Young Inuvik designer makes jackets out of liquor store bags

It took a comment from Dustin Smith’s out-of-town cousin for him to look a little differently at the NWT liquor store bags he was so used to seeing.

“My cousin was like, ‘These bags look beautiful. I’m actually going to take one of these home,'” said Smith.

His cousin, visiting from Windsor, Ontario, was admiring a photo of the sky lit up by the northern lights that adorns reusable bags given out at the NWT’s government-overseen liquor stores.

She thought the photo could look beautiful on her jacket, so Smith began cutting out the design to sew it onto her coat.

“And then I was like, wait, I could totally just make whole jackets out of the liquor store bags,” said Smith.

He created the first such jacket in 2022.

“I never photographed much of it, because I was shy about it,” said Smith. But in the past few days, he decided to make another jacket and posted it for sale on Facebook Marketplace.

Smith says it takes him about four days and 10 or so bags to make each jacket. The durability of the material makes it particularly difficult to sew.

He is a third-generation seamster who picked up sewing during the pandemic as a way to pass the time while isolating.

Smith says he learned from a few people in his community, including his boss, who taught him how to delta braid, and his auntie in Aklavik, who would answer questions over the phone and provide patterns.

Smith recently graduated from high school and is interested in pursuing an education in fashion at schools in either Edmonton or Calgary.

He says he’d love to have his work featured in a fashion show.

You can keep up with Smith’s work and career on his Instagram.