Native Fashion Now: Part II

Lloyd “Kiva” New is the father of contemporary Native American fashion. He was the first Native designer to establish a successful international high-fashion brand under the label Kiva, which refers to an architectural structure used for Native religious ceremonies in the Southwest. New developed a signature style featuring a Native aesthetic—abstract and figural symbols—and modern cuts and color palettes.

Mylar, a material used in space shuttles, doesn’t seem like the typical stuff of Native fashion, but these dresses are the real deal. This reflective fabric recalls the Sky World, home of the ancestors in Osage creation stories. And in motion, Mylar actually makes a crinkling sound, an auditory reminder of this ancestral connection.

This ensemble reveals Dugi’s keen eye for elegant evening wear and luxurious detail. The headpiece’s sharp quills add a sexy danger to the dramatic volume and fluidity of the dress. Glittering beads capture the experience of watching all-night Diné ceremonies under a starry sky. Dugi owes a debt to the fashion designers Yves Saint Laurent and Valentino and to Dugi’s Diné grandmother, who wore elaborate clothing and accessories every day.

In 2002, Ortiz was selling his ceramics and couture at Santa Fe’s Indian Market when the New York fashion powerhouse Donna Karan strolled over. Struck by Ortiz’s bold forms and motifs, she invited him to collaborate on her 2003 couture collection. They worked together to marry her silhouettes and fabrics with his graphic patterns, which symbolize wild spinach, clouds, and fertility. Their partnership is an inspiring example of collaboration between artists, cultures, and businesses.

Brothers in family and in all things personal adornment, the metalsmiths Chris and Pat Pruitt occasionally collaborate to produce wearable art. Instead of standard Southwestern jewelry-making tools like wooden anvils, they use computer-aided machinery and fabrication techniques. Their clean lines sing in stainless steel, not the more typical silver.

For Perkins, a box of beads holds endless possibilities. She poured her heart into this elaborate ensemble—fit for a traditional wedding—and titled it Emma, a favorite name. She likens the outfit to a close friend she spent months getting to know. Beadwork is deeply rooted in Perkins’ Native heritage. She embraces its power to stimulate community involvement and pride: “Our designs are like stories, thoughtfully woven into a ceremonial dress. They capture personality and identity.”  

Ever since the graphic tee emerged as a fashion statement in the 1970s, designers have used T-shirts to flaunt individuality and voice political protest. For young designers, these affordable, easy-to-produce shirts offer a way to grab attention and express opinion. Jared Yazzie’s Native Americans Discovered Columbus T-shirt reclaims America as Indigenous country. For Yazzie and the other T-shirt designers, words are weapons, provoking people to think harder about history.

Edzerza’s tunic draws from the formline style of Northwest Coast Indigenous art—particularly its heavy black outlines, oval-like shapes, and U-forms. Its design is borrowed from woven ceremonial-dance blankets. Edzerza works in many mediums, from clothing and silver jewelry to painting and glass.

The feather boa is one of those accessories that scream flamboyance, turning the fashion volume to 10.In this collaboration, the brothers Gaussoin kick it up to 11. They have transformed the feather boa’s flounce and fluff into something sleek, even ominous. Is Postmodern Boa dangerous or whimsical? Can it be both? This work is in step with the Gaussoins’ jewelry designs, which showcase the human body and push materials into new sculptural realms.

This dress’s title, Wile Wile Wile, means “the sound of wings in flight” in the Kaska Dene language. Its surprising textures update a classic feminine silhouette. The dress honors Esquiro’s departed loved ones—she designed it for them to wear at an imagined joyful reunion.

Taking visual cues from Mexico—observance of the Day of the Dead and the work of the painter Frida Kahlo—this dramatic evening gown demonstrates Esquiro’s hallmark love of juxtapositions as well as technical sophistication and artistry, qualities associated with European couture houses and with indigenous art.

This ensemble turns two-dimensional handwoven fabric into a three-dimensional soft sculpture. In the Native worldview of the Southeast, birds figure prominently as warriors, hunters, protectors, and messengers. This ensemble evokes traditional dancers who wear feathers to embody these beings and to summon their powers.

Ace made these modern-day “moccasins” out of reclaimed computer parts. Clusters of coated copper wire stand in for traditional ground-trailing fringe, originally designed to erase the wearer’s tracks. Reaction, the brand name for Ace’s shoes, gives the piece its title; it suggests responsiveness, a theme important to Ace’s work. He does more than upcycle—he completely reimagines the cast-off remnants of our culture of consumption, turning found objects into art.