Indigenous fashion of the Americas

Last updated

Maya embroidery, Dzibalchen, Campeche, Mexico Huipil de Campeche.jpg
Maya embroidery, Dzibalchen, Campeche, Mexico
The dress of Aymara women in Bolivia has inspired contemporary Indigenous designers Altiplano bolivie769m.jpg
The dress of Aymara women in Bolivia has inspired contemporary Indigenous designers
Mapuche fashion in Chile highlights rainbow colors and silverwork unique to their people. Ceremonia de entrega de Titulos de Dominio en la region de la Araucania (15340938930).jpg
Mapuche fashion in Chile highlights rainbow colors and silverwork unique to their people.

Indigenous fashion of the Americas is the design and creation of high-fashion clothing and fashion accessories by Indigenous peoples of the Americas.

Contents

Indigenous designers frequently incorporate motifs and customary materials into their wearable artworks, providing a basis for creating items for the couture and international fashion markets. Their designs may result from techniques such as beadwork, quillwork, leather, and textile arts, such as weaving, twining, and tufting. In some cases, however, they choose not to include any materials associated with Indigenous cultures.

Controversy has emerged over the cultural misappropriation or inappropriate use of cultural heritage and intellectual property by non-Native designers. Respectful use of imagery by mainstream designers who are not Indigenous can help expand appreciation of Native cultures, but plagiarism of design or malapropos use reinforces negative stereotypes and spurs controversy. Similarly, utilizing artisan craftwork can expand awareness if designers are fairly compensated for their work and given credit for their contributions. Contemporary controversies have spurred both crowd-sourced and legislative action to protect the designs and cultural heritage of Indigenous designers.

History

Elegant Aymara woman in Bolivia combined customary Aymaya bowler hat, shawls, and layers of petticoats with high-heeled boats, ca. 1920 Chola Pacena, Grand Dame. c. 1920, Gismondi Studio Archive, La Paz.png
Elegant Aymara woman in Bolivia combined customary Aymaya bowler hat, shawls, and layers of petticoats with high-heeled boats, ca. 1920

Mid-20th century

Gilberto Ortiz in 2015. Gilberto Ortiz.jpg
Gilberto Ortiz in 2015.

In Mexico before 1950, many Indigenous communities were isolated and produced their own traditional clothing. As roads improved and people began moving from the countryside to cities, many put aside their traditional clothing, to blend in with their new cosmopolitan neighbors. [1] In 1965, Gilberto Ortiz (Mixtec) moved from San Andrés Lagunas, Oaxaca, to Mexico City and began training as a tailor under German businessman, José Schroeder. Acquiring traditional European styling, his first major client was movie icon, María Félix. In 1978, Ortiz left Schroeder and partnered with the Italian businessman, Edmundo Calanchini. He designed mainly for businessmen and politicians until 1997, when he opened his own shop aimed specifically at the haute couture market. In 2006, at the suggestion of his client Juan Gabriel, Ortiz launched his own label, Gioros, an acronym using the first two letters of each of his names, Gilberto Ortiz Osorio. In 2012, he was named one of the top three tailors in the world by the textile firm Scabal. Typically Ortiz produces classically styled garments using high-end fabrics, but his latest offering in 2017 featured men's and women's jeans. [2] [3] [4]

Sean McCormick (Métis), who began designing footwear in the early 1990s and in 2008, launched Manitobah Mukluks; [5] [6] and Virginia Yazzie Ballenger (Navajo), New Mexican designer, [7] [8] most noted for her "fluted broomstick skirt and matching velveteen blouse". [9]

