apparel—and maybe the entire Inuit way of life A majority of the 27 member states of the European Union voted to ban the trade of seal product imports such as pelts, oil, and meat last July. The ban comes into effect in August 2010. Although the EU did allow […] More »

Queerly Canadian #14: Top 5 myths of TV transsexuals

cate simpson

Has a transsexual ruined your life lately? Because if you believe what you see on TV, trans people are lurking everywhere, just waiting to pounce on unassuming heterosexuals. Trans characters on TV are like those early depictions of gay men, before they started cropping up as every woman’s best-friend-slash-fashion-adviser. It’s depressing to argue that the […] More »