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The Santa Fe Indian Market in New Mexico has served as a creative hub for indigenous artists from a variety of tribes across North America to sell their work for 98 years now. First created by the Museum of New Mexico in 1922 as part of the Santa Fe Fiesta celebration, it has become one the city’s main tourism events: continuing to draw in an international crowd of collectors who flock to the booths in search of one-of-a-kind pieces, including clothing, jewelry, textiles, pottery, and more. And it isn’t just for the thrifty market shopper, either—these pieces take the exhibiting Native artists months to produce, with some one-off items costing upwards of tens of thousands of dollars. (There were also a number of beaded works from talents profiled by Vogue, such as Jamie Okuma, Elias Jade Not Afraid, Tania Larsson, Molina Parker, and more.)
This past weekend, the market proved more vibrant and bustling than ever. Over two eventful days, tradition and innovation collided to prove that indigenous design is not all the same, as highlighted through the two main events on Sunday, August 18th: the Clothing Contest and Haute Couture Fashion Show. The annual Clothing Contest displayed the finest of traditional regalia, with most of the handmade creations made by members of the wearer’s family, showing just how far their respective tribes’s crafts have been passed down through the generations. Natasha Ashley Brokeshoulder, for instance, who is Diné, wore a wing dress created by her father-in-law, while her breastplate was assembled by her husband. “I got the right to wear the regalia that I have from my husband, who is Absentee Shawnee from the Southern Plains,” she said, adding that it is respectful to gain permission from other tribes to wear their specific styles of garment.
Others chose a more historical approach to fashion. Zeke Arjeanas, who is also Diné and won first place in the men’s category, referenced the Long Walk of the Navajo (the 1860s deportation of this indigenous tribe from their native land) for his traditional Clothing Contest outfit. “What I’m wearing is a blanket—not a Navajo blanket, but an army-issued blanket that was issued to the Navajos [at that time],” he said. “With the army-issued blanket, it’s a lot thicker and scratchier versus a Navajo textile blanket, which was more fine, lightweight, and waterproof.”
Later on in the day, the Haute Couture Fashion Week switched things up with a display of less traditional fashions, made by a handful of prominent indigenous designers working in a more contemporary mode. While not traditional per se, their twisted takes proved just how current Native design can be. Take the debut Shy Natives lingerie line, or the new collection of the New York–based designer Korina Emmerich (Puyallup), whose asymmetrical vests and graphic wool coats offered a modern interpretation of her tribe’s punchy aesthetic. She also used Gwich’in-inspired jewelry by Larsson, mentioned above, in the show. “What I admire in Korina’s work is her modern, impeccable cuts,” Larsson said. “There is a traditional element that is inherent within my work because of the materials that I use and through the process that they are acquired, such as trade and through community exchanges.”
