courtesy Amber-Dawn Bear Robe
3Q
At this year’s Indian Market, Curator Amber-Dawn Bear Robe (Blackfoot Sikiska) is once again putting together the beloved Indigenous Fashion Show (with a preview at the opening night gala; 6 pm Saturday, Aug. 21; a runway event; 3 pm Sunday, Aug. 22 and a trunk show following the runway show). We’re telling you about this super early so you have a major heads-up to buy your tickets, because this is also one of the most exciting lineups of Native designers in the show’s history with new looks from designers like Jamie Okuma (Luiseño/Shoshone-Bannock), Orlando Dugi (Diné), Pamela Baker (Kwaguilth, Sqaumish), Lauren Good Day (Arikara, Hidatsa, Blackfeet and Plains Cree), Yolanda Skeleton (Gitxsan Nation and the House of Hax-be-gwoo-txw of the Fireweed Clan), Loren Aragon (Acoma Pueblo) and more.
Fashion has become an integral part of Indian Market. Why do you think it has become so embraced?
There’s many layers to that. On an international level, in terms of Canada and the US, I’d say Indigenous fashion started to hold a public platform it didn’t have before. I see the fashion show as an extension of being a curator, and also a venue to not be under the strict rules that juried [Southwestern Association for Indian Arts] artists are under, which offers a breath of fresh air and an innovative new progression. Innovative or new programming is always needed—especially at an event that’s 100 years years old—and [the fashion show] has grown into one of the most anticipated events of the year. I’m so grateful to the models and the designers. Some of them come to market on their own budget just to walk in this fashion show.
Do you think the pandemic is going to play a role in the event?
I can’t answer for the designers and the models, but the response I’m getting when I’m reaching out to models is like, “Yes, can’t wait!” Everyone is so happy to not only be part of the show but to get back to Santa Fe, to see people.…Just to have the in-person fashion show will be much different than last year’s virtual fashion show—which was great and we did really well, but nothing beats in-person. You can look at it as a curated event, and I’m always looking to show diverse designers—it gives this creative curatorial freedom, and this is innovative design that doesn’t fall under the jurisdiction of what constitutes Native fashion or regalia. A lot of people conceive Indigenous fashion not as fashion, but as historical or contemporary regalia. There’s a place for that and an appreciation, but our fashion show has the freedom to go in any direction. We’re up to 80 looks for the show, I think.
It sounds like it’ll be quite impactful.
I don’t want to say it’s the largest Indigenous fashion show in America, but I will say that it’s definitely the largest in the Southwest. Plus, SWAIA fashion and Toronto Fashion Week and Vancouver Fashion Week are building an alliance so we can bring Indigenous fashion to the next level of presence in the fashion world—period. The goal is that the SWAIA Fashion Show can hopefully extend into SWAIA Fashion Week, to much larger than one runway, much more in depth. It’s important to realize that Vancouver and Toronto [Fashion Weeks] have grown much quicker, and one major reason for that is that we don’t have the provincial and federal structure for the arts like up in Canada. We really do rely on our sponsors and our donors and philanthropists. There definitely is a love for this and I’m so excited about the alliances up in Canada. I’m just really looking forward to what the future of this show can be. [Indian Market Executive Director] Kim Peone is really on board and committed to growing SWAIA, supporting Indigenous artists and taking it to a level where it’s not been before.
