The Junction Collection: A site-specific public fashion project as a (conceptual) magazine editorial

Abstract

In the summer of 2018, the author was selected for the Junction Art Residency (JAR) programme, and for three months, he was integrated into the daily life of the Haines Junction village, a rural town in the Kluane region, Yukon. Like the rest of the Yukon, the Haines Junction village includes a sizable community of First Nation residents. To gain a practical understanding on how aboriginal principles and values shape life in Yukon, the author created a series of garments and accessories informed by the nature, histories and peoples of the Kluane region. This critical essay contextualizes the project and discusses the implications of using a magazine editorial as an alternative vehicle to disseminate it. With the direct participation of a diversity of Haines Junction’s residents, the author explored Yukon’s social and cultural complexities by means of integrating fashion design and public art methodologies. Titled The Junction Collection, the site-specific public fashion project incorporated locally available fabrics, traditionally harvested furs and upcycled materials. Throughout the design process, he consulted with indigenous makers, elders and knowledge keepers. Upon completing the series of garments, the author executed a photo shoot featuring Haines Junction’s residents wearing the outfits against the natural setting of the Kluane wilderness. Those images are the central content for the long-format magazine editorial presented and examined here. The critical essay argues that, as a visual narrative, this magazine editorial makes the project more accessible to the general public while effectively translating The Junction Collection’s theme of incorporating indigenous knowledge with contemporary aesthetics.