Beyond the Runway

SWAIA Fashion and the Process of Creating Art to Wear

By Jessica R. Metcalfe, Ph.D. (Turtle Mountain Chippewa)

Welcome to the 10th SWAIA Indigenous Fashion Showcase. With over a decade of fashion events and exhibits under her belt, show producer Amber-Dawn Bear Robe announces that this year’s event will not only be the most spectacular to date, but that it is also a teaser for the upcoming newly founded Santa Fe Native Fashion Week by SWAIA Indigenous Fashion, which will take place May 2024.

Jontay Kahm’s Forget-Me-Not, made with turkey Quills, eye pins and jump rings.

Dressing up for the Santa Fe Indian Market, by both the artists and the attendees, has been integral since the first market more than a century ago. Cash prizes were awarded to artists for best regalia or traditional attire, and this practice transitioned to the beloved Clothing Contest held in the centermost position of the entire market, the lush green plaza area. As time went on, the contest created new categories for contemporary fashion, and it became clear that more and more fashion designers needed a new space at SWAIA to showcase their increasingly diverse collections of wearable art.

Built upon nine years of hard work and dedication, the journey here has been both challenging and exhilarating. As you read these words, countless folks prepare the stage as this year’s 100-foot runway features fancy new lighting, surrounded by hundreds of seats and a brilliant array of designers and models. A new partnership with the Ford/Robert Black Modeling Agency—as well as the return of Native rockstar actors like Jessica Matten, Amber Midthunder, Kiowa Gordon and Eugene Brave Rock—are important elements to SWAIA fashion.

New designs from Dusty LeGrande of Mobilize. Photo by Cheyenne Rain LeGrande.

Sudden, by Jontay Kahm. Materials include nylon ribbon and gold beads.

Himikalas Pam Baker, center, with two of her models.

Each designer has the freedom to not only create the garments that go down the runway, but also who wears them, what their hair and makeup looks like and what music the models walk to. This freedom of creativity sets the SWAIA runway apart from many others that seek homogeny. The rich diversity of each designer’s set is enthralling as they present their individual artistic vision to us. It’s an exciting experience that has proven itself over and over again. In the past, VIP tickets to the Indigenous Fashion Show have sold out within one week, and general seating access has sold out within one month of the ticket sales launch.

With modern takes on traditional clothing, SWAIA fashion features dynamically emerging designers, fresh faces to the runway and distinguished leaders in Indigenous couture. The line-up includes Tracy Toulouse, Jason Baerg, Himikalas Pam Baker, Rebecca Baker-Grenier, Orlando Dugi, Lauren Good Day, Jontay Kahm, Dusty LeGrande of Mobilize, Elias Not Afraid, Qaulluq Clara McConnell and Jamie Okuma, who is the first Indigenous designer to become a member of the Council of Fashion Designers of America (CDFA) in April 2023.

Lauren Good Day in her studio with her newest designs.

Detail of Lauren Good Day’s newest work.

Considering the history of fashion at Santa Fe Indian Market (the Clothing Contest, artist attire and ever-present street style), everyone shows up wearing their best. So, on the runway, we all expect more. And more we shall have.

Each artist’s work is distinctly theirs. For the SWAIA fashion runway, there exists no space for anything less than the spectacular. And, wonderfully, some of the most remarkable pieces may be those that appear understated. For this reason, we bring you an insider look at the intricate and expressive process of making art that we can wear, that we can feel on our skin, that we can touch on our arms and that we can wrap around our bodies. It is an intimacy that is unique to fashion, and that oddly powerful connection can be life-altering.

Read on to learn more about the creative process of five of the featured artists for 2023.

QAULLUQ / CLARA MCCONNELL
New to the SWAIA fashion stage, is Qaulluq / Clara McConnell who works primarily with cloth fabric and traditional materials such as fur and seal skin. Her pieces are contemporary, with meticulous focus to detail, melding innovation with traditional elements.

Detail of piece by Qaulluq / Clara McConnell.

Qaulluq / Clara McConnell at work at a sewing machine.

