The current buzz and excitement around contemporary Native North American fashion is palpable and there are quite a few fashion-forward exhibits and events during Santa Fe Indian Market that will only fuel the movement. One of those events is Art of Indigenous Fashion, the first fashion exhibition curated by Amber-Dawn Bear Robe for the IAIA Museum of Contemporary Native Arts. Bear Robe is also producing SWAIA’s runway event, Indigenous Fashion 2022. Many of the designers in the exhibit will also show their collections on the runway, and the exhibit, which opens August 19, will provide a sneak preview of Dene designer Catherine Blackburn’s innovative piece on a live model. The museum will also incorporate a runway-style exhibition from the collection of influential Native designer of the 1950s and 1960s, Lloyd Kiva New.
Decontie & Brown, Armored Beauty (2017), upcycled polyester wedding dress, latex paint, beads, zip ties, satin ribbon, painted copper, pheasant feathers, copper wire, raw citrine, ray amethyst, Swarovski crystal, 6 x 5'. Photo by Jason Brown.
“This is an important and rare occasion,” says guest curator Amber-Dawn Bear Robe. “Most of [Kiva New’s] works are in museum collections and they are not worn. It’s going to be exciting to see his collections on a runway, on a person—how they were meant to be seen.”
Orlando Dugi (Diné), The Red Collection, Look No. 2(2015-16), cochineal-dyed silk organza, gold embroidery, tambour beading, hand-beading, hand-sewing, machine-sewing, 60 x 12 x 9". Photo by Tira Howard.
More than 20 leading contemporary Indigenous designers from Canada and the United States will be represented in Art of Indigenous Fashion. Artists include Marcus Amerman (Choctaw), Jason Baerg (Métis), Pamela Baker (Squamish/Kwakiutl), Decontie & Brown (Donna Decontie-Brown [Kitigan Zibi First Nation of Maniwaki and Penobscot Nation] and Jason K. Brown [Penobscot Nation]), Lauren Good Day (Arikara/Hidatsa/Blackfeet/Plains Cree), Orlando Dugi (Diné), Sho Sho Esquiro (Kaska Dena/Cree), Anita Fields (Osage), Dorothy Grant (Haida), Patricia Michaels (Taos Pueblo), Jamie Okuma (Luiseño), Virgil Ortiz (Cochiti Pueblo), Adrian Standing Elk Pinnecoose (Diné/Southern Ute), Wendy Ponca (Osage), Skawennati (Mohawk), Yolanda Skelton (Gitxsan Nation), Margaret Wood (Navajo and Seminole). And many others. Their styles and statements are as diverse as any artists working in a particular genre but they have all played an important role in Native fashion and, whether obvious or not, have a conceptual element. Some of the designers are relevant to the Southwest and Kiva New’s role in Native fashion starting in the 1950s.
Catherine Blackburn (Dene), But There’s No Scar (2017), beads on deer hide, 48 x 48"
“They all come from their own unique background and Indigenous cultures,” says Bear Robe. “Some are inspired by personal stories and some are inspired by what is happening in the world around them. Just like every artist, they come from a different perspective but each garment does tell a story and is not solely a visually appealing piece.”
Bear Robe wants to stress that this isn’t a comprehensive survey. It is a small snapshot of the world of contemporary Indigenous fashion and a glimpse into one moment of each designer’s creative trajectory.
Jamie Okuma (Payómkawichum (Luiseño)/Shoshone/Bannock), woman’s dress (2015), wool, synthetic materials, dentalium shell, brass beads, sequins. Photo by Larry Price.
Bear Robe says it’s impossible to group “Native fashion” under one umbrella but she is sure of one common thread that connects the work of Indigenous designers.
“Indigenous designers have been fashioning clothing and personal adornment for millennia and can be considered the original haute couture artists of North America,” she says. “Indigenous fashion is the original design language of this country.”
August 19-January 8, 2023
The Art of Indigenous Fashion
IAIA Museum of Contemporary Native American Art
Anne and Loren Kieve Gallery
108 Cathedral Place, Santa Fe, NM 87501
(505) 983-8900, www.iaia.edu/mocna/
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