{"id":16579,"date":"2022-01-10T18:21:54","date_gmt":"2022-01-10T23:21:54","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blackfashioncanada.ca\/database\/?post_type=cpt_portfolio&p=857"},"modified":"2026-07-08T20:00:54","modified_gmt":"2026-07-09T00:00:54","slug":"bijette-spencer","status":"publish","type":"cpt_portfolio","link":"https:\/\/blackfashioncanada.ca\/database\/fr\/profiles\/bijette-spencer\/","title":{"rendered":"Bijette Spencer"},"content":{"rendered":"\t\t

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Alina Snisarenko & Jasmine Afnan Al-Kholani<\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t

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Highlights<\/h2>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t
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Jamaican-born model Bijette Spencer smashed \u201970s Canadian fashion barriers, going from repeated rejection in Toronto to instant stardom on Montreal\u2019s biggest runways.<\/li>\r\n \t
Known simply as \u201cBijette,\u201d she became a runway favourite for top designers, even inspiring a signature walk dubbed the \u201cBijette wiggle-waggle.\u201d<\/li>\r\n \t
Choosing happiness over hype, she turned down a dream offer from Vogue, later retiring to a peaceful life painting pets and restoring furniture.<\/li>\r\n<\/ul><\/span><\/div><\/div>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/section>\n\t\t\t\t
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It was the late \u201870s, and Bijette Spencer had just finished walking the runway for Canadian designer, Wayne Clark<\/a>. As she hurried to catch the 11:30 train back to Montreal for another booking, the show\u2019s producer stopped her. \u201cSomebody here wants to see you,\u201d he said.<\/p>
That somebody was the assistant editor for Vogue <\/a><\/em>magazine, who bluntly told her that she had \u201cthe face of the \u201880s\u201d. She gave Spencer an offer aspiring models only dream of.<\/p>
\u201cI\u2019d like to take you to Paris to do the collections.\u201d Where most models would jump at the opportunity, Spencer simply told the editor that she wasn\u2019t interested. \u201cWhy not? It\u2019s every girl\u2019s dream,\u201d the editor persisted. \u201cI know, but it\u2019s not mine,\u201d said Spencer.<\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/section>\n\t\t\t\t
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Early Life and Career<\/h2>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t
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Bijette Spencer was part of the first generation of Black models who started to make their mark in the fashion industry, especially in Toronto. Her laid-back, spiritual approach to life is what made the Kingston, Jamaica-born beauty spend 27 years in the industry without a single regret.<\/p>
Known in the industry as just “Bijette” and as \u201cBibi\u201d to her close friends, Spencer knew from the age of four that she was destined to be a model. The ambition was fuelled by her grandmother, who she describes as \u201cthe most beautiful, elegant, sophisticated woman that I\u2019ve ever seen in my life.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/section>\n\t\t\t\t
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Toronto\u2019s fashion industry in the early \u201870s saw Black models as ‘too exotic.’<\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t
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Spencer moved to Toronto when she was 7, and started \u201cdabbling\u201d in modelling from around the age of 16. But Toronto\u2019s fashion industry in the early \u201870s saw Black models as \u201ctoo exotic,\u201d according to Spencer.<\/p>
\u201cNobody would have me, nobody. I was too tall; most of the models were five foot seven, five foot eight, blue eyes, and blonde and I was naturally a brunette.\u201d<\/p>
Rejection after rejection ensued, and Spencer was prompted, with encouragement from modelling agency owner Judy Welch, <\/a>to pack her bags and move to Montreal, the epicentre of Canadian fashion at the time. She was only 20.<\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/section>\n\t\t\t\t
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Fashion and Diversity<\/h2>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t
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Spencer instantly got booked. She says her first gig was to open and close for Simon Chang<\/a> at Montreal Mode ^{[1]<\/sup><\/a>, one of the city\u2019s largest annual fashion shows of the year. But the offer came with a catch: She had to cut off her long, brown hair.<\/p>}
\u201cI was crying. They shaved my head. And they completely redid me because I was so different from the other models that they wanted to put a brand on me,\u201d she says. \u201c[But] I was okay with it. Because I figured this is once in a lifetime. I\u2019m a model who was basically rejected in Toronto because of being too exotic, too tall.\u201d\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>
Despite this, Spencer describes her arrival in Montreal as a \u201cCinderella story.\u201d Her humble, down-to-earth nature pushed the boundaries of a harsh and often prejudiced industry.<\/p>
Spencer even had a walk named after her; when she realized that the long dress she was modelling was twisted, she ended up walking backwards on the runway to untie the knot.\u00a0 \u201cIt was called the Bijette wiggle-waggle. And all the girls had to learn how to do it,\u201d she says.<\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/section>\n\t\t\t\t
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Influence and Legacy<\/h2>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t
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In light of her success in Montreal, Spencer was asked to come back to Toronto.\u201cToronto started booking [me] like crazy. First I was rejected and then I was paid to come back,\u201d she says.<\/p>
She became a staple runway model for Wayne Clark. He even designed a custom dress for her–a glamorous golden gown whose fabric was as delicate as foil. This remains her favourite piece she\u2019s modelled in her career. It was at one of Clark\u2019s Toronto shows that she declined the offer from Vogue\u2019s assistant editor to model abroad.<\/p>
\u201cI said, “I am very happy at home in Montreal with my animals and my partner. And I have a lot of work [in] Montreal, and I’m very grateful and very happy. So I don’t really need to go,\u201d she says.<\/p>
Spencer did model a few collections in Paris and Germany, but home came first. \u201cI don\u2019t like to travel. I\u2019m a homebody,\u201d she adds.<\/p>
Bijette retired in the early 2000s. She spends her time painting animal portraits and restoring furniture. In the summer, she vacations in her renovated trailer, decked out in an angelic pink and gold interior she customized herself.<\/p>
When asked about her favourite part of modelling, Spencer replied with \u201cevery moment I was on stage.\u201d She never once felt nervous. But Bijette doesn\u2019t like to dwell on the past. To her, when one door closes, another one opens.<\/p>
\u201cTo be honest, once I left, I left. I don’t really look back. That’s the rear view mirror. I’m looking ahead right now.”<\/p>
To this day, the name ‘Bijette’ sparks nostalgia in the fashion community.<\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/section>\n\t\t\t\t
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^{[1]<\/sup><\/a> Official title of the show is unconfirmed.<\/li><\/ul>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t}
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About the authors:<\/h4>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t
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Archive of images at BFC:<\/h2>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t
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16<\/span>Comments<\/span><\/a><\/div><\/div>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t
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