"Welcome to the photo exhibition "NATIVE RUNWAY. Indigenous Fashion from North America," which features works by native designers from the Haute Couture Fashion Show at the annual SWAIA Santa Fe Indian Market. The featured designers draw inspiration from their cultural heritage and express themselves in a contemporary style, using new techniques and materials. Many of the designers' creations have been presented on runways in New York, Paris, and Vancouver, highlighted in Vogue or the New York Times and collected by prominent museums. Please enjoy the beautiful fashion by designers from the USA and Canada and find more information about each artist through the provided QR link to their website." - Erika Knecht, Curator
NATIVE RUNWAY. Indigenous Fashion from North America features photography from the Haute Couture Fashion Show in Santa Fe. In 2014, the Southwestern Association for Indian Arts (SWAIA) held the first official Haute Couture Fashion Show, organized by Amber-Dawn Bear Robe (Siksika Nation), as part of their program for the annually Santa Fe Indian Market, the largest and most prestigious art fair for contemporary Indigenous artists that takes place every August since 1922. The fashion show was first produced as a free event at Cathedral Park, where only four designers showed their work and the models walked down the walkway of the park. Under the leadership of Bear Robe, it has grown into one of the most anticipated events of Market, with over 1000 people in the audience, over 100 models wearing the collections from 8 to 12 designers.
“The show highlights Indigenous fashion designers who are influenced from their cultural to create clothing, jewelry, and accessories that embody the essence of ancestral memory while creative innovative designs representing the now.” - Amber-Dawn Bear Robe, Fashion Show Host, Director and Producer
This photography show introduces award-winning and international recognized Indigenous fashion designers from the United States and Canada. Designers whose collections have graced the SWAIA runway are Orlando Dugi, Catherine Blackburn, Decontie & Brown, Patricia Michaels, Maya Stewart, Jamie Okuma & Ataumbi Metals, Aconav, Trickster Company, Pamela Baker and Sho Sho Esquiro, Pamela Baker, Yolanda Skelton, Shane Watson, Margaret Roach Wheeler, Korina Emmerich, Leslie Hampton, Shy Natives, Bethany Yellowtail, Violet Dawn Ahmie, Dorothy Grant, Rose Simpson, Cody Sanderson.
With the support of Amber-Dawn Bear Robe, this exhibition is curated by Erika Knecht as part of INDIANER INUIT: DAS NORDAMERIKA FILMFESTIVAL (postponed to 2023)
