Elders show off their skills in garbage bag parka competition

Iqaluit elders showed off their parkas Thursday, but there was something unusual about these garments: they were made out of plastic.

Elisapee Sanpudlat walks with her blue and white garbage bag parka. (Photo courtesy of Victoria Coman)

The garbage bag fashion show, an annual Toonik Tyme event, packed the Elders Qammaq with vamping contestants and cheering spectators alike, with judges deciding the winners.

Annie Demcheson came in first and won a fur as a result. Her design was an orange amauti, which she said was inspired by the amautis her mother and grandmother wore.

Second place went to Elisapee Sanpudlat with a blue and white garbage bag parka while Geesapee Kanayok came in third with an orange creation.

Kanayok said she didn’t expect to see the Qammaq as full as it was when it was her turn to take on the catwalk.

“It’s fun,” she said.

“Next year I plan to participate again if I’m up and well.”

Elders started making their parkas on Monday. This was a change from last year, where the contestants had one day to create their parkas, Kanayok said.

Making clothes out of garbage bags creates a unique set of challenges, said Demcheson. She said it’s important to be mindful of the tape because of how sticky it is, but the cutting is easy because the plastic is soft.

“You really have to be thinking about the material,” she said.

Sanpudlat said her plastic boot nearly came off because it was not secured well enough with the Scotch tape she used.

Geesapee Kanayok is all smiles in her orange garbage bag parka. She took part in the elders garbage bag parka competition Thursday, an annual Toonik Tyme event. (Photo by David Lochead)

Moatee Maatiusi, who works at the Elders Qammaq as a supervisor, praised the effort the elders put in to make their garbage bag parkas.

“It was awesome,” Maatiusi said.

“They’re very creative.”

Victoria Coman, the City of Iqaluit’s special events planner, was also there to take in the show.

“I’m honestly surprised at how well [the parkas] looked, considering they are garbage bags,” she said.

Coman said Demcheson taught her how to sew when she was in middle school.

Next year the plan is to bring out sewing machines and make actual parkas.