b'INDSPIRE AWARD LAUREATEbringing it to her own designssince 2018. Mentorship, Hampton in the evening. Within that firstnotes, is an important component semester at fashion school, she hadfor any new designer to feel less put together her first collection,alone in an industry thats often which ended up being showcasedextremely hard to break into. I at Fashion Art Toronto as well asreally dont think that I would have Vancouver Fashion Week. had the confidence to do the things that Ive done if it werent for the For Hampton, fashion school notmentors that Ive been able to only provided a more technicalconnect with, she says. background for design, it also gave her access to a number ofIn particular, Hampton often thinks connections in the Toronto fashionback to Sage Paul from Indigenous industry that she might otherwiseFashion Arts, a multi-platform not have found. Being invited toorganization for Indigenous-made those networking events is reallyfashion, craft and textile arts. He just so important when youre inwas a huge one for me to kind of fashion, to gain your mentors andunderstand my identity within my individuals like that to look up toIndigeneity and [to know] that the and work with, she says.work that Im doing is important, she notes.Throughout high school, HamptonIt was through George Brown understood that she was verythat Hampton connected withIn 2021, Hampton was an creative and art-focused, and shethe Toronto Fashion Incubator, aIndspire Award Youth Laureate. The eventually decided to study studiostudio space funded by the Cityaward that recognizes Indigenous art and art history at the Universityof Toronto to help up-and-comingprofessionals and youth who have of Toronto. I noticed that throughdesigners with their brands. Shedemonstrated outstanding career my projects at school, they werehas been working out of the spaceachievement. It was honestly always around conversations with the body and I would put together either wearable art or somethingn for moreithat had a conversation aroundc a n fwhat you put on the body and hows othat can say so much, she explains. From there, it seemed a natural jump to full-time fashion. Following her graduation, Hampton attended George Brown College to learn more about the technical side of fashion and sewing. At this point, she had fully realized what she wanted to see change in the fashion industry, particularly surrounding the idea of representa-tion and inclusion. And so, within the first week of starting fashionPrograms that Renew school, Hampton got to work on launching her own brand. VISION-FOCUSED Indigenous Economies & Looking back, Hampton says, IEmpower Communitieshad such a vision; I just needed to figure out how to do it. She began taking whatever she learned in school during the day and TULO|INDSPIRE MAGAZINE AD Apr 2022 2022indspiration53Questions or concerns? Please contact Olga Gryb at Gryb Designs SIZE: 1/3 page4.583 X 4.583olga@grybdesigns.comC M Y K'