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Photo Essay: Showcasing Authentically American Style At Native Fashion Week

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By Simbarashe Cha
New York Times
Peshawn Bread, a designer with Comanche, Kiowa and Cherokee roots, who presented a disco-themed line called House of Sutai during Native Fashion Week. Photo / Simbarashe Cha for The New York Times

Photographer Simbarashe Cha documents the inaugural Native Fashion Week, which saw Indigenous designers gather to showcase distinct and diverse ensembles.

For four days in early May, Indigenous fashion designers, models and artisans from across North America came to Santa Fe, New Mexico, for Native Fashion Week.

The event, new this

The style outside and inside the city’s Community Convention Centre, where much of Native Fashion Week took place, reflected the diversity of its participants — a group with a growing presence in the American fashion industry.

Tyler Tarbon Lansing, a Diné sporting both Native and American-patriotic accessories during Native Fashion Week. Photo / Simbarashe Cha for The New York Times
Tyler Tarbon Lansing, a Diné sporting both Native and American-patriotic accessories during Native Fashion Week. Photo / Simbarashe Cha for The New York Times
Twins Quincey Young Poersch, left, and Sophia Sampson Poersch, of the Lumbee Tribe of North Carolina, attend Native Fashion Week. Photo / Simbarashe Cha for The New York Times
Twins Quincey Young Poersch, left, and Sophia Sampson Poersch, of the Lumbee Tribe of North Carolina, attend Native Fashion Week. Photo / Simbarashe Cha for The New York Times
A feathered hat seen during Native Fashion Week. Photo / Simbarashe Cha for The New York Times
A feathered hat seen during Native Fashion Week. Photo / Simbarashe Cha for The New York Times
Sarain Fox, a Canadian Anishinaabe activist and filmmaker, in a custom ribbon skirt. Photo / Simbarashe Cha for The New York Times
Sarain Fox, a Canadian Anishinaabe activist and filmmaker, in a custom ribbon skirt. Photo / Simbarashe Cha for The New York Times
Backstage looks from House of Sutai. Photo / Simbarashe Cha for The New York Times
Backstage looks from House of Sutai. Photo / Simbarashe Cha for The New York Times
A look from Himikalas Pamela Baker’s collection. Photo / Simbarashe Cha for The New York Times
A look from Himikalas Pamela Baker’s collection. Photo / Simbarashe Cha for The New York Times

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A backstage look from Helen Oro Designs. Photo / Simbarashe Cha for The New York Times
A backstage look from Helen Oro Designs. Photo / Simbarashe Cha for The New York Times
Looks from Products Of My Environment. Photo / Simbarashe Cha for The New York Times
Looks from Products Of My Environment. Photo / Simbarashe Cha for The New York Times
A model in a look from Products Of My Environment. Photo / Simbarashe Cha for The New York Times
A model in a look from Products Of My Environment. Photo / Simbarashe Cha for The New York Times
Robert J.G. Allan, who is Diné and Anishinabe during Native Fashion Week. Photo / Simbarashe Cha for The New York Times
Robert J.G. Allan, who is Diné and Anishinabe during Native Fashion Week. Photo / Simbarashe Cha for The New York Times
An attendee in blues and turquoise. Photo / Simbarashe Cha for The New York Times
An attendee in blues and turquoise. Photo / Simbarashe Cha for The New York Times
Ayona Lovelady, left, Lakota Sioux, and Gladys NohNah Martin, who is Potawatomi and Ojibwe, co-ordinated outfits during Native Fashion Week. Photo / Simbarashe Cha for The New York Times
Ayona Lovelady, left, Lakota Sioux, and Gladys NohNah Martin, who is Potawatomi and Ojibwe, co-ordinated outfits during Native Fashion Week. Photo / Simbarashe Cha for The New York Times
Photo / Simbarashe Cha for The New York Times
Photo / Simbarashe Cha for The New York Times

This article originally appeared in The New York Times.

Written and photographed by: Simbarashe Cha

©2024 THE NEW YORK TIMES

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