“Much of my work is inspired by the lands in which my ancestors are from, Sisaulik. Sisaulik has an abundance of wildflowers, Taqalukisaq (butterflies) as well as fish, caribou and berries the land provides. We live a subsistence lifestyle in Sisaulik, and we are grateful for all the land provides. Sisaulik is a sacred place to many generations of my family and community,” the designers says. “I want to honor who we are as Inuit people in modern times while still retaining the traditions and teachings [that] allowed us to survive thousands of years. I am inspired by the sounds, colors and movement of the land. I hope to translate that in my collection for SWAIA. When I am out on the land I feel connected to my culture, my ancestors and myself.”

AYIMACH HORIZONS / JASON BAERG
For his second collection for SWAIA Fashion, Jason Baerg is amping up the volume with never-before-seen garments featuring billowing shapes to wow the audience. We all love a collective gasp moment. The collection, titled Sisopekinam: Medicines Lead Us Forward, pays homage to the enduring traditions of the Cree and Métis, and is a collaboration between him and Melanie Rose.

“Sisopekinam is a complex portrayal of the south, summer and the elemental forces of earth and metal. With exquisite craftsmanship, the collection effortlessly blends ancestral wisdom with contemporary punctuations, employing natural leather, silk, and cotton fibers,” Baerg says. “Handmade botanical prints inspired by the Indigenous plants of the prairies activate the garment’s surface and inform the silhouette, while metallic accents cut an edge of severity. Sisopekinam comes alive with the dynamic presence of horsehair, infusing it with movement and vitality. By exploring medicinal plants’ teachings, ceremonies and transformative power, this collection spins an abstract narrative that invites us to enact our cultural intelligence, the sensuality of the land and everything red in the medicine wheel.”

MOBILIZE / DUSTY LEGRANDE
From newcomer Dusty LeGrande and his brand Mobilize, we can expect fresh and ultra-cool apparel that melds organic lines with street culture, effectively blending current realities and trend-making styles with the rich legacy of Indigenous Cree traditional motifs.

“I create art like the many generations before me—inspired by the world around us, our children, our ancestors and Mother Earth,” LeGrande says. “This is art to empower, educate and elevate. And to support unity and inclusion as my elders have taught—cheering for all my relations.”

ELIAS NOT AFRAID
Creative flow reigns supreme for Elias Not Afraid. His artistic eye plays throughout the process, and his mind guides along the way, dancing with both adventurous freedom and prudent anticipation of design—what will be poured from his soul with be markedly and uniquely his creation.

Elias Not Afraid holds up an intricately beaded bag.

“When I start a piece, I usually come up with something on the spot,” he says. “For me it’s just easier to work like this and freehand the design and colors than to plan it out. When I plan it out, it takes longer and [I] always over think. It’s something I practiced as a kid.”

JONTAY KAHM
Be prepared for the extraordinary from Jontay Kahm. A recent graduate of the Institute of American Indian Arts and a future student of the prestigious Parsons: The New School, each of his creations stand alone as museum-worthy pieces. Each garment is a masterpiece that is fueled by his personal mantra: “Nourish and protect your gift because the work of your hands will be blessed.” His inspiration points are wildly various: the idea of an earthly body transforming into a heavenly body, the idea of nature taking over the body and under the skin, the idea of a loved one suddenly passing away.

“I ask myself this question…must I design? Must I make fashion? Must I create beauty? And I answered, ‘I must!’ And what is it that I have to say, so I resigned myself to making the kind of pieces that I wanted to see, not what I thought anyone wanted to see or wear. I just wanted to create something that I myself would see and wear—what I thought would be fantastically beautiful and groundbreaking,” Kahm says. “I get my inspiration from God himself; he sends me visions while I’m awake and dreams while I’m asleep. Daydreaming about fashion shows that I always wanted to produce. Playing with colors, movement and texture is extremely important for my creative process. Then it is my responsibility to use my gift and interpret that beauty and convey the intense feeling of excitement and adrenaline through the dresses that I make. I love fashion and I’m so happy that I get to create beauty that people can appreciate and see that fashion can be art.”

August 19, 2023, 5:30-9 p.m.
Santa Fe Indian Market Gala, Live Auction & Fashion Show

August 20, 2023, 1:30-3 p.m.
VIP Fashion Show Pre-Party

August 20, 2023, 3-4 p.m.
Indigenous Fashion Show

Santa Fe Community Convention Center, 201 W Marcy Street, Santa Fe, NM 87501
All three fashion events require tickets. Visit www.swaia.org for more information.