NEO NATIVE DESIGNS ARE BEAUTIFUL NOW

“Native Fashion Now,” is a large scale traveling exhibition, making the rouds at museums across the country through 2016. It began at the Peabody Essex Museum, in Salem, Massachusetts, which houses a fantastic permanent exhibition of Native American art and design.

The exhibition includes the work of the 75 contemporary indigenous designers, working across 4 themes: Pathbreakers, Revisitors, Activators and Provocateurs.

We are sharing the work of 6 very talented Native designers with you today.

1. ORLANDO DUGI

Native American designer Orlando Dugi takes traditional Navajo materials, like feathers, beads, porcupine quills, paint, and 24k gold, and marries them to silk, wool, and cotton. He uses cochineal and other natural dyes.

Native American fashion photographer Unék Francis produced a series of gorgeous photos, featuring Native American models Julia Foster and Mona Bear in Dugi’s designs.

Dugi started with a line of elaborately hand-beaded evening clutches and bags. Now, you can find his beadwork genius in her new lines of jewelry and evening gowns.

The brand name “DUGI” means “mustache” in Navajo.

Every DUGI piece is handmade and is one-of-a-kind sample size, until it is ordered in a specific size. Dugi makes each bag himself. He has 2 assistants who help him with beadwork for the gowns.

Check out more of Orlando Dugi’s designs here. And visit his studio in Santa Fe, NM.

2. JAMIE OKUMA

Jamie Okuma (Luiseño/Shoshone-Bannock) began beading at the age of 5. At 22, she became the youngest winner of Santa Fe Indian Market's Grand Prize. Part Luiseno, part Shoshone-Bannock, Okuma lives on the La Jolla Luiseno Tribe reservation, about 60 miles east of San Diego.

Okuma’s beading designs are a fusion of contemporary and traditional visions. Her projects are one-of-a-kind.

We love her genius boots. Okuma hand-stitched antique beads (circa 1880s) onto a pair of Christian Louboutin stiletto boots, repurposing them into works of wearable art.

Okuma’s works have been shown at the Metropolitan Museum of Art, Smithsonian’s National Museum of the American Indian, as well as at other world class museum and art institutions.

3. PATRICIA MICHAELS

Native American designer Patricia Michaels made her mark on Project Runway. She’s gone on to create some beautiful collections of clothing and accessories.

We love her parasols, commissioned by the Peabody Essex Museum, made of hand dyed textiles and handles, carved by her partner, James Duran.

Many of Michaels’ garments are are handpainted as well.

Inspired by couture designers such as Chanel, Michaels combines high style with Native motifs. She is also inspired by nature and draws on her Taos Pueblo heritage. She uses eco-friendly and organic materials.

4. BETHANY YELLOWTAIL

Native American designer Bethany Yellowtail is touting a new collection called “The Mighty Few" for her brand b.YELLOWTAIL. It features gossamer maxi dresses, Native patterns and European detail. The designs are a mix of heritage, honoring the past, and new ideas.

Yellowtail grew up on the Crow Nation and Northern Cheyenne Indian reservations in southeastern Montana.

Her photographer, models, and video director are all Native American. She collaborates with other Native artists, like John Pepion, to create some pieces, such as her Women Warrior Ledger Scarf. All of her pieces are constructed on native land and are handmade by the b.YELLOWTAIL design team. 

5. KRISTEN DORSEY

Kristen Dorsey calls upon her Chickasaw heritage and artistry to create her handcrafted jewelry pieces. They are a unique mix of Chickasaw visual traditions infused with contemporary California style.

Dorsey studied at the School of the Museum of Fine Arts in Boston, MA while earning a degree in American studies with a concentration in Native American studies from Tufts University.  

She uses traditional materials, like conch shells, pearls, copper, and stingray skin, in new ways, making sure they are environmentally friendly and produced using ethical manufacturing practices.  All pieces are handmade in California, using conflict-free natural gemstones and recycled metals. 

6. LOUIE GONG

Artist and activist Louie Gong (Nooksack) designed the original hand-drawn Coast Salish Vans shoes. Gong drew on a blank pair of sneakers with a Sharpie, personalizing them with tribal designs.

Read more about Beautiful Appreciation, as it relates to Arts/Design, Nature/Science, Food/Drink, Place/Time, Mind/Body, and Soul/Impact including  Beautiful Appreciation: Native American Vintage Portraits Now, Beautiful Bison, Bears & Thanks Now, The Beauty of Wild Turkeys Now, Contemporary Ancient: Native Portraits Now, and Appreciating the Native Beauty of Algonquin Lands Now.

Want more stories like this? Sign up for our weekly BN Newsletter, Like us on Facebook. Follow us on Twitter, Instagram, Pinterest, Tumblr. Join our BeautifulNow Community and connect with the most beautiful things happening in the world right now!

Do you have amazing photos? Enter them in this week’s BN Photo Competition. We run new creative competitions every week! Now, it’s even easier to enter with the new BeautifulNow App!

Plus check out the rest of our App’s beautiful features. It’s free to download here.

IMAGE CREDITS:

1. Image: by Unék Francis, of Unék Photography. Courtesy of Orlando Dugi. Desert Heat Collection. Paint, silk, organza, feathers, beads, and 24k gold.
2. Image: by Unék Francis, of Unék Photography. Courtesy of Orlando Dugi. Desert Heat Collection.
3. Image: by Unék Francis, of Unék Photography. Courtesy of Orlando Dugi. Desert Heat Collection.
4. Image: by Unék Francis, of Unék Photography. Courtesy of Peabody Essex Museum. Desert Heat Collection.
5. Image: by Unék Francis, of Unék Photography. Courtesy of Orlando Dugi. Desert Heat Collection.
6. Image: Courtesy of Jamie Okuma. Italian Pony-Hair Bag with Metal Spikes.
7. Image: Courtesy of Peabody Essex Museum. Swallow Boots, by Jamie Okuma.
8. Image: by Bill Curry. Courtesy of Patricia Michaels.
9. Image: by Bill Curry. Courtesy of Patricia Michaels.
10. Image: Courtesy of Bethany Yellowtail. b.YELLOWTAIL Collection.
11. Image: Courtesy of Bethany Yellowtail. b.YELLOWTAIL Collection.
12. Image: Courtesy of Kristen Dorsey Designs.
13. Image: Courtesy of Kristen Dorsey Designs.
14. Image: Courtesy of Louie Gong.
15. Image: by Unék Francis, of Unék Photography. Courtesy of Orlando Dugi. Desert Heat Collection.
16. Image: Courtesy of Kristen Dorsey Designs.
17. Image: by BN App - Download now!
18. Image: Courtesy of Kristen Dorsey Designs.