You know those dramatic, slow-motion “Glambot” videos that you always see stars posing for on the red carpet? At last night’s SAG Awards, Indigenous actor Cara Jade Myers had the very best one. The Killers of the Flower Moon star delivered an epic twirl for the cameras in her vibrant Jontay Kahm dress, which featured a sheer mesh bodice with golden beads, as well as a flowy, fringed silhouette that was all fabricated with pink and orange ribbons and yarn—a design made for movement. Myers tells Vogue she simply wanted to do the striking design justice. “Jontay’s dresses are absolutely amazing—they’re artworks,” Myers says. “I knew I wanted to wear one of his dresses; we’ve been talking since August of last year. They’re modern and structural, yet based off of our culture and regalia. His work brings a completely different vision of what Native couture is.”
Kahm—who is a rising Plains Cree designer from Mosquito First Nation in Saskatchewan, Canada, but is now based in New York—is fast becoming a Hollywood favorite, with Lily Gladstone also wearing one of his feathered tops earlier this month. The designer’s work references traditional regalia, incorporating elements such as feathers and ribbons that are typically worn by powwow dancers into designs that are voluminous and avant-garde. For Myers’s colorful ribbon dress at the SAGs, titled the “Sudden” dress, Kahm was inspired by the shawls worn by fancy dancers. “It’s a Native American dance often performed by women, characterized by vibrant regalia and intricate footwork,” says Kahm. “Ribbons are incorporated for their visual appeal, adding movement and symbolism to the dance. They can represent elements like nature, spirits, or personal stories—enhancing the cultural significance of the performance.”
It was a natural choice for Myers to wear to the SAGs, given the star has already been spotlighting Indigenous design throughout her entire awards season, with the help of her stylist Jessica Paster. (She’s also worn designers like Jamie Okuma and Lauren Good Day while promoting Killers.) Finishing off her look with gold jewelry from Ataumbi Metals, crafted by the Kiowa jeweler Keri Ataumbi in Santa Fe, the star says she wants to use red carpet dressing for something more impactful. “As Natives, we don’t always have the platform that we are having at this moment,” says Myers. “It’s really important for me to showcase these talented Natives of all backgrounds and mediums. We need to highlight Native fashion so that people start buying it more; The more we support our designers, the more they can keep building their business.”
Of course, this idea of representation and acknowledgment on the red carpet also applies to Hollywood and the film industry, where Myers, Gladstone, and the rest of the Indigenous cast and crew from Killers of the Flower Moon are finally getting their due. “It’s amazing,” says Myers, “because when have our stories been in this kind of spotlight?” She adds that working on the film felt like a step in the right direction for more Indigenous voices to finally be heard within this space. “Marty [Scorsese] did such a good job of trying to get the authenticity down,” she continues. “The fact that he involved Natives in every department of production is groundbreaking. Now I’m like, that should actually be the bare minimum.”
The actor’s star power isn’t dimming anytime soon, either. After wrapping up the final weeks of awards season, Myers will be back to work on her next movie project. “I’m going to Bulgaria [to film] an action movie, Ice Fall, with Joel Kinnaman,” says Myers. Even better, for the actor, is how strong and commanding her role is set to be. “It’s awesome because we’re going to have a co-lead Native woman who s badass and fighting back,” she teases. “There’s a stereotype [in Hollywood] of this submissive and weak Native woman, and I’m always like, I dare you to find one. I’m Kiowa—the women in my tribe would ride out with the men! We earned our own feathers.”