Since 1995, the Canadian Aboriginal Festival (CANAB) has hosted a fashion show of First Nations designers. Dave Jones (Garden River Ojibwe), began producing an annual fashion show for the Canadian Aboriginal Music Awards (CAMA) in 2001. [10] [11] By 2008, the CANAB Festival featured six fashion shows, as well as booths for designers to exhibit their wares. [12] In 1998, the Denver Art Museum hosted a fashion show, Indian Chic featuring the works of Dorothy Grant, Wendy Ponca, and Margaret Roach Wheeler. It was the first time a major museum had shown works in their collection of Indigenous garments, labeling them as "fashion". [13] Other Native designers of the 2000s include Orlando Dugi (Navajo), Dallin Maybee (Northern Arapaho/Seneca), Connie Gaussoin (Navajo/Picuris Pueblo), the street style of Douglas Miles of Apache Skateboards (San Carlos Apache/Akimel O'odham) and the custom shoes of Louie Gong (Nooksack/Squamish). [14] Dugi is self-taught in fashion, learning to sew, measure and create patterns from online resources. [15] Jamie Okuma (Luiseño/Shoshone-Bannock), another self-taught artist, became the youngest person to earn the Best of Show ribbon at the Santa Fe Indian Market in 2000. [16] [17] [18]

21st-century

From the turn of the 21st century, there has been a resurgence in Latin America for Indigenous designs. The trend has been to partner with Indigenous communities of artisans to create fabrics for non-Native designers. [19] [20] [21] [22] [23] In many countries, the Indigenous heritage is seen as part of the national identity and there was little recognition that the design elements non-Native designers used and modified were part of the intellectual property of Indigenous communities. Designers often used remnants of textiles or cut-out embroidery on one garment to use on another. Imitations of Indigenous designs were ordered from labor markets in Asia. After 2010, the trend began to change with slow recognition that original Indigenous designs and designers should be respected. [1] One innovator in this period was Franklin Janeta (Puruhá), of Riobamba, Ecuador, who began working as an embroidery artisan as a child, and in 2000 opened Vispu, a store to market his designs. Modifying traditional clothing styles, he altered components like necklines and sleeve length to create more contemporary fashions. [24] Around the same time, Eliana Paco Paredes (Aymara) of Bolivia began to design fashions based on the traditional costumes of the cholitas , using wool or aguayo fabrics, but fusing them with lace or silk and decorating them with rhinestones and sequins. In 2016, after showing her work at Bolivian Fashion Week, she was invited to participate in New York Fashion Week. [25]

In Ecuador, Lucía Guillín (Puruhá) launched Churandy featuring the dress styles of Indigenous Andes communities with contemporary modifications in 2012. Her clothing lines have expanded to include blouses, jackets, and shorts featuring embroidery patterns and colors typical to the region. [26] The same year, Sisa Morocho (Puruhá) also launched her design company Sumak Churay in Quito, after studying fashion at the Ana MacAulife Institute. Her father's death had prompted her to leave the family hat business and branch out on her own. Using motifs from the Puruhá culture and adorning them with beads, embroidery, and sequins on brightly colored fabrics, she first sold blouses and then became known for dresses. In 2015, Morocho was able to open a second store featuring her designs in Riobamba. [27] [28]

Modern women's parka by Inuk designer Victoria Kakuktinniq, 2021. Modern women's parka by Victoria Kakuktinniq, 2021.jpg
Modern women's parka by Inuk designer Victoria Kakuktinniq, 2021.

In 2013, Victoria Kakuktinniq (Inuit) founded Victoria's Arctic Fashion to market her designs. She creates fur and leather winterwear goods including headbands, jackets, gloves, and parkas, using sealskin and decorated with fox cuffs and embroidery. [29] [30] In 2015, Kakuktinniq won the Business of the Year award from the Nunavut annual trade show. [31]

