A New Fashion Exhibit Spotlights Contemporary Indigenous Design

To kick off the 100th Santa Fe Indian Market late last month—one of the city’s biggest events of the year, where Indigenous artists across North America gather to showcase and sell their works—a special fashion exhibit debuted at the IAIA Museum of Contemporary Native Arts. Similar to the goal of the Indian Market, the new “Art of Indigenous Fashion” exhibit, which is on view until January 2023, was launched with the aim to spotlight contemporary Native fashion. It proves that Indigenous design isn’t one specific thing but rather greatly varies depending on an artist’s tribe, location, and style. “There is no one way to explain Indigenous fashion,” says the exhibit’s guest curator, Amber-Dawn Bear Robe.

The new exhibition features more than 20 contemporary Indigenous designers and is particularly dedicated to highlighting alums of the Institute of American Indian Arts (IAIA)—the influential fine-arts institution in Santa Fe where many prominent Indigenous artists have studied and perfected their craft since its inception in 1962. Among those in the exhibit are Lloyd Kiva New, Jamie Okuma, Patricia Michaels, Sho Sho Esquiro, Virgil Ortiz, Orlando Dugi, and Teri Greeves. “The inspiration was to present a snapshot of Native North American fashion from an Indigenous perspective, showcasing designers that are often overlooked in mainstream media,” says Bear Robe, “to present the diversity of narratives created by Native designers and show how every design has a story and meaning beyond visual beauty.”

The standouts in the exhibit are those pieces that combine traditional craft with a modern point of view. Marcus Amerman’s black leather jacket from 1983, for instance, features a beaded image of a nude Brook Shields wearing butterfly wings. “Marcus played a significant role in IAIA fashion shows and bringing them to different locations outside of Santa Fe,” says Bear Robe. “His role in Native fashion is fascinating. He wanted fashion that he did not see in the mainstream and represented him or what he wanted to wear.” Jamie Okuma’s dentalium shell dress—which debuted on the Santa Fe Indian Market runway back in 2015—combines a traditional craft with a more avant-garde silhouette. “It was made for a specific model, Moonstar,” says Bear Robe. “Many of the garments in the show debuted on the [Santa Fe Indian Market] runway. Markets have been essential places for Indigenous designers to showcase their work.”

Other highlights in the exhibit include Teri Greeves’s hand-beaded Converse heels; Lauren Good Day’s vibrant ribbon-work-style dresses; and Yolonda Skelton’s fox and fern imagery cape. While all of these garments differ in fabrication and aesthetic, Bear Robe brings attention to their similarities: mainly their innovation and a sense of carrying forward cultural traditions in new, unexpected ways. “[I want people] to witness the diversity of contemporary Native art and design unique to each designer,” says Bear Robe of the exhibit. “I wanted to push and highlight the art of Indigenous fashion—demonstrating how art is, and has always been, vital to Native fashion and design.”