“My designs are for everybody,” Marie Webb says. “I want people to feel powerful and colourful and proud.”
Webb sketches away in her studio. She has got her collection ready to bring a vibrant splash of colour and purpose to this Saturday’s Supernova Market. A Halifax-based designer, creative, and advocate, Webb brings her signature style to her first in-person market since the pandemic. She is a longtime champion for inclusion and the 2SLGBTQIA+ community. At the market, Webb will be showcasing and selling one-of-a-kind wearable art that is entirely made in Halifax, hand-designed by Webb herself.
From paddleboard dresses, leggings, outerwear, and drag-inspired headbands to bandanas to pieces featured at New York Fashion Week, Webb’s pop-up will feature limited-edition pieces, many of which have never been sold before. She’ll also be taking custom orders at the market. A few Canada Day-themed items will be teased at the event, which kicks off at noon this Saturday on the Halifax Waterfront.
Webb, who has Down syndrome, is vocal about how her lived experience connects to the queer community and the spirit of Pride Month.
“To people who look at me with pity because I have Down syndrome, I say NO. I have pride. I am proud,” says Webb.
“That is what I also see as a(in) sync with the 2SLGBTQIA+ community. I love how they are proud to be themselves, and I believe in the same thing!”
Webb’s deep support for the queer community is also personal—her younger sister Millie is gay, and Webb stands proudly by her side. “There is a lot of pride, and I love to support that.”
Drag culture also fuels Webb’s creativity. She draws inspiration from its flamboyant fashion, bright colours, and confident flair.
“I love colour, the volume, the fun, the elaborate, flamboyant, colourful, fashionable,” and the unique aspect, she said.
While Webb is busy preparing a ready-to-wear streetwear collection for Halifax Fashion Week this fall, she’s also looking internationally. She and her team have received an invitation to Milan Fashion Week, and they’re currently working to secure the funding to make that dream a reality.
Another exciting development: this summer, four pieces from Webb’s New York Fashion Week collection will be on display at the Halifax Central Library, Capt William Spry from July through August, as part of an art and fashion showcase.
Webb is also hopeful that this weekend’s market will open new doors. “The hope is to network, showcase Webb’s work, and hopefully get picked up to be sold in retail stores,” says her team. “Webb would love to see her pieces in shops downtown.”
Her mother, artist Renee Forrestall, has nurtured Webb’s creativity since childhood.
“I noticed Webb’s love for design in elementary school. She once took one of her drawings, wrapped it around her body, and made an outfit,” Forrestall recalls.
“She’s been designing for over 20 years—every day, she creates something new to keep her creativity flowing.” She said that Webb has over 1,000 drawings and sketches made a year.
In a push toward sustainability, the family is now repurposing fabric scraps into small bags, doll clothes, and even donating fabric to the Halifax Public Library for community sewing workshops.
We’ve been saving all our scrap fabric,” Forrestall says. “It’s important to us to teach others how to stitch, make a living, and reuse creatively. Webb believes in a green future
Webb is also a passionate human rights advocate through the Halifax NS Down Syndrome Society, working on issues of job inclusion, disability awareness, and slow fashion. With the help of Allison Brewer, chairperson of the society, Webb has put together a team of diverse models for her next big show. She says she hopes that she is designing for a world where everyone can show up as their most powerful, colourful selves.
Her work is also being featured by actor Nancy Regan at the Canada Day Celebrations with the High Commissioner at Trafalgar Square London. Regan and her team are working on a two part documentary called ‘Showing Up’.
As Webb puts it, “I am using the prints that I have designed for performance, drag wear, and putting them on display in ready-to-wear styles!”
This article appears in Jun 1-30, 2025.