Native Fashion Week’s curtain-raiser had all the drama of a Broadway opening night, but with its heartbeat firmly in Indigenous culture. Moments before the first model stepped onto the runway, champion hoop dancer ShanDien Sonwai LaRance (Hopi/Tewa/Navajo/Ohkay Owingeh) spun hoops into a whirling sun, blessing the space with stories of resilience, balance, and persistence. Her athletic choreography—and the roar it drew from a standing-room-only crowd—set a high bar for everything that followed.
Ayimach Horizons — “Kapishkum (Transcend)”
Cree-Métis two-spirit designer Jason Baerg opened the runway segment with pieces gliding like water at dusk. His Kapishkum collection layered gauzy silks over reflective metallic mesh, nodding to the transformative power of rivers while spotlighting eco-friendly production methods. Sinuous silhouette lines—some cinched with braided horsehair belts—caught the industrial lighting inside Warehouse 21, creating a luminous play of shadow and sheen. The brand’s commitment to low-waste pattern-making and plant-based dyes underscored a guiding theme of sustainability.
ShanDien Sonwai LaRance; Photo by Erin LaMere
Lauren Good Day — “Ledger Florals in Motion”
Next, Plains Cree/Arikara/Hidatsa/Blackfeet designer Lauren Good Day shifted the palette to earth-toned stone, clay, and sage. Known for translating historic ledger-art drawings into contemporary prints, she draped those motifs across silky midi-dresses, tencel trench coats, and sharply tailored pow-wow-worthy jackets. Organic cotton twill provided structure; rippling silk organza offered movement. It interprets a neutral yet bold palette of ledger florals on sustainable fabrics. Indigenous beadwork-inspired hardware—copper concho buttons and beaded toggle closures—anchored each look firmly in place and history simultaneously.
Why This Opening Mattered
- Cultural ceremony meets couture: Starting with LaRance’s hoop dance framed the catwalk as community territory first, fashion venue second.
- Sustainability as standard: Both labels foregrounded ethical sourcing—from Baerg’s low-impact dyes to Good Day’s organic textiles—signalling a values-driven future for the rest of the week.
- Narratives in every stitch: Whether through Ayimach Horizons’ water metaphors or Good Day’s ledger florals, the collections proved that storytelling is the defining currency of Indigenous fashion.
Warehouse 21’s brick walls reverberated with cheers as the designers shared a final bow amid fluttering cell-phone flashlights. The energy rolling out the doors and into the night felt less like an ending than an ignition. If day one was any indication, Native Fashion Week 2025 won’t just be a series of shows—it will be a landmark chapter in how Indigenous artistry moves through, and ultimately reshapes, the global fashion system.
