Photo: Sean Kilpatrick | The Canadian Press via CBC
When Mary Simon was sworn in as Governor-General of Canada, her outfit reflected her Inuit culture and the northern Quebec region in which she was born. Designer Victoria Okpik, who is originally from Quaqtaq, Nunavik, in northern Quebec, was the first Inuk to graduate in fashion design from Montreal's LaSalle College and has more than 20 years of experience as a seamstress and designer. The floral and leaf beading was done by Julie Grenier, and its small purple and blue flowers reminded her of her childhood growing up in Kuujjuaq, the same community as Simon. Seeing a visibly Indigenous garment from the North "gave people a sense of belonging, like they had a place in that ceremony," Grenier said.
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