Sept. 18, 2023
Indigenous Fashion Show
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Indigenous people are probably some of the most forgotten people in this country. So in turn, they're trying to make their mark on fashion by bringing indigenous designs around the country. This year, the "Honor Our Legacy" fashion show was held at the Northern Winz Casina in the Rocky Boy Reservation. Everyone here, designers and models alike, is Native American.
That's something I love. I'd assume this is a smaller fashion show, but everyone being Natives is refreshing to me. Whenever it came to fashion shows, I'd always see people who looked the same. Imagine a Victoria's Secret fashion show, that's pretty much what they all looked like to me.
Models Rilee Ahenakew, Shenoa Jones, and Leiloni Hugs all agree that this is a very exciting time for all the models involved. “Before I go out on the runway, I kind of have to shake the jitters out. And when you get on the runway, I have to block everything out because tons of people are looking at you,”- Shenoa Jones.
The designers also love the atmosphere. Designers, Lisa Redford, Yolanda Old Dwarf, and Sherleen Yellowhair, love making their models feel powerful and confident. “I really like to empower people and sometimes you get somebody...this is their first show. They maybe lack a little confidence. So you see that when they put something on you kind of empower them to give them confidence.”-Lisa Redford.
Something else I find really interesting is that according to Jones, many of these clothes are sewn with prayer songs and stories. I think that it makes the clothes all the more special because that's definitely something that is lacking in the industry, feelings. I'm sure it's not just me, but sometimes I like to feel as though a piece of clothing was made for specifically me (even if it was made in a factory). For example, have you ever tried on something and it fits perfectly? Like you know it's probably just the way the sizing is, but you still think "Yeah...this is it"? That's the best way I can describe how the models feel whenever they put on the designers' clothes.
I wish more people knew about these Indigenous fashion shows. I mean, I just stumbled across it randomly. I had no idea these existed. I think that this could be a way for people to learn more about the Indigenous people's cultures though. And if the right people see them, this could launch designers' mainstream careers and hopefully bring attention to it. Somebody has to be interested in clothes like these.
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