Miigwech for starting the conversation!
ᐊᑾᒋᓐ
agwanjin [he/she floats]
A Lesley Hampton x aaniin collaboration - the syllabics read 'agwanjin' meaning he or she floats in anishinaabemowin.
Buoyant, the 2023 collection by Lesley Hampton, is about reconnecting with self and embodying your essence. It is giving permission to your body and mind to remember your higher self, one that existed before the trauma or societal influence that led to a separation. The clarity and strength to rise above and have optimism, to have the support systems in place to take on any challenge.
Through reconnecting and revisiting core memories, our designer creates Buoyant as a celebration of self and to honour those connections found anew.
The collection is reminiscent of the pebbles found at Middle Cove Beach in Newfoundland, a location our designer is very fond of from her birth town and the location of the Buoyant campaign images. Like a pebble, that has been worn by the erosion of waves creating armoring characteristics that are still soft and admirable, the collection permits the wearer to rise against the societal stereotypes fashion has so often perpetuated and allow all bodies to experience this work, free of illusion and misrepresentation, and reminds themselves how collectible and distinctive their own experiences are.