The Italian designing firm, Ermenegildo Zegna, opened a fashion institute in 2016, in the Azcapotzalco neighborhood of Mexico City with the goal of teaching the techniques of design to Indigenous women. Students enrolled were members of the Mazahua, Nahua, Otomí, Purépecha, Triqui and Tzeltal ethnic groups. The training the women received focused on tailoring techniques rather than on native design elements in an effort to allow the women to move from craftwork into the high fashion market. [32] That same year, Nala Peter (Inuit) began making sealskin bras and panties at the suggestion of her partner, link marketing them online and was invited to participate in the Floe Edge: Contemporary Art and Collaborations exhibition in Nunavut. Another exhibitor at the show was Nicole Camphaug (Inuit), who designs footwear with sealskin and fur heels and vamps. [33] [29]

Vancouver hosted its first Indigenous Fashion Week in 2017 with designs from numerous First Nations designers, including Sho Sho Esquiro [18] (Kaska Dena/Cree), known for elaborately decorated gowns, enhanced with fur, beaver tail, salmon skin, feathers and shells combined with gold trim; Evan Ducharme (Métis), whose work focuses on sustainable and Eco-friendly design [34] and incorporates Métis elements like knotted belts based on fishing net techniques; [35] Jeneen Frei Njootli (Vuntut Gwitchin), who presented a collection using innovative design incorporating fur and hides; Autum Jules (Tlingit), noted for her use of textures and color to reflect the connection between people and the earth; Tyler-Alan Jacobs, (Squamish) whose designs reflect his identity as a two-spirit artist; and Alano Edzerza (Tahltan), known as a multi-media artist whose work incorporates silk-screened images of Native iconography on his garments. [34] Jill Setah (Yunesit'in) participated in the Vancouver event, after having showcased her works at both Oxford Fashion Week and Paris Fashion Week. [35] Tishynah Buffalo (George Gordon), who lives in Alberta, Canada, was invited to participate in London Fashion Week in 2017, to showcase her innovative designs which often use Pendleton blankets and are decorated with beadwork and Cree floral patterns. [36] Helen Oro, (Pelican Lake), who designs fashion accessories, also participated in the event. Oro who has found ceremonial beading constricting, adds beadwork to glasses, headbands, heels and creates jewelry pieces. [36] [37] [38]

First Nations designers, including Sage Paul (Denesuline), launched the first Indigenous Fashion Week Toronto in 2018. [39]

After the United States passed the Indian Arts and Crafts Act of 1990, public debate in Canada over protection of intellectual property rights became a media topic. There are no Canadian laws that specifically protect against cultural appropriation. The government utilizes international agreements to uphold their fiduciary responsibility to First Nations. As in the US, laws cover communities as a whole and not individual copyright and it is difficult for Indigenous peoples to prevent misappropriation of their names and symbols. Most protections that exist are to protect economic rather than heritage rights. In two cases, trademarks have been obtained to protect Native artists. Since 1959, the "igloo tag" may be used only by Inuit to protect their works. The Cowichan Band Council has registered "Genuine Cowichan Approved" as a mark specifically for clothing designs. [40]


Canada has no specific laws to protect First Nations iconography and Indigenous arts though two trademarks, "igloo tag" and "Genuine Cowichan Approved" have been registered to protect Inuit and clothing designs for the Cowichan Tribes.

In Latin America, legislation is sparse, but some countries or individual states within countries with high Indigenous populations have passed laws to protect Indigenous heritage and design.

Controversy

Non-Native fashion designers had generated controversary by cultural misappropriation of Indigenous designs and other intellectual property. Environmentalists have also targeted some Native designers, especially Inuit, who use fur in their clothing and adornment.

