Kamloops designer set to showcase ‘strong women’s wear’ at New York Fashion Week

Canadian fashion designer Delayne Dixon is planning to wow runway audiences with her “wild,” sustainable collection when she returns to New York Fashion Week for the first time since the pandemic began.

Dixon, of Kamloops, BC, will bring eight local models to New York for the Sept. 9-14 event, which is one of the four largest fashion weeks in the world.

Over the past decade, Dixon, 30, has designed clothes for online clients around the world and shown her work at fashion shows in Amsterdam, New York and Paris.

Her career highlights include Emmy-nominated Hollywood TV host Rasha Goel wearing one of her dresses on the Oscars red carpet in March.

“There was a picture online that … she was interviewing and then Kevin Costner and his [wife] were right behind her,” Dixon said on CBC’s Dawn Kamloops. “I’m a big fan of [his TV drama series] Yellowstone.”

‘Spicier Things’

Originally from Alberta, Dixon says she began studying marketing at university in Vancouver, but later switched to fashion design simply because she had loved it since high school.

“I didn’t know how to sew as a kid,” she said. “But I was always interested in fashion, especially in my late high school years – I was really into styling and everything.”

Dixon says she loves creating “strong women’s wear”.

“I definitely like spicier things,” she said. “I use a lot of black and red leather and faux leather [and] faux fur – it’s definitely cutting edge.”

She says she is inclusive in her designs, making every piece up to size 6XL and uses sustainable fabrics wherever possible.

Kamloops model Emily Phillips, who will be showing at New York Fashion Week, says she reached out to Dixon two years ago to collaborate because she loved her “super amazing” sustainable designs.

“We live in a world of … fashion that jumps ahead all the time with fast fashion companies,” Phillips said.

“[Dixon] uses as much sustainable produce as possible and sources it from people who support good labor laws.”

This will be Phillips’ first appearance at New York Fashion Week, and she says she’s been practicing a lot for the Big Apple show.

Dixon says she’s very excited about what she describes as an enjoyable “monster event.”

“I really like the atmosphere of all the people,” she said.

“Brapstage is so exciting. It’s hectic… I’ve been working on this collection for about six months and it all just comes down to this 15-minute runway show.”