Becki Bitternose was thrilled with the invitation she received on Christmas Day, to feature her work in Paris during World Fashion Week. But actually getting there was another story.
“The designer fee alone to go was $14,000 and that was my hurdle, getting that $14,000 (Cdn) paid,” said Bitternose, who lives on the George Gordon First Nation, north of Regina, in Saskatchewan.
And that was just the beginning according to Lois Vanderhooft, one of the women who stepped in to help Bitternose.
“She also needs to produce a line and that’s also costly. She needs someone to walk the catwalk and some extra hands to help her arrange everything… there’s just lots of work when she’s there.” Vanderhooft explained to Brad Bellegarde of CBC Saskatchewan.
“We just had to do something.”
Vanderhooft, Kayla MacKay, and a few friends in Regina, were among the group of women to organize “A Night in Paris”, the event to raise money for the journey.
“She had just found out on December 25th that she had the invite to go to Paris and represent Canada,” said Vanderhooft. “Here was someone who had this amazing opportunity to go to Paris but yet could not get there on her own. We just had to do something.”
On January 20th, the night of the fundraiser, Becki Bitternose watched the donations pour in.
“When they announced the first total that night which was $12,000, it was just like, ‘Oh my god’, and by the time I left that night it was a little over $17,000,” said Bitternose.
“I was very overwhelmed with everything and it was really, really emotional,” Bitternose said.
“These people are complete strangers… they’re only familiar with my name through Power of Pink and Sask Fashion Week, but yet they came out and so willingly helped us get to Paris,” she said.
According to Vanderhooft, donations are still coming in and the total recently reached $20,000.
It was only four years ago that Becki Bitternose decided to try to make a little jacket for her daughter, then a year-old, from a Pendleton blanket.
And that was the beginning of the increasingly confident designer’s collection for PlayBuffalo. The colorful coats have already been in the international spotlight on the stage in New York, where she opened up Couture Fashion Week at the Crowne Plaza Times Square Manhattan.
While very busy working producing the coats, Bitternose is still absorbing her success.
“Then when the fashion shows started it was like, ‘Wow’, and then when we made it to New York it was like, ‘Oh My God’, and now Paris. It’s a lot to take in… it’s amazing.”
World Fashion Week begins on February. 28, 2017.
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