In 1991, D’Arcy J. Moses (Pehdzeh Ki), whose bold colors and designs featuring beaver and other furs were carried in high-end retail stores like Holt Renfrew, Neiman Marcus and Saks Fifth Avenue, signed a contract with the Fur Council of Canada to help them improve their image, drawing anger from anti-fur activists. While the contract provided a steady income, the controversy created a distraction from his work. [41] [42]

In 2017, Parisian designer Christian Louboutin drew criticism for paying Yucatec Maya artisans only 238 pesos (around $13 US) each for bags he sold for around $28,000 pesos (equivalent to $1,550 US). The controversy was sparked when activists called out Louboutin for exploiting the artisans. He paid for all of their materials and paid the workers 478 pesos per day for 6 hours of work, which compares to the average Mexican salary in the region of 80 pesos for 8 hours of work per day. The artisans were thankful for the work and the monies they received, but Louboutin's firm pulled the page advertising the bags from his website. [43] [44] That same year, the Peruvian textile company Kuna withdrew a collection after complaints that the company had misappropriated kené designs from the Shipibo-Conibo people. The controversy motivated Congresswoman Tania Pariona Tarqui to introduce legislation to protect the cultural heritage and symbols of Indigenous communities in Peru. [45]

Notable Indigenous fashion designers of the Americas

See also

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">New Mexico</span> U.S. state

New Mexico is a landlocked state in the Southwestern region of the United States. It is one of the Mountain States of the southern Rocky Mountains, sharing the Four Corners region with Utah, Colorado, and Arizona. It also borders Texas to the east and southeast, Oklahoma to the northeast, and the Mexican states of Chihuahua and Sonora to the south. New Mexico's largest city is Albuquerque, and its state capital is Santa Fe, the oldest state capital in the U.S., founded in 1610 as the government seat of Nuevo México in New Spain.

The Native American name controversy is an ongoing discussion about the changing terminology used by the Indigenous peoples of the Americas to describe themselves, as well as how they prefer to be referred to by others. Preferred terms vary primarily by region and age. As Indigenous peoples and communities are diverse, there is no consensus on naming.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Santa Fe Indian Market</span>

The Santa Fe Indian Market is an annual art market held in Santa Fe, New Mexico on the weekend following the third Thursday in August. The event draws an estimated 150,000 people to the city from around the world. The Southwestern Association for Indian Arts (SWAIA) organizes the market, showcasing work from 1,200 of the top Native American artists from tribes across the country.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Santa Fe, New Mexico</span> Capital city of New Mexico, United States

Santa Fe is the capital of the U.S. state of New Mexico. With a population of 87,505 at the 2020 census, it is the fourth-most populous city in the state. It is also the county seat of Santa Fe County. Its metropolitan area is part of the Albuquerque–Santa Fe–Los Alamos combined statistical area, which had a population of 1,162,523 in 2020. Human settlement dates back thousands of years in the region. The city was founded in 1610 as the capital of Nuevo México, replacing previous capitals at San Juan de los Caballeros and San Gabriel de Yunque; this makes it the oldest state capital in the United States.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Timeline of Native American art history</span>

This is a chronological list of significant or pivotal moments in the development of Native American art or the visual arts of the Indigenous peoples of the Americas. Earlier dates, especially before the 18th century, are mostly approximate.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Hispanos of New Mexico</span> Ethnic group native to New Mexico

The Hispanos of New Mexico, also known as Neomexicanos or Nuevomexicanos, are Hispanic residents originating in the historical region of Santa Fe de Nuevo México, today the US state of New Mexico, southern Colorado, and other parts of the Southwestern United States including Arizona, Nevada, Texas, and Utah. They are descended from Oasisamerica groups and the settlers of the Viceroyalty of New Spain, the First Mexican Empire and Republic, the Centralist Republic of Mexico, and the New Mexico Territory.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Art of the American Southwest</span> Visual arts of the Southwestern United States

Art of the American Southwest is the visual arts of the Southwestern United States. This region encompasses Arizona, New Mexico, and parts of California, Colorado, Nevada, Texas, and Utah. These arts include architecture, ceramics, drawing, filmmaking, painting, photography, sculpture, printmaking, and other media, ranging from the ancient past to the contemporary arts of the present day.

Lloyd Henri Kiva New was a pioneer of modern Native American fashion design and a cofounder and president emeritus of the Institute of American Indian Arts (IAIA) in Santa Fe, New Mexico.

