MAGNIFICENT NEO NATIVE COUTURE
Feathers, fur, leather, salmon skin, shells, beads, and metal wire, embellish some of our favorite Native American couture. Some elaborate, some simple, all with indigenous influences and contemporary edge.
We’re grateful that Native American designers are rising up, building collections that are astonishingly beautiful. Vancouver hosted its first Indigenous Fashion Week last year, with designs from numerous First Nations designers, while others were featured at London Fashion Week.
The Peabody Essex Museum, in Salem, Massachusetts, houses a fantastic permanent exhibition of Native American art and design, including works from 75 contemporary indigenous fashion designers.
Textures and color often reflect the connection between Native people and the earth. Yet each interpretation is unique.
Check out some of our favorite Native American designers below.
Native American designer Orlando Dugi takes traditional Navajo materials, like feathers, beads, porcupine quills, paint, and 24k gold, and marries them to silk, wool, and cotton. He uses cochineal and other natural dyes.
Native American fashion photographer Unék Francis produced a series of gorgeous photos, featuring Native American models Julia Foster and Mona Bear in Dugi’s designs.
By Unék Francis. Desert Heat Collection. Courtesy of Orlando Dugi.
Dugi started with a line of elaborately hand-beaded evening clutches and bags. Now, you can find his beadwork genius in her new lines of jewelry and evening gowns.
The brand name “DUGI” means “mustache” in Navajo.
By Unék Francis. Desert Heat Collection. Courtesy of Orlando Dugi.
Every DUGI piece is handmade and is one-of-a-kind sample size, until it is ordered in a specific size. Dugi makes each bag himself. He has 2 assistants who help him with beadwork for the gowns.
Check out more of Orlando Dugi’s designs here. And visit his studio in Santa Fe, NM.
Jamie Okuma (Luiseño/Shoshone-Bannock) began beading at the age of 5. At 22, she became the youngest winner of Santa Fe Indian Market's Grand Prize. Part Luiseno, part Shoshone-Bannock, Okuma lives on the La Jolla Luiseno Tribe reservation, about 60 miles east of San Diego.
Okuma’s beading designs are a fusion of contemporary and traditional visions. Her projects are one-of-a-kind.
“Swallow Boots.” Courtesy of Jamie Okuma.
We love her genius boots. Okuma hand-stitched antique beads (circa 1880s) onto a pair of Christian Louboutin stiletto boots, repurposing them into works of wearable art.
Okuma’s works have been shown at the Metropolitan Museum of Art, Smithsonian’s National Museum of the American Indian, as well as at other world class museum and art institutions.
Patricia Michaels Haute Couture gown. Courtesy of Patricia Michaels.
Native American designer Patricia Michaels made her mark on Project Runway. She’s gone on to create some beautiful collections of clothing and accessories.
We love her parasols, commissioned by the Peabody Essex Museum, made of hand dyed textiles and handles, carved by her partner, James Duran.
By Bill Curry. Courtesy of Patricia Michaels.
Many of Michaels’ garments are are hand painted as well.
Inspired by couture designers such as Chanel, Michaels combines high style with Native motifs. She is also inspired by nature and draws on her Taos Pueblo heritage. She uses eco-friendly and organic materials.
b.YELLOWTAIL Collection. Courtesy of Bethany Yellowtail.
Native American designer Bethany Yellowtail is touting a new collection called “The Mighty Few" for her brand b.YELLOWTAIL. It features gossamer maxi dresses, Native patterns and European detail. The designs are a mix of heritage, honoring the past, and new ideas.
Yellowtail grew up on the Crow Nation and Northern Cheyenne Indian reservations in southeastern Montana.
Her photographer, models, and video director are all Native American. She collaborates with other Native artists, like John Pepion, to create some pieces, such as her Women Warrior Ledger Scarf. All of her pieces are constructed on native land and are handmade by the b.YELLOWTAIL design team.
The Shokmalli Collection. Courtesy of Kristen Dorsey Designs.
Kristen Dorsey calls upon her Chickasaw heritage and artistry to create her handcrafted jewelry pieces. They are a unique mix of Chickasaw visual traditions infused with contemporary California style.
Dorsey studied at the School of the Museum of Fine Arts in Boston, MA while earning a degree in American studies with a concentration in Native American studies from Tufts University.
She uses traditional materials, like conch shells, pearls, copper, and stingray skin, in new ways, making sure they are environmentally friendly and produced using ethical manufacturing practices. All pieces are handmade in California, using conflict-free natural gemstones and recycled metals.
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