Lesley Hampton facts for kids

Lesley Hampton is a talented First Nations Canadian fashion designer from Toronto. She is known for creating beautiful and meaningful clothing that often highlights important social messages.

Lesley Hampton's Early Life

Lesley Hampton was born in St. John's, Newfoundland and Labrador. As a child, she lived in many different places. These included Calgary, Yellowknife, Australia, and Indonesia.

Lesley is part of the Temagami First Nation. She has Anishinaabe, Mohawk, and Scottish family roots. She studied art at the University of Toronto. Later, she learned about fashion at George Brown College. Lesley began her fashion career in 2016. She was 22 years old and still a student at the time.

Lesley Hampton's Fashion Career

Lesley's very first collection was created during her first semester of college. It was shown at Vancouver Fashion Week. After that, it was featured by Vogue Runway.

The next year, her fall/winter fashion show was very special. It included Adrianne Haslet, who lost her leg in the Boston Marathon bombing. It also featured five plus-sized women and one woman with albinism. This showed Lesley's focus on including all types of people.

In 2019, Lesley Hampton made history. She became the first designer in over ten years to feature only Indigenous models. This happened during Toronto Fashion Week. Lesley also designed a dress for Mrs. Universe winner Ashley Callingbull-Burnham in 2019. The dress helped raise awareness for important issues facing Indigenous women.

In June 2022, one of Lesley's collections was shown. It was part of the Indigenous Fashion Arts Festival in Toronto. She has also taken part in London Fashion Week. Another event she joined was the Santa Fe Indian Market. Her designs have been worn by famous people. These include Elaine Lui, Devery Jacobs, and Lizzo.

Lesley Hampton also started her own scholarship. This award gives $10,000 to an Indigenous student. The student must love arts and culture. They also need to have ties to Ontario land.

In the summer of 2022, Lesley was a guest judge. She appeared on an episode of Canada's Drag Race. This was during the third season of the show.

Awards and Recognitions

Lesley Hampton has received many awards for her work. In 2018, she was nominated for an Ontario Premier's Award. That same year, she won the George Brown College Alumni Entrepreneur of the Year Award.

In 2019, Lesley was named one of Toronto Life magazine's 50 Most Influential Torontonians. She was also the First Nation youth winner of the 2021 Indspire Awards. Lesley has also received the Fashion Impact Award. This award comes from the Canadian Arts and Fashion Awards.