Tammy Beauvais is an Indigenous fashion designer from Kahnawake Mohawk Territory in Quebec, Canada. She left Kahnawake in 1990 following the Oka Crisis. In 1999 Beauvais launched Tammy Beauvais Designs a North American Indigenous Fashion company which produces contemporary, authentically Indigenous made clothing that honors Indigenous spirituality and traditions.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Josephine Myers-Wapp</span> Comanche weaver and educator

Josephine Myers-Wapp was a Comanche weaver and educator. After completing her education at the Haskell Institute, she attended Santa Fe Indian School, studying weaving, dancing, and cultural arts. After her training, she taught arts and crafts at Chilocco Indian School before joining the faculty of the newly opened Institute of American Indian Arts in Santa Fe. She taught weaving, design, and dance at the institute, and in 1968 was one of the coordinators for a dance exhibit at the Mexican Summer Olympic Games. In 1973, she retired from teaching to focus on her own work, exhibiting throughout the Americas and in Europe and the Middle East. She has work in the permanent collection of the IAIA and has been featured at the Smithsonian Institution. Between 2014 and 2016, she was featured in an exhibition of Native American women artists at the Museum of Indian Arts and Culture in Santa Fe.

Wendy Ponca is an Osage artist, educator, and fashion designer noted for her Native American fashion creations. From 1982 to 1993, she taught design and Fiber Arts courses at the Institute of American Indian Arts (IAIA) of Santa Fe and later taught at the University of Las Vegas. She won first place awards for her contemporary Native American fashion from the Santa Fe Indian Market each year between 1982 and 1987. Her artwork is on display at IAIA, the Los Angeles County Museum of Art, the Philbrook Museum of Art and the Smithsonian Institution's National Museum of the American Indian.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Native American fashion</span>

Native American fashion is the design and creation of high-fashion clothing and fashion accessories by Native Americans in the United States. This is a part of a larger movement of Indigenous fashion of the Americas.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Christine McHorse</span> Ceramics artist of Navajo descent (1948–2021)

Christine McHorse, also known as Christine Nofchissey McHorse, was a Navajo ceramic artist from Santa Fe, New Mexico.

Marjorie Bear Don't Walk is an Ojibwa-Salish health care professional and Native American fashion designer. She is most known as an advocate for reforms in the Indian Health Service, and specifically the care of urban Native Americans. In addition, she is a fashion designer who has targeted career women, designing professional attire which incorporated traditional techniques into her clothing.

Margaret Roach Wheeler is a Chickasaw/Choctaw weaver and Native American fashion designer. Her work has been widely recognized for her scholarship in researching designs and techniques which existed prior to conquest and incorporating design elements into her woven garments. Her work has been featured in numerous collections including the Smithsonian's National Museum of the American Indian, where she has also served as a visiting artist and received a research fellowship. She was inducted into the Chickasaw Nation Hall of Fame in 2010 and was honored by the State of Oklahoma with the Governor's Arts Award in 2018 for her unique contributions to art. She is the founder of Mahota Textiles.

Jessica Metcalfe is a Native American blogger. She is a citizen of the Turtle Mountain Chippewa Tribe in Belcourt, North Dakota.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sandy Fife Wilson</span> Muscogee (Creek) art educator, fashion designer and artist

Sandy Fife Wilson is a Muscogee (Creek) art educator, fashion designer and artist. After graduating from the Institute of American Indian Arts and Northeastern Oklahoma State University, she became an art teacher, first working in the public schools of Dewey, Oklahoma. When Josephine Wapp retired as the textile instructor at the Institute of American Indian Arts, Wilson was hired to teach the design courses. After three years, in 1979, she returned to Oklahoma and taught at Chilocco Indian School until it closed and then worked in the Morris Public School system until her retirement in 2009.

