The Indigenous Fashion Arts (IFA) festival wrapped up this past weekend and to 25-year-old runway model Cody Looking Horse from Six Nations, fashion takes on the shape of collective liberation for Indigenous people.
Young male models do not make up the majority of the scene when it comes to runways and commercial or editorial fashion. Looking Horse, public speaker, activist, and recently-signed model with 6ixElement Entertainment Group says he wants to inspire more Indigenous youth to suit up.
“I want to empower Indigenous youth to reach for their dreams no matter what they are,” he said. “I have wanted to be in the spotlight whether through acting or modelling since I watched movies like Dreamkeeper and Smoke Signals as a kid. Those men with beautiful long hair were so cool and I wanted to be just like them.”
Looking Horse, who has walked in Toronto’s fashion week the last two years alongside designer Neechi By Nature, said he hopes young Indigenous men and women look at media and know they are welcome in that space whether it is TV, publishing, broadcast, or even modelling.
“I want Indigenous people to have a voice and be known. For young Indigenous people to be welcomed in the industry whether you are a light- or dark-skinned Indigenous person.”
Looking Horse walked in the IFA festival that ran from May 30 to June 2 at CF’s Toronto Eaton Centre in downtown Toronto. The festival presents Indigenous-made fashion, textiles and craft and is committed to exploring the deep connections between mainstream fashion, Indigenous art and traditional practice through presentation for broad audiences and industries.
With amplified visibility of and led by Indigenous women, IFA is bold, inclusive, accessible and challenges the perceptions of Indigenous people while celebrating their culture with integrity, innovation and excellence.
“I’m proud to be one of many models that walked in the festival. There needs to be more Indigenous models, especially young men, and this last weekend I saw some great representation,” he said, adding that one of the reasons he got into modelling was for his cousins and friends that have gone missing and murdered throughout his life.
“There are stories to be told with fashion. I do it for my cousins who went missing or were murdered and are no longer here. I do it for people with drug addiction, and those that say they can’t find the opportunities it takes to succeed. I do it for the people that deserve a softer life. I walk for them as I step on the runway my ancestors fought for when they fought for this land.”
Looking Horse said he knows he wouldn’t be here if it wasn’t for his forefathers who came before him.
“Indigenous people, myself included, get opportunities now that our ancestors didn’t have. I feel like there is so much out there and I want to empower Indigenous youth to be their best and to go out there and put themselves on stages and platforms like this to strive to be better and higher,” he said. “This reserve [Six Nations of the Grand River Territory] was made by the white man to confine us, devalue us, and keep us from seeing the world. I stand against that. When I walk I am representing my warrior ancestors who had to fight, hunt, protect our homes and protect our children.”
Looking Horse said he is looking forward to building up his portfolio, taking acting and modelling classes with his agency, and continue building up his confidence and skills as a young Indigenous fashion model on Turtle Island.
“I asked Creator to use me to fill this space and I could sense Spirit with me while I was in Toronto preparing for the IFA. Old Lakota songs would randomly pop into my head, along with other small signs that comforted me and reminded me that I am on my right path,” he said.
