TEXT • Caroline Gault PHOTO • Jessica Fern Facette

Once upon a time there was a little girl named Bridget. Growing up, Bridget’s peers nicknamed her “Fridget Bridget” because, well, it rhymed. Little did our heroine know that this seemingly unimaginative name would provide inspiration for her future career, that her prophetic “Fridget Bridget” doppelgänger would be exactly who she’d embrace.

Bridget Smatlan—Fashion Designer, it really easy to make pleather pants, Edmonton, AB—is the creator and because I would just put them on mastermind behind Fridget, a clothing myself and sew them. It was really just line that strives to sugarcoat each musical influence that got me sewing. garment and bring out the sweet, sexy As for her feminine style transition, librarian in all of us; Fridget flirts with both personally and professionally, what the eye can’t see. Bridget says, “I feel a little bit like I’m If Bridget’s childhood nickname pretending, like everyday I think, ‘okay, wasn’t testimony enough that she’d if I were a girl, what would I wear?’ I’m chosen the right path, perhaps it was trying to embrace it as an adult.” an accidental piercing that sealed her Perhaps Bridget’s punk, power-to- fate as a seamstress. In a kind of un- the-people attitude is what keeps her conventional Sleeping Beauty fairytale, independently stocking up Bamboo Bridget stepped carelessly onto a Ballroom on Whyte Avenue and broken sewing needle days after con- selling honeysuckle dresses at three verting her original clothing line, Good of the four Edmonton city markets. Gravy, to the aptly named Fridget. Whatever it is, she’s faithful to her When, three years later, an x-ray for Fridget calling, to her dedicated cus- an entirely different injury revealed that tomers—or as she refers to them, her a piece of the needle was still stuck “Fridget Girls”— preferring to add to in her foot, the doctors refused to their closets rather than the runways. remove it. Thus, she’s been forced to “I just make the real people clothes,” live out the rest of her life with a metal she explains. “I like to skip the fashion shard lodged next to her toe knuckle. show because [preparing for it] will But she can handle it. Growing up take 50 hours out of my week, and I with a working mother, little Bridget would rather sew 30 dresses for the could be found venturing outdoors people than be doing the shows. with the males in her family, and I don’t need the attention, and my was, as she puts it, “expected to customers need to be happy.” be one of the boys.” In her later Shying away from the spotlight hasn’t years, she enjoyed moshing at punk stopped Fridget from pulling interest shows, idolizing Morrissey, and was on an international level, but luckily for no stranger to shaving her head. It’s us, Bridget plans to live out her happily hard to imagine how this anti-girl punk ever after as an Edmontonian. rocker full of inner teen angst came to “I’m so happy where I am,” she single-handedly run such a feminine says. “Every year I’ve had opportuni- clothing line, but Bridget’s explanation ties with so many stores all over the is matter-of-fact. world, but I’m just so content doing “When I was 16 years old and exactly what I’m doing right now… I punk rock I taught myself how to sew think Edmonton needs more people to so I could make bondage pants,” stick around, and to make this place Glasses: Women With Vision Hair: Lorette Mercier she says. “And my brothers had lots super rad, rather than, you know, Makeup: Amy Freeland of metal cover bands, so I’d make becoming something and taking off to Special thanks to Shaun Millard for stylist coordination clothes for them too. My one brother try and conquer another city. We just was the same size as me, which made need to stay in Edmonton.”

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