The Top Moments from an Inspiring 2024 Indigenous Fashion Arts Festival

The Indigenous Fashion Arts (IFA) festival is back and bigger than ever for 2024. Taking over Toronto’s Eaton Centre after dark, the four-day festival kicked off its fourth edition on May 30 with stellar runway shows in the main atrium under giant dream catcher installations, featuring many Indigenous designers coming from all over the world. 

“We’ve never been in a space like this–this is the first time,” says Sage Paul, co-founder and artistic director of IFA, discussing transforming public spaces for the festival. 

At first, Paul was worried about holding the festival at the Eaton Centre, given the appropriation, tokenism and commodification that Indigenous communities have been severely impacted by. So she was cautious and intentional about the way the collections were presented in this space. “I don’t want to be flipped into a commodity or a token, but being here after hours helps us create that delineation because it’s no longer the shopping mall. We are a performance venue and this is a show.”