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Southwestern-inspired patterns have been a staple of Ralph Lauren’s iconic designs for more than 56 years, born out of the designer’s fascination with Native American craftsmanship. On December 5, the homage is about to become way more authentic.
In a deeply meaningful move toward collaboration, Ralph Lauren unveiled the first drop of a capsule collection made through its inaugural Artist in Residence program, designed by the renowned seventh-generation Diné weaver and textile artist Naiomi Glasses.
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Almost all of the 32 pieces in the collection incorporate elements from Glasses’s portfolio of weavings. Working remotely from her home on the Navajo Nation in the Rock Point Chapter community with the Ralph Lauren creative teams, Glasses learned how to incorporate Navajo pattern work that she’d previously used in her custom unique rugs into the undyed wool of the cowl-neck sweaters, belted cardigans, and ranch coats in her Polo Ralph Lauren x Naiomi Glasses collection.
“Here’s a different breath of life that’s being brought into these pieces—each has a backstory because they reference something that I might have designed a few years ago,” she says, realizing that for the look book she could place many of her textiles side by side with the garments.
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A lot of those references go back to her early days of learning to weave from her late grandmother Nellie, alongside her brother Tyler. She points to a Polo Ralph Lauren x Naiomi Glasses poncho and a ranch coat in rich browns and creams, which nods to the scrap wool they were given to learn on as teens. “I loved being able to have those pieces where we’re able to showcase the beauty of the natural sheep,” says Glasses.
Glasses is grateful that pains were taken to ensure the final products looked exactly like something she would have woven. The Ralph Lauren team introduced her to Manos del Uruguay—a company creating traditional hand-dyed and hand-spun yarns by rural women in Uruguay—which made the textiles for a piece in the capsule. They were able to re-create the exact feel of Glasses’s own weavings, with variations in the wool.
Many of the Diné motifs in the artist’s past work—including the spider woman, four directional crosses, and Saltillo diamonds—now grace sweaters, thicket jackets, vests, pencil skirts, and sweaterdresses as the result of a lot of intentional collaboration. Fabric swatches mailed to her home and multiple Zoom calls helped bring it all to life.
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“It’s incredible seeing a lot of brands are starting to work with the actual Indigenous artists, instead of pulling inspiration from us,” says Glasses. “It’s beautiful to see that collaboration because you get to see these designs interpreted from these original artists.”
It’s a full-circle moment for Glasses, who often wore Ralph Lauren clothing as a child. Once she and her brother chose to weave full-time, their business-minded parents asked them to come up with some practical goals. She replied that she’d like to one day make floor rugs, blankets, and clothing with Diné designs. Asked to write down which brands she wanted to collaborate with, she put Ralph Lauren at the top of the list. Seeing her name on the tags beside Ralph Lauren’s is completely unreal, she says: “There are no words to describe it.”
On a video call ahead of the launch, Glasses wears a multitude of turquoise and silver jewelry pieces—they appear on her fingers, earlobes, and scarf—representing each of the seven Navajo and Hopi artist families whose jewelry that she curated for the collection’s campaign. A selection of their handcrafted pieces is used to style the capsule and will also be available for purchase.
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“I wanted to lift up other Indigenous artists along with me because this is going to be a huge release,” she says. “It’s a big platform, and I would love to be able to share that along with others.”
While everything about this Artist in Residence program seems authentically Indigenous—from the campaign photos shot by Ryan Redcorn (Osage) and Darren Sells (Diné/Navajo) and a short film by Diné filmmaker Shaandiin Tome to the cast of models including Quannah Chasinghorse (Hän Gwich’in/Oglala Lakota/Sičangu Lakota) and Phillip Bread (Comanche/Kiowa/Blackfeet)—Glasses maintains that this collection is for everyone to wear.
“A lot of us Indigenous artists and designers want to be able to share our pieces with the world,” she says. “That’s what this is going to do. It’s going to be out in the world, and I want everyone to be able to enjoy it.”
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There is, however, a particular group that Glasses hopes will enjoy it.
“I would love for Diné to feel seen with this collection,” she says. “I really wanted to celebrate the beauty of our Diné way of life and our culture. But this is just the pilot program. I’m excited to see who’s going to come after me and what doors open for other young Indigenous designers.”