After 11 years working with the Southwestern Association for American Indian Arts, Santa Fe’s Amber Dawn Bear Robe (Siksika Nation) left the nonprofit that produces the annual Indian Market and has taken her Native Fashion Week event with her. To be clear, SWAIA will continue to produce its own version of the show but, for many, Bear Robe has been the heart and soul of the whole kit and kaboodle.
In fact, while at SWAIA, Bear Robe grew the event from a small gathering of designers and models and a Cathedral Park event into an internationally relevant and impactful program including runway shows, educational opportunities, a symposium and networking opportunities. Just last year, she presided over the first-ever Native Fashion Week, the largest and longest coming-together of Indigenous designers, models, industry folks, etc. in the country—and she’ll do it again this May 8-11, only without the SWAIA safety net (though with fiscal sponsorship from the Santa Fe Film Institute and many other sponsorships—some of which are still available).
With Native Fashion Week’s May 8 kickoff, there is still much to be done. Bear Robe, however, made time to discuss a few of the specifics. Here’s some of what we can expect this year:
SWAIA is in the Past
“SWAIA was a great home and I am grateful for my time there,” Bear Robe tells SFR. “That was a fabulous period of my life and career, but it’s time for me to leave the nest and grow and do other adventures.”
That doesn’t mean it has necessarily been easy. Producing a week of fashion shows—including parties, panels, model relations, lodging, food, drink, internet and so many other elements—is no small task, especially without a whole nonprofit team.
“Leaving any relationship is a transition,” Bear Robe explains, “but the transition is positive and I’m excited for this new chapter of my life and to be independent.”
We’re Talking About the Whole Railyard
Bear Robe’s Native Fashion Week will take over basically the whole Railyard, from the Farmers Market Pavilion and the main plaza area, to special offerings at Violet Crown Cinema (helllloooo, screenings of The Phantom Thread and Zoolander and Clueless), mixers at bars like As Above So Below Distillery and at Milk of the Poppy (the latter of which is slated to open March 21), trunk shows, catwalks and more. Native Fashion Week is a sprawling affair, so expect to see the Railyard become fashion central. Bear Robe will even take over office space at the old Warehouse 21 building on Paseo de Peralta, and says we’ll likely see some events play out there, too.
It Takes a Village
Though Bear Robe could easily tout the ways in which her vision led to the largest Indigenous fashion event in the country, she is quick to highlight the myriad other folks behind Native Fashion Week Santa Fe. These include support staff from Jam Productions CO, model managers, teams composed of people from New York City and Los Angeles, as well as local workers, volunteers and other staff. “I need to stress that I have this team,” she says.
Names You Know, Names You Don’t
Bear Robe says that roughly 30 Indigenous designers have signed on for her programming, including well-known designers like Oralndo Dugi and Jennifer Lamont and Penny Singer—but also rising stars like Nonamey and, unexpectedly but most excellently, Douglas Miles and his Apache Skateboards brand. “My vision is to always blur the line contemporary art and fashion,” Bear Robe says. “Nonamey has just done a storefront window for Hermés in New York City; Douglas Miles…I just have to say he’s the OG of Native skate fashion; they just signed a deal with Etnies!” For the full list of designers, visit nativefashionweeksantafe.com.
Low-Cost and Free Events
Bear Robe says that accessibility is a major concern for Native Fashion Week Santa Fe, especially since the bar is already kind of high in the fashion world. Part of that is a major investment on her part—including improvements to the wifi in the Railyard to allow for live streaming by company Kiswe, as well as logistical support and, let’s be honest, attendees to pop off via social media. Still, Bear Robe says, accessibility remains a key component to making the run successful. “I don’t want to give all my secrets away,” she says, “but a lot of the events will be free and open to the public, and we will have very reasonable ticket prices.” Bear Robe also says that panels and the symposium will eschew any sort of academic speak in favor of an approach more akin to storytelling. “I’m looking at the symposium as being educational, but also fun and exciting and looking at the future,” she says. “These people who have been working in this field now for over a decade…just to hear their stories to get their perspective? I don’t want some dull thing.”
It’ll Be Hot, Probably
And dull Native Fashion Week likely won’t be. As this is not Bear Robe’s first rodeo, the event has gained steam and word-of-mouth like woah over the years. Those in attendance will surely be what we might call an all-star lineup, and this includes fashion fans, writers from major publications, celebs, models and who even knows what else. For Bear Robe, fashion is about more than draperies and clothing—it’s a visual and visceral textile art that, when merged with Indigenous art and craft traditions, becomes its own kind of medium. Perhaps it will sound melodramatic, but there is something historical in the air, and with Santa Fe at the epicenter of the movement, who knows what will happen next? Something cool, no doubt.
