'Such an honour': Winnipeg designers show collection at New York Fashion Week

A young Winnipeg fashion designer didn’t expect to find himself on one of fashion’s biggest stages so soon in his career.

“It’s just surreal is the main thing,” designer Hayden DeJong said in an interview with CTV Morning Live Winnipeg.

“I was hoping these things would happen. I just didn’t expect them to be so soon.”

DeJong works as an assistant to Adam Small, a fellow Winnipeg designer DeJong looked up to well before their collaboration.

He got the chance to assist Small as he showed his work at New York Fashion Week.

In addition to helping put the show together, a piece DeJong made for a school project was even included in the lineup.

“I helped with the final look, which was such an honour. We used a coat that I did for my final collection that I showed in my grad project. We did a lot of new stuff.”

DeJong says the brand pairs new pieces and techniques with upcycled archival looks.

He says the trip to New York has been incredibly motivational. He plans to bring that inspiration home to the Prairies and use it in upcoming collections.

In turn, he hopes their appearance on the New York Fashion Week catwalk will help put Winnipeg on the fashion map.

“I think it’s just such a shock for people when they hear where we’re from and the work that we are showing,” he said.

“There’s obviously a lot of amazing designers in Winnipeg already, so to be able to be bunched up with them and be able to represent Winnipeg like that is a huge accomplishment already.”

- With files from CTV’s Rachel Lagacé