Interview w/ Maynard Johnny Jr. - Coast Salish Artist, Fashion Designer and VIFW Cultural Advisor

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maynardjohnnyjr-salishartist-fashiondesigner

Maynard Johnny Jr. will be showing his first menswear collection - Thii Hayqwtun House of Design - on Day 1: The Red Dress Event. Purchase tix HERE!

VIFW Bio -

With roots in the Coast Salish and Kwakwaka’wakw Nations, Maynard brings not only his artistry, but his heart, teachings, and cultural grounding to everything we do. As a Cultural Advisor, he ensures we move with respect, intention, and deep connection to community.

Maynard reminds us that fashion is just one expression of something much bigger: identity, belonging, and the strength of our Ancestors behind us. He also holds space for the men in our VIFW circle and reminds us that their voices, stories, and presence are vital to our cultural revitalization.

Interview -

Please share a bit about your journey from a young age to embracing art as a career. How did you learn your skills?

I’ve always had an artistic mind from an early age, as early as 4 years old. At 17 years old I did my first west coast design painting and felt so connected to this form and it allowed me to learn more about my culture. I never had anyone teach me and learned by studying ancient pieces such as spindle whorls, goat horn rattles and bracelets that were thousands of years old as well as studying current artists work such as Robert Davidson, the late Art Thompson and Mark Henderson.


Who are you as an artist? And we'd love to hear a bit about the artwork you create.

I am Coast Salish on my father’s side and Kwakwaka'wakw on my mother’s side. I chose to focus on Coast Salish style early on in my career because there weren’t many practicing Coast Salish style art in the early 1990’s, Simon Charlie, Charles Elliott and Susan Point were amongst those creating Salish art when I started.


What comes easiest for you as an artist? What is hardest? 

The easiest part of being an artist is creating what I love, the hardest is when I’m limited to what the market wants and being constricted to keep creating the same thing over and over yet it’s what pays the bills, also the business side is quite difficult to navigate at times.

Where do you find inspiration for new pieces? Do you have one piece that is your favourite? Why?

I usually look back at pieces I’ve created in the past or old pieces my ancestors created to get inspiration. Even 5 years ago I probably would pick 2 or 3 pieces as my favourite but now I say all my works are my favourite as they have taught me how to improve and hone my creativity.


You are the VIFW Cultural Adviser. Can you share a little about VIFW, your involvement, and what we can expect on opening night?

I am the Cultural advisor and showing my first collection of men’s fashion on the runway on the first night, Red Dress Night on November 19th. VIFW has grown each year since it creation to be bigger better and envisioning of Indigenous excellence! We always start VIFW with Red Dress night to honour Murdered and Missing Indigenous Woman and although a sensitive issue it is a powerful night of awareness with


Can you share a little about what inspired you to launch your Thii Hayqwtun House of Design menswear collection? We would love a description or a little teaser for what you will showcase on the runway this season?

I’ve always had an interest in fashion and felt it was hard to find great men’s fashion beyond a black or navy suite let alone Indigenous men’s fashion, that along with filling a gap for quality indigenous men’s fashion to make a statement is what inspired me to create a men’s line to start. I plan on creating both men’s and woman’s fashion in the future. My men’s line will be statement pieces, colourful and bold, not just a design on the pocket or printed in the center of a shirt or on the back but the design covering the entire body of the garment much like my Pacific FC jersey I created for the teams alternate kit back in 2022. For now that’s about all I can say without giving too much away. Stay tuned and join me at Vancouver Indigenous Fashion Week 2025 to see my collection along many other amazing artist fashion designers.


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