She's the POWER in EMPOWERMENT x Joan Kelley Walker

You have described your current lifestyle as very different from your childhood in small-town Saskatchewan, is there anything you’ve brought with you from Wilcox— maybe a family heirloom or sentimental object that reminds you of your roots, or is important to you today?

I’m so glad you asked that and you’re going to make me cry here.  I don’t think it’s really an object, I think it’s the people, the love, and the values that you bring from childhood. My dad passed recently, which was really devastating, but I’m just so thankful for what he’s instilled in us and for having that small-town love of community and love and understanding of people. When you’re in a small town, you are kind of forced to get to know people and get along with people that live in a big city—you might live in the same neighbourhood as them, but you really don’t have that much in common. So, I think with my roots, I have a way to really see people for who they are, and it was always taught to me to not have judgment and to just accept people, and that’s the thing that I’m most thankful for.

As a Toronto fashion icon and an outspoken philanthropist, do you feel a designer’s messaging and community impact plays a role in your opinion of the brand?

I think the thing that speaks the loudest first of all, is the fashion, the style, the design, and the creative process that goes into that. That’s what catches your eye—but I think the sustainability comes from all the rest of it. How do you use that platform to not just benefit yourself but to benefit your community, benefit your patrons, your customers, and to benefit the world? So, I think being a fashion icon is a huge platform to start from and I take that responsibility very seriously. For me, it’s fashion and compassion, and I always want to have the two married together. For me, that’s the most important thing is to be able to give back through this incredible spotlight that I’ve found myself under.Before the show, I was still doing all that work, but it was done in a very private way. Now I feel like I do have a responsibility to get out there and help the world. With privilege comes great responsibility and I want to do as much good as I can in the world and I want to create that ripple effect and hopefully, that will inspire other people too.

You have been on all sides of media from beauty to production to on-camera talent, and now a featured ‘brand’ - what’s next? Is there any side of media you still aspire to try out?

I am working towards launching my own fashion brand, and there’s a huge give-back element in that and I can’t even give any more detail at this point, so you’ll have to stay tuned! I’m very excited that’s been a lifelong dream for me. That’s the direction I want to go. I have so many incredible opportunities that are presenting themselves like this photo shoot today—thank you so much for having me, it means the world to me. The give-back element, a lot of doors are opening there too on a lot of different levels. It’s important to me to give back internationally which I do mostly through world vision Canada, but also locally and within our own community; I want to inspire other people to do what they can. You don’t have to do huge gestures, you don’t have to spend a lot of money, you don’t need to spend a lot of time, but just doing something that is kind and neighbourly like opening a door or offering to shovel someone’s walkway makes an impact.

Do you have a personal mantra or a motivational phrase you tell yourself when you’re feeling down? Are there any words of wisdom that you feel help you with self-love and empowerment that you can share?

For empowerment, my suggestion to people would be to embrace your own uniqueness. That’s a great place to start if you’re feeling like you want to be empowered. Empowerment is really a process of gaining power and being better, and strengthening yourself. I think if you can accept yourself the way you are and accept your own uniqueness and your own self, I think that’s a launching pad for anything.

Is there a person throughout your life that has made you feel like the best you? Is there a process you have learned to help you feel like the best version of yourself?

That’s a huge question. I think people come and go out of peoples’ lives. I think the people that remain as your common thread are your core, and those are the people that lift you up and support you. It’s your siblings sometimes, your parents, your friends that you grew up with, but sometimes they can just come out of the blue and only have known you for a shorter period of time, but they are your soul. You have that interconnectedness that is unexplainable, and I think that is one of the most beautiful things in the world. I think that’s really important for anybody to have that.Someone gave me a saying on a plaque that says, “Life is tough my darling, but so are you” and I keep it on my dressing table and look at it every day. I think every single obstacle, no matter how big or small, is something that I can deal with. When my dad passed recently, there was an old boyfriend that I hadn’t heard from in 20 years who sent me a message and he didn’t offer condolences, all he said was “you’re the best, be a rock.” And I remember thinking that’s a really weird comment, but I thought yes, I’ve got this, I can do this. It was good to be reminded how strong I am. I think any source that feeds you to tap into your own power and your own stability and whatever has your feet on the ground that makes that grow roots, that’s what people need to tap into. That’s a hard thing to do especially if you’re feeling alone or down, or are being faced with hardship, but people need to draw on any source that comes down to love, and whoever loves you, surround yourself with to give you strength.

Team:Interviewed by//Andreia McLean
Photography// Michael Kai Young
Fashion Director // Shaun Marq
Stylist //Sonia Torsan
Hair //Cassandra J
Makeup //Toronto Fashion Academy and Yamima