Margaret Wood is a Navajo-Seminole fiber artist, fashion designer, and quilt maker. Though she began her career as a teacher and librarian, Wood switched to fiber arts to allow her to express her creativity. She published Native American Fashion: Modern Adaptations of Traditional Designs, which for four decades was the only book focused on traditional native clothing and how it was modified in contemporary design. From 1990, Wood primarily became a quilter, displaying her works at numerous featured exhibitions throughout the United States, including such venues as the American Craft Museum in Manhattan; the Heard Museum of Phoenix, Arizona; the Riverside Metropolitan Museum of Riverside, California and the Wheelwright Museum of the American Indian of Santa Fe, New Mexico, among many others.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Loren Aragon</span> Native American fashion designer

Loren Aragon is a Native American fashion designer from Acoma Pueblo whose work is inspired by Acoma pottery and culture. His ACONAV couture brand is known for its asymetrical designs, patterns and materials such as silk and leather that blend cultural ideas with modern silhouettes.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Victoria Kakuktinniq</span> Canadian Inuk fashion designer

Victoria Kakuktinniq is a Canadian Inuk fashion designer from Nunavut. Under her label Victoria's Arctic Fashion, Kakuktinniq hand-stitches clothing such as parkas, kamiit, and other accessories. Her work has been described as a major influence in contemporary Inuit fashion. Kakuktinniq has described her work as a means of preserving Inuit traditional skills of sewing and clothing production, which has historically been a significant aspect of Inuit culture. In particular, she advocates for handmade fur garments as sustainable fashion.

References

Citations

  1. 1 2 Gómez 2011.
  2. ↑ Martínez 2014.
  3. ↑ Kemchs 2017.
  4. ↑ El Diario de Chihuahua 2017.
  5. ↑ Falcon 2009.
  6. ↑ Sinopoli 2015.
  7. ↑ Metcalfe 2013, p. Z042.
  8. ↑ Hardin-Burrola, Sarath & Rosebrough 2017, p. 122.
  9. ↑ Metcalfe 2010, p. 237.
  10. ↑ Willmott 2016, p. 187.
  11. ↑ Durnan 2013.
  12. ↑ Willmott 2016, p. 188.
  13. ↑ Metcalfe 2010, p. 243.
  14. ↑ Metcalfe 2012b, p. 85.
  15. ↑ Bennett-Begaye 2015, p. 95.
  16. ↑ Grinberg 2013.
  17. ↑ Indyke 2001.
  18. 1 2 "Native American Fashion's Best of the Best Hit the Runway in Santa Fe [30 Photos] – Indian Country Media Network". indiancountrymedianetwork.com. Retrieved 2018-01-17.
  19. ↑ Aconcha 2014.
  20. ↑ Resnik 2016.
  21. ↑ Castellanos Usigli 2016.
  22. ↑ Campos L. 2016.
  23. ↑ Contacto Hoy 2017.
  24. ↑ El Telégrafo 2017.
  25. ↑ Prensa Libre 2016.
  26. ↑ Alvarado 2015.
  27. ↑ Márquez 2017.
  28. ↑ Mendieta T. 2017.
  29. 1 2 Indian Country Today 2017.
  30. ↑ Tamoto 2013.
  31. ↑ Zerehi 2016.
  32. ↑ Hernández 2016.
  33. ↑ McCue 2016.
  34. 1 2 Collie 2017.
  35. 1 2 Narang 2017.
  36. 1 2 Bell 2017.
  37. ↑ Mattern 2018.
  38. ↑ James 2017.
  39. ↑ Beaulne-Stuebing, Laura (26 March 2023). "Indigenous fashion designers aren't waiting for the industry to change — they're changing it themselves". CBC. Retrieved 12 November 2023.
  40. ↑ Udy 2015.
  41. ↑ Busch 2015.
  42. ↑ Nadeau 2005, p. 186.
  43. ↑ Escobar & Rodríguez 2017.
  44. ↑ Fregoso 2017.
  45. ↑ La Vanguardia 2017.

Bibliography

This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.