Sage Paul

Designer and Executive & Artistic Director

Indigenous Fashion Arts

Sage Paul is an urban Denesuliné tskwe based in Toronto. She is a member of the English River First Nation. An award-winning artist and designer, Sage is also a recognized leader of Indigenous fashion, craft and textiles. Her work centres family, sovereignty and resistance for balance. She is a founding collective member and Artistic Director of Indigenous Fashion Week Toronto. Sage’s art and designs have been shown at the Art Gallery of Ontario’s First Thursday, Harbourfront Centre, The Centre for Craft, Creativity and Design (North Carolina, USA), and a curated program at Western Canada Fashion Week by Ociciwan Contemporary Art Collective. She has designed costumes for Kent Monkman, Darlene Naponse, Danis Goulet and more.

Sage received the Design Exchange RBC Emerging Designer Award and was recognized as a Woman of Influence (2018), a Change Maker by the Toronto Star, top 100 talented & driven Canadian women by Flare Magazine. Vogue magazine dubbed her a Toronto “cool girl” in 2018. She was honoured by the Ontario Minister of the Status of Women as a trailblazing woman who is transforming Ontario.

Schedule


Time Icon 20 mins

Location Icon St. Lawrence Centre for the Arts - Jane Mallett Theatre

The Future of Sustainable Fashion

From sweatshops to the negative impacts of overconsumption, the fashion industry is under pressure to change. While brands are increasing their spending on sustainable products, today’s numbers are bleak: the industry generates nearly 20 percent of global wastewater (it takes 3,781 litres of water just to produce a single pair of jeans) and 1.2 billion tonnes of greenhouse gas emissions annually — more than what’s produced by all international flights and maritime shipping combined. With the boom in the production of fast fashion garments on the rise these numbers are expected to increase. But there is another way. This session explores the future of sustainable fashion and how fabrics, design and business models must shift. Hear from experts with solutions that could transform the industry – from bio-based materials to Indigenous design.