11 Native-Owned Fashion Brands You Should Support
According to author Sean Sherman and as elaborated by Native women featured in Teen Vogue in November 2016, 1627 marks the first instance when the concept of Thanksgiving was mentioned, following the brutal massacre of an entire Pequot village by the English colonizers, who then celebrated this heinous atrocity. Writer Sarah Josepha Hale convinced Abraham Lincoln to make Thanksgiving an official holiday in 1863. The depiction of the Pilgrims and Natives having feasted together came from the US Progressive Era (1890-1920). US Protestants who had mass murdered Natives did not want to be displaced by the wave of European immigrants that arrived at the time. They established this sanitized colonial myth as the narrative that has been normalized since then. In light of cruelties Native people have and continue to experience due to capitalism-imperialism, below are some Native designers you can support and give due respect to this Thanksgiving season.
Courtesy of Sho Sho Esquiro/1/12Sho Sho Esquiro
Sho Sho Esquiro is a fashion designer of Kaska Dene and Cree descents, she incorporates her traditional forms of Native art and garment construction in producing her apparel. In 2013, Sho Sho created a Pendleton blanket jacket which was featured in the Native Fashion Show: North American Indian Style book from the Peabody Essex Museum by Karen Kramer. Sho Sho used fabrics from the garments of the brand Pendleton Woolen Mills, which fabricates Native-inspired clothing despite not being a Native-owned brand, to essentially reverse the cultural appropriation by making garments with modern designs in authentic Native styles.
Courtesy of Valerie Reynoso2/12Valerie Reynoso
Valerie Reynoso is a multi-media visual artist and fashion designer who is using her art to counter colonialism, westernization and indigenous invisibility and is of the Taíno Nation from the Dominican Republic. Valerie recently created a Taíno dress inspired by the traditional Taíno nagua that was featured on Teen Vogue, as depicted above — which will be hand-sewn and made of cotton as well as hand-beaded using traditional indigenous seed beading techniques, to reproduce a beaded version of pre-Columbian Taíno prints on the upper and lower portions of the dress. The purpose of fabricating this dress would be to propagate Taíno cultural continuity and to increase the amount of contemporary, authentic and innovative indigenous apparel present in the modern fashion world.
Courtesy of Gabrielle Vazquez3/12Gabrielle Vazquez
Gabrielle “Gabby” Vazquez (top image) is a multi-media artist who uses her art to create social change and is of the Taíno Nation. Through her work, she addresses decolonization and works towards the deconstruction of colonial myths. The above image is of garments she designed and fabricated herself as part of an exhibition titled Latinx — displayed at Parsons Open Studios in Fall 2017 — which serves to address the spectrum of indigenous cultural identity that is neglected due to the colonial origins of latinidad and the Spanish conquest of the Americas, thus Vasquez wanted to empower other Native people who feel lost in terms of identity due to colonial forced assimilation. Her other works were also recently featured in Teen Vogue.
Courtesy of Instagram/@notjenniffer4/12Jenniffer Quezada
Jenniffer Quezada is a fashion designer of Guapontelig descent from Ecuador and is the 3rd generation in the field of manufacturing in her family, she developed her textile manufacturing skills that she applies to projects today from her indigenous grandmother — who resided in the region of Cuenca in the Andes Mountains of Ecuador, where she began to weave using a traditional textile wooden machine called Macana in order to clothe her family, and then passed these traditions down to her grandchildren. Jenniffer Quezada has incorporated these traditional Guapontelig weaving methods into her collaborations with brands such as Alexander Wang via her team at NYC Factory where she works. The two articles she helped manufacture for Alexander Wang are from the Spring 2019 ready-to-wear collection that was shown in June 2018. She has also recently opened her own customizable apparel service called Digital Moda.
Courtesy of Instagram/@artesanianuhi5/12Kim Sierra
Kim Sierra is an artist and designer of Tuscarora and Taíno descents who creates weaved and beaded accessories using the traditional beading techniques she was taught as a child by the other Native women in her family. Through beading, she expresses herself and it is also a means for her to strengthen her connection to her indigenous community. She recently created beaded earrings inspired by hibiscus flowers commonly found in her native Puerto Rico which she sells alongside other creations via her Instagram.
Courtesy of Elias Lopez and Yunuen Lopez6/12Elias Lopez and Yunuen Lopez
Elias Lopez and Yunuen Lopez are two Native artisans from Mexico who manage the Etsy shop Aramara where they sell a variety of indigenous Mexican accessories handmade by Yunuen Lopez and other indigenous artisans using traditional Native beading techniques. They have an incredible Huichol beaded necklace available for purchase in their shop.
Courtesy of LeatherByDar7/12LeatherByDar
LeatherByDar is an Etsy shop managed by a family of Manitoba Metis women who fabricate moccasins by hand. The image above is one of their moccasins available for you to buy.
Courtesy of Dennis Gonzalez8/12Dennis Gonzalez
Dennis Gonzalez — also known as Ciba Bo Dgon — is a Taíno multi-media artisan from Puerto Rico who creates Taíno jewelry, mortars and pestles, Taíno cemi stones, headdresses and other articles by hand using a variety of rocks, Taíno indigenous woods such as guayacan, precious stones and fabrics. He previously made a necklace for a client out of guayacan wood, volcanic rocks and tiger’s eye stone with three pendants depicting the main Taíno weapons — the makana (a club made of guayacan wood), the spear and the axe.
Courtesy of Peaceful Beadwork9/12Peaceful Beadwork
If more color is what your closet needs, Peaceful Beadwork's exquisite and intricate earrings were made for you. From a hand-made collection ranging in size, there's something here for everyone.
Courtesy of A Touch of Native Beauty10/12A Touch of Native Beauty
Head to A Touch of Native Beauty's Etsy shop for quality items that won't break the bank. Whether you're looking for a dreamcatcher or beaded necklace, there's plenty to choose from. There's also a current promotion going on with a variety of rings selling at $36 and under — which includes free shipping. The designer was taught how to make each piece by his father and is part of The Dine' or the People of the Navajo.
Courtesy of ThunderKin11/12ThunderKin
According to her Etsy account, the jewelry maker is based in Minnesota and is a member of a federally recognized tribe. Even though she's just starting out with only a few accessories in her shop, at least each statement piece is one-of-a-kind and she assures her followers that there's more to come.
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