Fearless Fashion
The Santa Fe Indian Market Haute Couture Fashion Show has been paving the way for Native fashion designers since its debut—and this year is no exception.
The Santa Fe Indian Market Haute Couture Fashion Show has been paving the way for Native fashion designers since its debut— and this year is no exception.
By Taylor Transtrum
It all began with just four designers, when SWAIA’S Indian Market Haute Couture Fashion Show launched in 2014. Although the lineup was short, what it lacked in numbers it more than made up for in star quality. The designer roster included Bethany Yellowtail, Jamie Okuma, Sho Sho Esquiro and Orlando Dugi—all of whom have played an integral role in reshaping the idea of what a Native American fashion designer “should” be in the mainstream fashion industry.
“I had a feeling the fashion show would be appreciated by Swaia-goers as a fresh programming idea outside the strict barriers of ‘Indian art’ but did not predict it would become one of the most anticipated events of SWAIA,” reflects fashion show producer Amber-dawn Bear Robe.
Since its inaugural year—when the designers,
makeup artists, hair stylists and approximately 35 models took over the entire SWAIA building, then located on Washington Avenue—the Indian Market Haute Couture Fashion Show has grown to not only be a highlight of the market, but one of the most longawaited fashion events of the season.
This year, the fashion show will feature 10 of the top working Native designers in both the United States and Canada, as well as more than 100 models. Held for the third year in a row at the Santa Fe Community Convention Center’s 17,000-square-foot, 900-plus seat ballroom, the show’s venue is symbolic of its growth and impact on the industry.
“Indigenous fashion, although not new, has seen a surge in public interest of late: high-profile runway shows have popped up across North America, from Toronto to Vancouver, Canada,” says Bear Robe. “Museums have also been focusing on Indigenous fashion lately. The Peabody Essex exhibition Native Fashion Now toured from 2015 to 2017, hitting cities from Portland to Tulsa and New York. The Museum of Contemporary Native Arts in Santa Fe has booked me to curate a Native fashion exhibition in 2022. Events such as the latter are continuing to bring more attention to and awareness about Indigenous fashion...swaia is bringing attention toward this in multi-faceted ways—from recognizing the significance of the main SWAIA fashion show by providing resources, logistical support and media [attention], to including contemporary design in the clothing contest. SWAIA is providing a platform for individual designers to create, to be heard and seen with no limitation, rules or regulations. Designers and artists are always changing, challenging and breaking the mold—the shift is that now the larger public is paying attention.”
In celebration of the market’s theme—which honors the strength and resilience of Native women—the 2019 Indian Market Haute Couture Fashion Show welcomes Sho Sho Esquiro, Patricia Michaels, Korina Emmerich (EMME), Pamela Baker, Donna and Jason Brown (Decontie & Brown), Lesley Hampton, Catherine Blackburn, Shayne Watson, Delina White (Iamanishinaabe), and Jordan and Madison Craig (Shy Natives) to its runway. Here, we take a look at we can expect to see from several of the designers at the August 18 fashion show.