Indigenous fashion takes the runway with an eye to history — and the future

Comanche singing kicked off the Southwestern Association for Indian Art’s inaugural parade, with singer Marla Nauni opening with a song of blessing for native peoples. Peshawn Bread, the designer behind House of Sutai, quickly followed suit by sending a model in bell bottoms and roller skates down the runway to set the tone for his colorful, disco-influenced collection.

It was the start of Native Fashion Week in Santa Fe, where dancers dressed in reinvented indigenous looks twirled alongside models in non-traditional silks with native motifs. They displayed creations that juxtaposed modernity and traditional native ceremony.

Peshawn says he used elements from the 1970s to represent a difficult time for indigenous people – when the American Indian Religious Freedom Act was passed in 1978. The law protects Native American religious practices and customs, which were illegal under previous laws.

“We were fighting for our practices and spirituality and we didn’t have time to go to the club. Like you barely see any natives in the clubs,” Bread said. “…So I wanted to say, well, in the ’70s, what if we had pure indigenous joy? What would it be like? Would we incorporate our materials or designs as weaving patterns into our fabrics?”

One of the biggest gatherings in Native American fashion, more than 17 of the best indigenous designers from dozens of North American tribes came together this past weekend to celebrate their achievements outside of major fashion houses.

In between pro-Palestinian demonstrations on university campuses is at front of the Met GalaNavajo National designer Carrie Wood pointedly addressed the disparity in indigenous culture in America, as well as expressing solidarity with pro-Palestine protesters in your collection. Wood sees the conflict Palestinians face as similar to the struggles of Native Americans. Her final piece to hit the runway and close out the first day of Native Fashion Week combined elements of traditional Palestinian clothing juxtaposed with Native American clothing. The model wore a Navajo-style layered skirt made from Palestinian keffiyeh. Wood connected the similar use of accessories like scarves and jewelry in both cultures to unify the style.

Many designers have noted the difficult history, expressing fears that Native peoples are seen as a monolith, relegated to history—a lack of nuance that leads many Native artists to protect their work.

Amber-Dawn Bear Rope, who is part of the Siksika Nation in Alberta, Canada, and director of the Southwestern Association for Indian Arts, which organized the four-day event, started the organization on a shoestring budget in 2014. She hopes the show is the launching pad for many members of the indigenous community to create their own unique brand, after generations of being forced to fit into a cultural mold.

“This is creating our own space to find ourselves and have an experience within our own vision of the world of indigenous fashion and design,” she said. “Native American artists were the original courtiers of fashion in North America.”

Events like fashion week, she said, are a way for Native American creatives to reclaim the narrative about what it means to be indigenous.

Kayla Lookinghorse-Smith, an emerging Lakota-Dakota Sioux designer, hopes to bridge the gap between history and modern design,”[my work] it does not take away our protective ceremonial clothing or our stories. He speaks to two worlds. We have to walk in today’s society and remember who we are,” said Lookinghorse-Smith.

The great interest in indigenous clothing and culture, following the award-winning film “Killers of the Flower Moon”, based on the best-selling book of the same name, the TV series “Reservation Dogs” and other native-focused entertainment, is motivating designers and pay attention to your work.

Celebrities like Lily Gladstone and Quannah Chasinghorse are turning heads with indigenous pieces on the red carpet and at awards ceremonies. At the This year’s Met Gala, Chasinghorse wore jewelry by bead artist Heather Dickson to match her custom H&M dress. Meanwhile, Gladstone’s Met Gala gown incorporated star-shaped embroidered jewelry by renowned Great Plains artist Keri Ataumbi.

Bread’s mother, Jhane Myers, a Native producer and consultant on Hollywood productions including 2022’s “Prey” and Showtime’s “The Curse,” sees the renewed attention to Native culture as a cyclical trend. She said she has seen support increase every 25 years, but it dissipates before the natives achieve true success. Myers, who has also collaborated with major fashion brands like Ralph Lauren as part of her work with the Indigenous fashion community, believes this moment will be different – ​​because Indigenous creatives are working in Hollywood as directors, writers and producers, so the most Broadly the narrative can be influenced by those who understand it.

Comanche and Cherokee designer Bread hopes that with interest from Hollywood and events like SWAIA’s Native Fashion Week, Indigenous dresses and designers can catch the attention of major fashion houses and brands.

Her close friend, Diné weaver Naomi Glasses, has gone from fellowshipping with former Chloe creative director Gabriela Hearst as part of Creative Futures, which provides opportunities for creatives, to now working on a major collaboration with Ralph Lauren. Bread said these opportunities allow Native designers and brands to work together ethically rather than face potential appropriation struggles.

Designer Heather Bouchier of Beardy’s & Okemasis’ Cree Nation in the Six Territory Treaty of Saskatchewan, Canada, says native celebrities have given her the chance to model their dresses on red carpets. One of her dresses, tailored for a featured Native American actor at the Canadian Screen Awards, will feature pieces made from 3D-printed dental shells, an Inuit or First Nations tusk-like jewelry often used in commerce. She says because the material is rare, she takes a sustainable approach to designing by 3D printing the shells.

Actor Wes Studi, who received an Honorary Oscar for his roles in acclaimed films such as “Dances with Wolves” and “The Last of the Mohicans,” attended the SWAIA fashion show to watch his granddaughter’s debut as a runway model. In recent decades, Native American acting roles have been inconsistent. But seeing your granddaughter blossom in her modeling career is a moment of generational impact.