Section 35 Cardigan Go Viral After Hudson Williams Wears It on Orange Shirt Day

By Chevi Rabbit, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter

(ANNews) – Indigenous fashion entrepreneur Justin Jacob Louis, originally from Maskwacis, Alberta, and now based in Vancouver, is gaining widespread attention after actor Hudson Williams wore his cardigan to a New York event on Sept. 30, Orange Shirt Day. The cardigan quickly sold out, sparked demand for a restock and brought renewed attention to Indigenous fashion, cultural storytelling and representation in the industry.

“I came back in and my phone was blowing up with sales and social media was lighting up,” Louis said, recalling the moment he realized the cardigan had attracted widespread attention. He said the garment “kind of sold out in just under two hours, every piece we had.” Customers continued asking for a restock, prompting the business to open a pre-sale.

The opportunity came together quickly after Williams’s team contacted Louis about purchasing the cardigan for an event in New York. “Hudson Williams, who’s from Heated Rivalry, his team had kind of tracked me down and reached out wanting to purchase that cardigan,” Louis said. He happened to have one available in his studio, which the team collected and passed along to one of Williams’s agents.

Louis said Williams intentionally chose Orange Shirt Day to represent an Indigenous designer. “He wanted to represent an Indigenous designer, you know, luckily happened to be me, I guess,” Louis said, adding that Williams’s team liked the piece and wanted to make it work for the event.

Louis said he had been spending time with family for Orange Shirt Day rather than focusing on marketing. When he returned, he found his phone filling with sales notifications as social media activity increased.

The attention soon spread beyond social media. “His fan pages were insane,” Louis said, describing how people reposted the cardigan and fashion media picked up the story. He recalled coverage from Vogue and said the experience “basically went viral and just took off for a week.”

For Louis, the moment grew out of a journey that began with T-shirts and designs inspired by familiar logos from home. “When I first started, I was designing T-shirts, actually recreating old logos from back home, old hockey logos, like the Hawks and the hockey Oilers,” he said.

Those early projects led him to consider building a brand that reflected the communities he came from. At the time, Louis said, “there wasn’t a whole lot of brands that kind of represented communities and the rez and where we come from.”

That idea became Section 35, which Louis said grew beyond its original concept as people connected with the brand. He described collaborating with artists and using the brand as a voice, explaining that the work resonated with supporters and continued to grow.

Louis said his Indigenous identity, culture and lived experience guide his creative decisions. “Everything I do is kind of guided by my culture, where I come from,” he said. His designs draw on language, politics, humour and inspiration from the land and the place where he grew up. As Louis put it, “everything has a story or some type of inspiration from where I come from.”

Building an independent fashion business has also presented challenges. Louis described the fashion industry as difficult to enter and expensive to operate in, noting that access to the capital needed to grow a business can be challenging. He credited investors who believed in his vision with helping support the brand’s development and its next stages of growth.

In an industry crowded with brands competing for attention, Louis believes Indigenous storytelling can help distinguish Indigenous designers. He said remaining connected to those stories is important, particularly as Indigenous fashion receives greater visibility.

Louis wants Indigenous designers to have opportunities to stand alongside major global brands. “Our work deserves to be seen and to be with the biggest brands in the world,” he said, adding that Indigenous communities have “amazing talent” that deserves recognition. He hopes his work can help open doors and create space for the next generation of Indigenous designers and entrepreneurs.

Looking ahead, Louis said he is preparing a fall-winter collection expected in late November or early December, along with an archive collection featuring one-off pieces and designs saved from the past decade of Section 35. He also discussed plans for a fashion show in Montreal in November, with dates yet to be announced, and possible collaborations that remain in development.

For Louis, the advice he offers others reflects the values and teachings that have guided his journey. He encourages people to remain connected to who they are, where they come from and their cultural values. His message is simple: “Keep your head down, work hard, and good things happen.”

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