Artists and Designers

Photo by: Nadya Kwandibens / Artist: Celeste Pedri-Spade

Temagami First Nation / Canada

Lesley Hampton

Discipline:

Fashion

Lesley Hampton is an Anishinaabe Artist and Fashion Designer focused on mental wellness, body neutrality, and authentic representation in fashion and media through the lens of the Indigenous worldview. She is the Creative Director of LESLEY HAMPTON, an Indigenous-owned, women-led, size-inclusive clothing and accessory brand based in Toronto, ON. Highlights include designs worn by Lizzo, Guest Judge on Canada’s Drag Race, named Vogue’s number 1 Canadian Designer to keep your eye on and listed on 2023 Forbes Under 30: Local Toronto. Her styling work has been featured in national broadcast on CBC and APTN for the 2023 Indspire Awards, she is an on air fashion expert on CTV’s The Social, and has upcoming styling work with the Raptors. She is also a model/content creator, and speaker on Indigenous entrepreneurship and diversity in fashion. Lesley Hampton aims to decolonize euro-centric standards in the fashion industry, inspire the next decade of Indigenous leaders and entrepreneurs, and create space for empowerment and representation in fashion, media, and beauty. Lesley has been described as “an important Indigenous face in the Canadian fashion landscape” by the Globe and Mail, and “Wherever her career takes her, activism and style will always go hand-in-hand” according to The National Post. Lesley Hampton is a member of Temagami First Nation, located in northern Ontario, and she also identifies as an adult ‘Third Culture Kid’ with her formative years spent in Canada’s Arctic and Atlantic, Australia, England, Indonesia, and New Caledonia. This amalgamation of her Anishinaabe Indigeneity and her international nomadic upbringing nurtured a passion for socio-cultural causes. Her portfolio is a catalyst to define her identity, reconnect with her Indigenous roots, and champion equality, diversity and authentic representation within the fashion and media industries.