Local designer in Montreal fashion show
Courtesy Jones Sha’tekenhàtie Howard
A few days before the fashion show, Jones Sha’tekenhàtie Howard met with their three models to make the final adjustments to their Alice in Wonderland-themed outfits.
When the models, who are also Howard’s friends, met up and put on the outfits for the first time, Howard saw their months-long vision come to life.
“My friend Victoria was wearing my ‘Alice’ design, and she saw herself in the mirror, and she just seemed to radiate more confidence as soon as she had put it on,” said Howard, who is a student in fashion design program at LaSalle College in Montreal. “It was really great to see.”
Howard debuted four outfits under their fashion brand Jones’R at The Hidden Couture Masquerade Fashion Show on February 7. The event, spearheaded by the Montreal fashion brand Golden Goddess, was supported by ELLE Canada and featured 11 designers at the Plaza Antique in Montreal.
Since December, Howard had taken on completing these four outfits on top of their regular schoolwork.
“I really wanted to push myself and see what I could get done,” said Howard. “I really learned a lot along the way and spent a lot of late nights at the college trying to make it work.”
The models’ outfits each had a distinct theme from the classic children’s tale: the White Rabbit, the Cheshire Cat, and the story’s main character, Alice.
Howard, who modelled the fourth outfit, donned the Mad Hatter-inspired look down the runway.
“I take a lot of inspiration from Alice in Wonderland and Coraline, and I really like the creepy, whimsical aspects of it,” said Howard. “I really just felt like it was appropriate that I open my brand with that to set the tone.”
Their inspiration comes also from anime and video games, and anything that they find visually interesting. Howard also wants their brand to cater to the queer community, for their outfits to be used in burlesque or drag shows. Howard’s big goal is to eventually design costumes for the Cirque du Soleil.
Fashion design and sewing have always been a part of Howard’s life. Since they were a child, Howard has watched their mom sew many Halloween costumes and useful everyday items like cloth diapers and reusable cloths.
And although Howard was sporty growing up, they developed a love of performance, artistry, and clothes over time. After speaking with their best friend and noticing their inspiration boards were all clothes they wanted but could not afford, Howard realized they wanted to make clothes, and ultimately, delve into fashion as a career after high school.
“When I started to think about what I wanted to do and realized I have actually a really deep passion for it,” said Howard.
They hope to do another fashion show in the fall during the last year of their studies and use the summer to prepare in advance.
On the day of the fashion show this month, family and friends attended to support Howard, including their grandmother, mom, sister, and their partner.
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“They were impressed. They were just really proud of me, because they knew I was really stressed out with it,” said Howard.
Before they walked the runway, Howard was nervous, even sewing clasps on the outfits at the last minute while the models were in hair and make-up.
But once the show began, the stress dissipated and they felt at ease.
“I was just vibrating with anticipation and nerves, until we actually walked,” said Howard. “It felt really magical.”
Hadassah Alencar, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter
