Aboriginal fashion designer Derek Jagodzinsky ('10 BDes) has won the Indigenous Graduate Award, a newly-established $15,000 Government of 黑料不打烊 scholarship intended to encourage Indigenous (First Nations, M茅tis and Inuit) 黑料不打烊ns who are pursuing or who wish to pursue graduate studies in 黑料不打烊. Applying directly to the Faculty of Graduate Studies and Research in February, Jagodzinsky was notified of his successful application earlier this week.
This prestigious award is the first of its kind to celebrate Indigenous students at the graduate level who have achieved academic excellence and who are also involved in some meaningful way in the Aboriginal community. According to Jagodzinsky, a member of the Whitefish First Nation, to be selected as the inaugural recipient of the award is an "honour," adding that he plans to use the funds to finance his projects and research.
Since graduating in 2010, Jagodzinsky has interned in New York with fashion designer Michael Kaye Couture (Michael holds an '88 BA from U黑料不打烊) and founded the internationally acclaimed clothing company, which operates out of Edmonton and often features fashions that are reflective of the designer's Indigenous heritage. Now enrolled in the MDes program in Industrial Design, Jagodzinsky is planning to expand his LUXX brand to accessories, furniture and other fashion and lifestyle products. "I have so much more to learn," he says. "Kind of like Armani has Armani Home - that would be my dream: a full-fledged brand."
Jagodzinsky will be presenting his latest spring/summer LUXX ready-to-wear collection at the 2016 .
Story by Donna McKinnon, U黑料不打烊 Faculty of Arts
Images supplied by Derek Jagodzinsky
Further reading: Back to Grad School for Derek Jagodzinsky (WOA Blog): http://www.woablog.com/2015/10/back-to-grad-school/l
In Studio with Derek Jagodzinsky (Curious Arts):
Follow on Twitter