Global runways are clamouring for Helen Oro’s creations
It is a long way from Chitek Lake to Hollywood. Or Melbourne, Australia. Or New Zealand. Or Los Angeles. Or even the fashion houses of New York and Toronto.
Helen Oro, Saskatchewan accessory designer, who is also Indigenous, has captured international attention. She has travelled to all these fashion centres while remaining true to her Cree roots. Her imaginative styles have included footwear, jewelry, earrings and sunglasses in modern designs building on traditional beadwork. Her hand stitching and beadwork in unique places showcase high fashion styles while respectfully sharing her heritage.
Most recently Oro was at Toronto Women’s Fashion Week where a number of celebrities, including Margaret Trudeau, modelled her jewelry.
The 31-year old mother of two has been interested in fashion and design from her early years. A graduate of Pleasant Hill School in Saskatoon and Leoville and Spiritwood high schools, she studied aesthetics in Prince Albert. Later she opened a nail studio in Chitek Lake as her first stab at entrepreneurship. “I built it from nothing. It took me a whole year to renovate the shop. I paid my uncle with beer and chicken to help. When I first started doing nails, I was able to buy new fixtures.”
Soon she was asked to submit her designs to Native Max magazine, later becoming its beauty and fashion editor. That work opened up national and international contacts for her. Later she enrolled in the Praxis School of Entrepreneurship. f Her kohkum (grandmother) had taught her how to bead and she used that skill to start an accessory design business. Her first big show was in Denver where she accessorized another designer’s collection but the world has been her market since then.
Oro made a point of bringing other women along with her, both physically but also professionally. She mentors aspiring models and designers – creative people entering the design world. About 10 women serve as her models and travel with her to shows and fashion weeks. They travel around the world often noticing they are the first and only people with Indigenous heritage in the show.
Oro’s designs come in price ranges from $10 to $600 and more. Earrings start at $10 and run up to $80. “Statement sets” can go from $50 to $600 for a simple set and can go higher. Beaded glasses are from $45 to $65 while statement glasses go from $150 to $375.
She also does special pieces with hand or arm armour (and sometimes legs) for performers, or actresses who want something for a special event.
Oro is married to her friend from elementary school, Reynaldo Oro. She is inspired by her two children, her son, age nine, and her daughter who is seven. “I wanted to show them hard work and determination. You can learn and grow from every experience.”
Proudly wearing a pair of her daughter’s stud pearl earrings, Oro said, “We all tell kids that they can do anything they want but most of us don’t. I want them to know that if you do what you love it doesn’t become a job. I wanted to practise what I preached.”
Her beautiful beadwork has caught the attention of different fashion weeks and events. The invitations started pouring in to showcases like Couture Fashion Week in New York; City Fashion Show in Denver, Colorado; Virgin Fashion Festival in Melbourne, Australia; Indigenous Runway Project in New Zealand; and Toronto Women’s Fashion Week. In 2016 she was nominated in #CBC Future 40. She was won first in the Aboriginal Youth Idea Challenge.
In Saskatchewan, Oro’s designs can be found at the SaskShop at The Centre in Saskatoon and Saskshop.com. She is also planning to launch a partnership with Freshrents in Toronto, a company that rents out designer clothes for red carpet events and galas. They also have some items for sale.
Oro is careful to respect her culture and use her beadwork to learn even more about it. She is aware of what patterns she can and cannot use.
Oro worked day and night for a recent Los Angeles Show as she wanted her designs to stand out in a city of glitz. She took a group of eight models with her and hopes to have some stores there carry her work.
Currently her accessories sell faster than she can make them. For example, she said she will put a ‘sneak peek’ on Instagram, only to have orders come in right away. Oro is currently training two more people to help bead in her style called “ghost beaders.”