by The Southwest Society of American Indian Arts is rolling out its first Santa Fe Native Fashion Week.
Scheduled for May 2 to May 5 in Santa Fe, NM, the event is produced by SWAIA Indigenous Fashion. There will be several designers who have previously shown in the annual Native Fashion Show during SWAIA’s annual Santa Fe Indian Market in August, including Himikalas Pamela Baker, Orlando Dugi and Patricia Michaels. This spring’s new format will highlight more designers with an emphasis on emerging ones.
More from WWD
In an interview Friday, SWAIA executive director Jamie Schulze praised the efforts of curator and art historian Amber-Dawn Bear Robe (Siksika Nation), who first staged an hour-long group show 10 years ago as part of a bargain the summer and spoke to him. WWD in 2023 about the creation of the week. “She’s taken it from a little side event to something that’s really popular, and something that people look forward to in the market,” Schulze said.
“I would love for this to be the global place for people to experience and work with Indigenous designers and models,” Bear Robe told WWD last year. “In Santa Fe, all the ingredients are here – the artists, the designers and the talent coming from all over Canada and the US, and the collectors of Native art. This is where the Native community comes from in terms of film and television.”
Santa Fe Native Fashion Week will be stronger with four days of fashion shows and panel discussions, as well as a launch celebration. Based on current ticket sales, 3,000 to 4,000 people are expected. The aim is to “raise that Indigenous voice in the fashion industry in terms of the amount of designers that are moving in those circles and really need to be noticed,” said Schulze.
Mirroring the structure of other fashion weeks in Vancouver and Toronto, Santa Fe Native Fashion Week will spotlight 18 fashion designers versus a maximum of eight designers during the summer market show. In addition, approximately 30 other Indigenous artists from the runway will be exhibiting and selling their work including those who specialize in accessories. Although there has been a Santa Fe Fashion Week before, it wasn’t billed as “Indigenous,” according to Schulze.
“This is really important because cultural representation is something we’ve always struggled with as Native Americans. We don’t want to be totally clean, but we want to [to show] our individual cultures, our languages and what not. For me as executive director, this is an invitation for people to learn more just as our art market does, too,” said Schulze. It is planned for shoulder season during the fashion calendar to try to give it more attention, the inaugural event may be canceled because it coincides with the Met Gala, which dominates coverage fashion in early May. After partnering with the city of Santa Fe for next month’s fashion week, there was no other option, due to a scheduling conflict, Schulze said. “I wasn’t worried but I definitely knew it would be difficult with the Met Gala. Of course, we cannot compete in any way, but this was an opportunity to launch this year as a placeholder,” said Schulze. “Moving into next year, we’ll be looking at different dates. I know we’re not the first Indigenous fashion show, but this is a very comprehensive look at some of the debates from the designers’ and the community’s perspective.”
The relevance of the annual weekend market, which typically features 1,000 vendors, generates an estimated $160 million for the state including $100 million for Santa Fe. The August juried market is “so important, because it is really helping to preserve and keep alive traditional cultures and techniques. But it’s very tough,” she said.
Through Santa Fe Native Fashion Week, the plan is to look more closely at the economic input to the city and the impact on local communities and Native designers, Schulze said. Next month’s fashion week will also draw attention to more contemporary artists. “As an Indigenous woman, I love fashion. If you ask any woman, they will say that. But it’s really powerful to see that incorporated with traditional and indigenous styles,” she said. “I love to wear [clothes] from the various artists who are showing [so that people can] to really understand that behind this story is more than a piece of clothing. It’s about being seen in the world.”
Indigenous designers were in the spotlight on red carpets this year thanks to Lily Gladstone and other actors in the movie “Killers of the Flower Moon” who used their platform to represent them and wear their work.
At the Oscars, where Gladstone made history as the first Native American to be nominated in the Best Actress category, Gucci designer Sabato De Sarno collaborated with Native designer Joe Big Mountain (Ironhorse Quillwork) on her dress.
Ralph Lauren staff members have attended the Native Fashion Show during the Santa Fe SWAIA Indian Market for several years, recognizing Native Americans as the foundation of so much of the label’s inspiration and storytelling. Last year, the brand began a collaboration with Navajo weaver Naiomi Glasses, who recently released her second capsule line for the brand. The seventh generation Diné textile and weaving artist is the first Polo Ralph Lauren artist in residence. And many already know Glasses for her skateboarding skills in the desert as seen on TikTok.
The best of WWD
