Fashion PRODIGY
Nothing like starting young! Regina fashion prodigy Raina Haus will be showcasing her first collection on opening night at this year’s Saskatchewan Fashion Week (SFW). Impressive, considering she’s only 11 years old.
Haus will be participating in a new element added to the three-night event, which runs May 10 to 12 at the Sound Stage in Regina. The first evening of Sask Fashion Week 2018 will be devoted to featuring youth, student and artist prodigies on stage.
This isn’t the first time Haus has been on the catwalk at the provincial showcase. She made her Saskatchewan Fashion Week runway debut in 2015.
The young fashionista was invited onstage after her mother, Laila Haus, proudly informed the show’s host, Mr. Fabulous, that her eight-year-old daughter had made herself a dress to wear to fashion week. The fancy pink creation wowed the audience.
That night, Haus’ passion for fashion also caught the eye of veteran Saskatchewan fashion designer Dean Renwick, who offered to mentor the young fashion enthusiast. Haus was invited to shadow Renwick at his Regina fashion studio for two days a week during the summer of 2015, to learn everything from pattern-making and sewing techniques to how to properly fit a garment.
“I have a wealth of knowledge to share,” said Renwick, who has mentored many of the province’s emerging fashion designers.
After learning the ins and outs of the fashion industry from Renwick, Haus continued to hone her skills. She took sewing classes designed for kids from Regina’s Celeste Pinder. And now she’s taking classes from Regina fashion designer Janis Procyk, who won the Saskatchewan Fashion Week emerging designer award in 2014 for her Prahsik designs.
“I think for being 11, Raina has a very sophisticated style,” said Procyk. “When Raina first showed me her designs, I was expecting to see princessstyle dresses and lots of volume in the skirts. But I was pleasantly surprised that there were lots of edgy designs with bold cutouts and interesting silhouettes.”
Haus described her designs as “edgy and very formal … high fashion.”
Until now, the Grade 6 student at Dr. A.E. Perry elementary school had focused on sewing for herself and her friends, showcasing her creations at her school’s talent shows. But for SFW, she has had to produce designs to be worn by adult models – a new challenge. She also had to select which models will wear her designs on the runway, and what music to use during her SFW segment.
Haus will be showing six designs at Saskatchewan Fashion Week. They include “lots and lots of pink, black and white, and lots of mesh,” she said.
“All the pieces are her ideas; I am just assisting her in teaching her the steps needed to create the patterns and sew the pieces together … She 100 per cent created all of the designs herself and has the vision of what she wants the collection to look like,” Procyk explained.
It’s a learning process. And Haus is quick to admit she still has lots to learn from experienced designers like Procyk and Renwick (who also mentored Procyk).
“Zippers and pattern-making are my least favourite,” Haus said.
Her mother smiled as she listened to the oldest of her three daughters talk about her love of fashion design. “She certainly didn’t get the interest from me. I wish I knew how, so I could help her more,” Laila Haus said.
Providing encouragement and financial support is what Haus relies on her family for. “This is our version of hockey life,” her mother said with a chuckle.
“I want it to be my career when I’m older. I’ve wanted to do that ever since I was seven. It has always been my dream job,” said Haus.