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When you’re a model, life can be pretty surreal, but it doesn’t get more so than having renowned fashion photographer Annie Leibovitz sing you ‘Happy Birthday’ while shooting on a cliff in the middle of the Scottish highlands.
‘At the end of the day we were exhausted and during the last shot I was freezing cold with wet hair,’ model Khadijha Red Thunder recalls of her birthday earlier this year while on set shooting Canada Goose’s new autumn/winter campaign. ‘One of the producers said to me, ‘hope you’re having a good birthday’, and Annie asked ‘wait, it’s your birthday?’ She then began to sing ‘Happy Birthday’, and everyone on set started to join in. It was such a magical moment.’
The 28-year-old model, who made her acting debut in 2019 in the film After, is currently in the middle of working AW22 fashion month – a process that regularly sees her jetting across the world between the likes of New York and Paris. When it comes to remaining sustainable on the move, she says that the words ‘reduce, reuse, repurpose’ immediately come to mind.
Canada Goose
‘I’m really big on reducing my use of plastic,’ she tells us. ‘When I’m on set, I try to take my own water, but I also to reduce my carbon footprint by getting up early in the morning to walk to a job, or taking city bikes instead of calling an Uber or Lyft.’
As for fashion, the model – who has worked with the likes of DKNY, Marc Jacobs, and Puma – says it’s important to remain mindful when it comes to investing in high quality clothes and to choose second-hand vintage items, through Etsy and Depop, rather than buying into ‘fast fashion’. But, having grown up in a single parent household, Red Thunder says she knows how hard it can be to talk to others about the dangers of ‘fast fashion’ when finances are tight.
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‘I grew up about around a lot of single parents, and it’s hard to convince them that while clothing might be cheap, there are other routes,’ she admits. ‘Second-hand has been a big thing for me and my family. I’m constantly preaching to my relatives to shop in second-hand stores and make it more of a family bonding activity. But at the end of the day, it’s more effective to show people the alternatives to “fast fashion”, rather than telling them.’
When it comes to her top tips for autumn shopping, the model advises shoppers to buy ‘with intention’. ‘Be aware of what’s in your wardrobe and utilise what you already have and what you need to incorporate… I’m big on taking clothes from my wardrobe and selling them in stores where I can then purchase other items second-hand.
Canada Goose
‘Right now it’s fun to layer clothing, whether it’s wearing a puffer down jacket under an oversized blazer, or throwing on some cool trainers with a chunky sock. Since the pandemic we’ve all been really big on sweat outfits, so [think about] experimenting with different pieces, like thermal leggings with turtlenecks, or a bomber jacket with a vest. Layer up!’
As well as being a model and actor, Red Thunder – who is of Native American, African American, and Spanish descent – has been working to help raise aware of the educational and mental health issues facing communities living on reservations, and within the Native American community.
‘My community means everything to me. I grew up dancing at powwows since the day I could walk, camping all summer long with my grandmother, going from one powwow to the next,’ she says, crediting her grandmother and mother as ‘strong, independent, go-getting women’. ‘My tribe is Chippewa Cree, my grandmother is from Saskatchewan, Canada, and I’m so grateful to have grown up experiencing such a beautiful, amazing culture.’
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For the model, it’s imperative to use her platform and profile as a model to make positive change in the world she’s frequently traveling. ‘It’s important for us to have conversations [about activism, environmental issues and advocacy] when we’re on set,’ she says. ‘I often find myself asking friends, who are influencers, models, and actors what their intentions are with their careers and with their platforms, and to find out what part they think we can play in helping people and our communities.’
Red Thunder currently stars alongside actor Jodie Turner Smith and model Soo Joo Park in Canada Goose’s new campaign, which puts female power and strength at the forefront. Speaking about her reasons for working with the brand, the model says: ‘I love Canada Goose’s whole view of human nature.
Canada Goose
Touching on the company’s Live in the Open ethos, Red Thunder encourages everyone to ‘submerge themselves in their environment, wherever it may be, whatever that may look like, from the cold winters of New York City and Toronto, as well as going climbing, rock climbing, hiking, horseback riding, and above all, being bold.’
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