Sydney Omand

'SKIN DEEP' by Sydney Omand

Compelled by the modern significance of the story of Isobel Gunn, an 1800s Orcadian woman warping herself to succeed in a ‘man’s world’, I wanted to use her story as inspiration for this collection focusing on gender and the Cree and Orcadian culture within the fur trade. Gunn dressed as a man to work in the Hudson Bay Company only to be outed when she fell pregnant and forced to leave the boats and work as a laundrywoman. Her story is one of romance, gender inequality and, at the heart, empowerment.

Masculine tailoring elements are the core of this collection, with hyper feminine aspects such as ruffles pulled from traditional Cree outerwear - blurring the lines between gender and culture. Elements from the native Cree culture are attributed to their motto within the community with stitching and beading telling their story.

In this collection, a stitch tells her story.