If you’ve been reading me or following me on Instagram over the past few months, you’ve probably noticed that I’ve been spending a lot of time and energy thinking about Indigenous fashion in “the Americas.” As I mentioned in August, this is a continuation of some of the questions that remained unanswered from my doctoral research and an initial inquiry into what I hope will be my next “big” research project.
I don’t know if this is one of those things where Internet algorithms know me too well or if this is really a larger trend, but it seems to me that there is a growing interest on Indigenous fashion globally. And I have received some emails and messages asking for additional resources and a few additional reading suggestions from some of the most generous members of this community.
So I’ve decided to make Indigenous fashion in Turtle Island the subject of my first series of paid content this month.
Below, you’ll find a sort of “annotated bibliography” that I hope will aid your inquiries into the subject. I will be sharing some notes and reflections of a fashion exhibition from an Indigenous perspective and my thoughts on the journal issue that guides this month’s study guide later this month. And if you’d like to join me for a discussion of these resources, please subscribe to the “Fashion connoisseur” level on my Patreon to join my monthly virtual reading club.
As always, thank you for reading and I hope you enjoy learning from this list!
Journal of the month
Fashioning Resurgence: Indigenous Fashion Design and Decolonization on Turtle Island — edited by Riley Kucheran and Ben Barry (2022)
This special issue of Fashion Theory grew from an attempt to Indigenize the School of Fashion at Toronto Metropolitan University since 2015. Featuring two articles and five panels, this volume constitutes an important foundation for the continuing and growing study of Indigenous fashion in Turtle Mountain (known commonly as “North America”). The different components of this special issue offer methodologies, case studies, and strategies to Indigenize and decolonize fashion through both practice and scholarship.
Additional resources
1. Indigenous Dress Theory and Dress in Canadian Residential Schools — Shawkay Ottmann (2020)
This paper proposes an Indigenous dress theory based on Indigenous epistemologies and taking as a point of departure the voices of school Survivors. In building this theory, Ottmann emphasizes differentiation between Western and Indigenous worldviews to offer a nuanced understanding of the events and effects of stripping Indigenous children of their clothes.
2. Native Fashion with Jamie Okuma (Luiseño, Shoshone-Bannock, Wailaki and Okinawa) and Dr. Jessica Metcalfe (Turtle Mountain Chippewa) — All My Relations Podcast (2020)
In this conversation, artist and fashion designer Jamie Okuma and art and fashion historian Dr. Jessica Metcalfe narrate their journeys through Native fashion and explore the importance of the representation of identities through clothing.
3. Indigenizing Fashion: Push for Real Inclusion, Not Tokenism — Jessica R. Metcalfe (2019)
One of four essays of the special edition on Indigenizing fashion, guest edited by Amber-Dawn Bear Rome. In it, Dr. Metcalfe highlights the importance of pursuing real inclusion of Native American voices and representation in fashion, rather than following bland attempts at diversifying fashion narratives through tokenism.
4. Fashion History Now #20: The Future of Fashion is Indigenous with Vogue’s Christian Allaire — Dressed: The History of Fashion (2020)
In this interview, fashion journalist Christian Allaire (Ojibwe) talks about his work to Indigenize fashion by showcasing the important contribution of Indigenous designers, creatives, and professionals in the industry.
5. Native Fashion Now: North American Indian Style — edited by Karen Kramer (2015)
This book was created to accompany the homonymous exhibition at Peabody Essex Museum and one of the first thorough explorations of Native American fashion and its impact on mainstream fashion design in Turtle Island. It has contributions by Jay Calderin, Madeleine M. Kropa, and Jessica R. Metcalfe.
6. Fashion History Now #54: SWAIA Indigenous Fashion with Amber-Dawn Bear Robe — Dressed: The History of Fashion (2020)
This interview with curator Amber-Dawn Bear Robe discusses Indigenous fashion especially in relation to the 2023 SWAIA Native Fashion Show.
7. Shaped by the Loom: Weaving Worlds in the American Southwest — curated by Hadley Jensen at Bard Graduate Center (2023)
This exhibition brought together historical textile pieces with contemporary works by Diné weavers and artists in order to showcase the vibrancy of Indigenous textiles and highlight the seasonal cycles that guide the harvesting of dye plants, the cosmologies that inform a weaver’s work, and the songs, stories, and prayers that are woven into every piece. An online version of the exhibition can be accessed through BGC’s website.
8. Ecologies of Making: Knowledge and Process in Navajo Weaving — symposium at BGC (2023)
This symposium was held in conjunction with the exhibition Shaped by the Loom and features perspectives from contemporary Diné weavers and scholarly explorations into historical and contemporary Navajo weavings.
9. Fashion(s) from the Northwest Coast: Nuu-chah-nulth Design Iterations — Denise Nicole Green (2016)
This chapter explores the history of Nuu-chah-nulth aesthetics and design practice through the lens of fashion theory and discusses the work of contemporary Nuu-chah-nulth designers in face of ongoing colonialism, hybridization, and capitalism.
10. Can Indigenous Knowledge Move the Fashion Industry Forward? — Sunny Fitzgerald (2020)
This article brings together the voices of (mostly) Indigenous professionals in the fashion and textile industries in an attempt to understand the contributions of Indigenous knowledge to contemporary fashion.
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