Dive Brief:
- The Southwestern Association for Indian Arts held its first Indigenous Fashion Week from May 2 to May 5 in Santa Fe, New Mexico, according to a press release posted earlier this month.
- More than 100 Indigenous nations were represented during the 4-day show, Amber-Dawn Bear Robe, the event’s fashion director, said in an email to Fashion Dive. Presentations featured collections from 17 Indigenous North American designers, as well as pop-shops and fashion symposiums.
- The fashion week was an offshoot of the city’s established Santa Fe Indian Market that annually attracts in excess of 100,000 people each August to see more than 1,000 native artists. The market includes a fashion component featuring five indigenous designers, according to Jaime Schulze, executive director of SWAIA.
Dive Insight:
Approximately 2,000 attendees came for the event, and there was “heavy interest” from national retailers and manufacturers, Schulze said in a call with Fashion Dive. She said the organization is working on dates for a second fashion week in 2025.
“We are taking this moment to acknowledge the successful launch of a new, annual, native fashion week under the SWAIA brand authority,” Schulze said in the press release. “Our new shoulder season event expands SWAIA's mission of bringing native arts to the world 365 days a year — and builds another economic driver for our artists, their communities and the city and state of New Mexico.”
Schulze praised the diversity of the curated designers who showcased a combination of traditional designs and contemporary styles. She felt the show offered attendees an opportunity to envision collaborations with these designers that could have success at the mainstream level.
“We’re seeing collaborations in pockets, and so what we wanted to do was to make sure there was a place where these collaborations can happen, and where you can reach out and ask questions,” Schulze said. “It is always vital and important because when it comes to sovereign nations and their designs, there is a real piece that is wanting to connect those dots.”
The selection of designers was orchestrated by Bear Robe, who said she has been involved with the organization’s summer event for 10 years.
“The goal of fashion week is to expand the footprint of Indigenous fashion in the American fashion industry,” Bear Robe said. “It is an event that celebrates the rich creativity and diversity of Indigenous designers from across Canada and the United States.”
