Korina Emmerich’s Brooklyn-based fashion brand EMME is built on expression, art and her Indigenous heritage stemming from the Coast Salish Territory, Puyallup tribe. The artist’s colorful designs are all made-to-order in the company’s Brooklyn, New York, studio. Many designs come from upcycled, recycled or all-natural materials.
Photographer: Sara Kerens | MUA: Ava Lukas | Hair: Deyah Cassadore | Model: Gabriela Moreno | Clothing by EMME
“We want to ignite a revolution to radically change the way our clothes are sourced, produced and purchased, so that clothing is made in a safe, clean and fair way.”
- Korina Emmerich
Currently, Emmerich is focusing her efforts on making face masks that were originally part of her previous Anadromous Collection in 2019. “The EMME Anadromous Collection is inspired by the salmon and their relation to abundance, fertility, prosperity and renewal. Protest was the underlying theme. Rematriate, Resist, Rise,” Emmerich explains. “I wanted to create a duality between what is happening to wild salmon in juxtaposition to awareness surrounding MMIWgT2S (missing and murdered Indigenous Womxn, girls, trans and two spirit). The collection focused on the rise of Indigenous Womxn much like the rise of the salmon.”
Photographer: Sara Kerens | MUA: Ava Lukas | Hair: Deyah Cassadore | Model: Gabriela Moreno | Clothing by EMME
Emmerich says the Split Shot face mask from this collection is now her main focus during the COVID-19 quarantine. And the meaning behind the original design runs deep. “Masks have always been a part of the Indigenous narrative,” she says. “The collection is a commentary on the relationship between Womxn and salmon and the relationship of all beings and the effect of colonial systems destroying these connections.”
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