by SANTA FE, New Mexico — “I want to be the creative director of Alexander McQueen,” Plains Cree designer Jontay Kahm said backstage after showing his collection Sunday night at the American Southwest Association of Indian Arts Fashion Show here, in a rush de rooster garde garde ancient-meets-avant. feathers, trippy holly and pony beads on the runway.
Kahm’s dream could become a real possibility now that Native designers are properly taking their place in the fashion conversation, with Santa Fe as a major hub and the SWAIA runway as a premier showcase for designers who celebrate heritage and innovation.
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Kahm, who will be the first Native designer to graduate from the MFA program at Parsons next year, is already dressed by Lily Gladstone. His second collection continued to highlight his ecstatic creativity and form-building technique, with draped and beaded or fully feathered separates, including his take on a red Americana T-shirt and blue jeans . There were also va-va-voom diva dresses and coats paying homage to famous icons like Marilyn Monroe, while others nodded to war royals and religious iconography from his own culture.
The designer, who was scouted by Parsons from the Institute of American Indian Arts College in Santa Fe, and whose inspiration includes the sound suits of Iris van Herpen and Nick Cave, was one of many who took part in shows and events around the city over weekend, coinciding with the 102nd annual Indian Market.
On Thursday, weaver Dine Naiomi Glasses presented her third collection with Ralph Lauren’s Artist in Residence program at a nearly sold-out in-store event.
At the Santa Fe Railyard on Saturday, the 4Kinship Indigenous Futures 4Ever Fashion Show was a stunning cross-border clothing runway exchange by the amazing Indo-Hispanic Chicano designer and weaver Josh Tafoya, Mexico City-based star Carla Fernandez and Oaxacan textile enhancer. American workwear brand Graziano and Gutierrez accompanied by music from hip-hop band Haisla Nation Snotty Nose Rez Kids.
Meanwhile, at the Sovereign art exhibit at La Fonda Hotel, Plains artist and Son of Picasso designer showcased his punk-rock streetwear Products of My Environment using prints and boro techniques to explore Indigenous pride.
The growing celebration of contemporary fashion is largely due to the work of Siksika curator and art historian Amber-Dawn Bear Robe, who created the SWAIA Fashion Show in 2014, growing into North America’s premier event for collections put new natives in the first place. designers, and weave it into a full Indigenous Fashion Week, which takes place every May.
“My dream is that Indigenous designers are part of the larger fashion community but still have our unique perspective, because we don’t have homes for elk tufting and fur workers,” she said of the need for those crafts. to preserve. “And a big part of my work is to merge fashion and art.”
In fact, many designers who showed on the runway on Sunday excelled in both, including Jamie Okuma, one of the biggest draws of the event whose clothes are known to sell out within minutes of dropping on website. A successful bead worker and painter before launching her line, in 2023 she became the first Native designer invited to join the Council of Fashion Designers of America.
On Sunday, the Luiseno, Shoshone-Bannock, Wailaki and Okinawan designer, based in Southern California, showed off her new collection of stretchy, loungey or night-out bamboo cotton pieces in stunning neutral linen and always edged peony floral prints, with includes a graphic tube dress and tights combo that harkened back to the 1960s, a rock-rock pantsuit, and a hand-painted suede jacket that showcased her artistry.
The bamboo cotton pieces will be produced for the first time through a new deal with fashion technology company Resonance, and will be available at the end of September. “I’m able to create my own samples in LA, shoot them out to New York, then it’s built on their platform and everything is made in the Dominican Republic and they’re all natural fabrics,” she said of the development. business, which will enable it to scale more easily.
Arikara, Hidatsa, Blackfeet and Cree-based and bead artist Lauren Good Day’s direct-to-consumer business is so successful with her men’s and women’s printed clothing, accessories and leather handbags, she’s looking for wholesale partners. “I wanted to make my art accessible, that’s why I started ready-to-wear,” she said of her pieces, priced under $300.
On the runway, her new work highlighted the beauty of Priory Plains with her drawings of bison, butterflies, horses and morning stars, from boho dresses to T-shirt dresses, and a stunning skirt and jacket set in a print inspired by her beads. . “I want to make my designs accessible to my people,” she said, and why she started ready-to-wear.
Her booth at the Indian Market was packed both days, and her pieces were being sold all over Santa Fe. “I have so much support from my family,” she said, noting that artist Naiomi Glasses, Cree and Salish singer Tia Wood, actress Amber Midthunder and more from Native America in their runway models. “I want our people to be represented no matter where they come from.”
And no matter where they are; Good Day was one of four Indigenous designers who traveled to Paris in January for Pharrell Williams’ comprehensive western-themed Louis Vuitton show. She was invited by Dee Jay Twobears, the main collaborator, who had worked with Williams for many years. “He brought company…singers, dancers, artists. Indigenous people have managed to see high fashion and represent ourselves. It’s always really important to keep the community in mind and bring them along.”
The ticketed fashion event held at the Santa Fe Convention Center featured Canadian First Nation artist Kent Monkman on how he uses fashion in his practice as his alter ego Miss Chief, and in his paintings of Indigenous resilience. The runway show also included collections from contemporary Anishinaabe artist Caroline Monnet using industrial building materials, and ASEP Designs using computer generated jewelry on clothing. A representative of the brand associated with Santa Fe, which was “blown away” at last year’s show, presented a selection of looks from the Balmain collection from Paris.
There was also a pop-up shop in the lobby, where Tierra Alysia was moved to tears on Sunday evening.
Designer Kashia Pomo, who attended Central Saint Martins in London, had just sold four full-length beaded silk cashmere coats from her Vividus Runway collection. “I made over $50,000,” she said of the exquisite one-on-one pieces that refer to traditional natural elements and symbols from various tribes. She showed on the runway at Indigenous Fashion Week in May, but this was her first Indian Market, and a successful one at that.
“I’m used to being the only native girl at school, and you feel weird sometimes. But here, we’re like the ‘It’ girls, and it’s really cool,” she said. “We are in the moment, people are paying attention and giving us value for the first time.”
Launch Gallery: 2024 SWAIA Native Fashion Show in Santa Fe, New Mexico
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