In 2024, SWAIA, the organization that puts on the iconic Santa Fe Indian Market, held its inaugural SWAIA Native Fashion Week. After a series of runway events, trunk shows, parties and educational panels, the event closed and organizers knew instantly the event would return.
Designer: Himikalas Pam Baker / TOC Legends. Photo by Tira Howard
“The overwhelming interest in the shows and the diversity of artists and designers that were present made for a robust experience,” says Jamie Schulze (Northern Cheyenne/Sisseton Wahpeton Oyate), the executive director of SWAIA. “We knew then our trajectory was going up, and it continues going up into 2025.”
Schulze continues: “We were meant to do this show. If you look at our traditional regalia, which serves as the basis for this creativity, it was always in our culture. So, this show is about bringing those voices together on their own level. Because fashion is art.”
Designer Lauren Good Day. Courtesy the artist
This year’s SWAIA Native Fashion Week will take place May 7 through 11 at various locations all around Santa Fe, including at the Santa Fe Community Convention Center, where all of the runway shows will be held. More than a dozen designers will be participating, including Patricia Michaels, Peshawn Bread, Sage Mountain Flower, Lauren Good Day, Lesley Hampton and many others.
Designer Patricia Michaels at the Taos Pueblo. Courtesy the artist.
For Schulze, the show offers a great opportunity to celebrate artists who have hit the national stage within the fashion world, and also encourage new Indigenous artists to soar. “Native voices in the fashion industry are super important to us. Doors have not always been open to Native designers, but that’s changing,” she says.
Partnering with SWAIA this year is the Vancouver Indigenous Fashion Week, which has long been a northern destination for designers and fashion fans. “This offers a revitalization of storytelling through fashion. People will be heard through their art and stories, whether it’s historical stories or new visions,” says Caroline Phelps, general manager at VIFW. “For Indigenous people, we want to build a community where we are able to tell our stories.”
Designer: Tierra Alysia / VIVIDUS. Photo by Tira Howard.
Designer: Peshawn Bread / House of Sutai. Courtesy the artist.
Events at this year’s show include Industry Day, during which SWAIA Native Fashion Week will partner with local retailers to highlight designers. There will also be a panel discussion and trunk shows at La Fonda on the Plaza, as well as three runway shows. Tickets are expected to go fast, so visitors are urged to buy tickets and prep travel early. “You won’t want to miss anything,” Schulze adds.
Designers To Watch
April Allen
Brand/Label: Stitched by April
April Allen is an Inuk fashion designer from Rigolet, Nunatsiavut. She’s known for incorporating her Inuit heritage into modern fashion. Allen’s work often reflects her deep connection to nature, particularly water, which she symbolizes in her designs to raise awareness about access to clean drinking water in Indigenous communities.
www.instagram.com/stitchedbyapril » www.stitchedbyapril.com
Tierra Alysia
Brand/Label: VIVIDUS by Tierra Alysia
“VIVIDUS is about more than fashion—it’s about identity, strength and the power of community.” Created by Alysia, the brand is deeply inspired by Native American culture and designed in a way that honors tradition while embracing the future. Through quality craftsmanship and luxury fabrics, every piece tells a story, blending heritage with modern style in a way that feels fresh, elevated and meant for everyone.
www.instagram.com/vividusrunway » www.vividussports.com
Kayla Smith
Brand/Label: K Lookinghorse
K Lookinghorse is an Indigenous-owned fashion brand that elegantly intertwines beauty, resilience and a profound connection to the rich heritage of the Lakota and Dakota peoples. Smith’s designs are not merely garments; they are narratives that reflect the strength and artistry of her ancestry.
www.instagram.com/k.lookinghorse » www.klookinghorse.com
Peshawn Bread
Brand/Label: House of Sutai
House of Sutai (Soo-tai) is a fashion house founded by Peshawn Bread, who identifies as a Comanche/Kiowa/Cherokee nonbinary designer, filmmaker and creative director. As a new brand, Sutai plans on breaking the binaries of fashion, creating looks that dance on the edge of Indigenous design and showcasing Indigenous nonbinary/LGBTQ+2S models.
www.instagram.com/houseofsutai » www.houseofsutai.com
Lesley Hampton
Brand/Label: Lesley Hampton
Lesley Hampton is an Anishinaabe artist and fashion designer focused on mental wellness and body neutrality in fashion through the lens of the Indigenous worldview. Hampton is a member of Temagami First Nation, but she also spent formative years spent in Canada’s Arctic and Atlantic, Australia, England, Indonesia and New Caledonia. This amalgamation of her Anishinaabe Indigeneity and her international upbringing nurtured a passion for socio-cultural causes as she uses her work as a catalyst for research, conversation and community building.
www.instagram.com/lesley_hampton » www.lesleyhampton.com
Himikalas Pam Baker
Brand/Label: TOC Legends
TOC Legends is one of the most recognizable names in Indigenous fashion design. The luxury house immediately became a leader in fashion and culture following its founding in 1988 by Himikalas Pam Baker, and it continues to lead with purpose under her creative vision.
www.instagram.com/himikalas » www.toclegendshouseofdesign.ca
Lauren Good Day
Brand/Label: Lauren Good Day
Lauren Good Day is an award-winning Arikara, Hidatsa, Blackfeet and Plains Cree artist and an acclaimed fashion designer. Good Day has a passion for promoting and revitalizing the arts of her people while developing new methods that incorporate new trendsetting ideas in both art and design.
www.instagram.com/laurengoodday » www.laurengoodday.com
Patricia Michaels
Brand/Label: PM Waterlily
For more than 20 years, Patricia Michaels has been producing one-of-a-kind haute couture that transcends cultures and defies fashion trends. Growing up in Santa Fe, New Mexico, she was surrounded by beauty—in culture, landscape and art, all which greatly influenced her design aesthetic. Her Native American culture is deeply rooted in New Mexico, and as a child, she spent a lot of time at Taos Pueblo where many of her family, including her grandparents, lived.
www.instagram.com/patriciamichaels » www.patricia-michaels.com
Adrian Stevens & Sean Snyder
Brand/Label: Stevens & Snyder
Adrian Matthias Stevens and Sean Querino Snyder are the creative forces behind the brand Stevens & Snyder, where they blend their passion for beadwork, dance and advocacy to celebrate and preserve cultural heritage. Adrian is affiliated with the Northern Ute, Shoshone Bannock, and San Carlos Apache tribes, while Sean proudly represents the Diné and Southern Ute tribes. Together, they honor their diverse backgrounds through their artistry and community involvement.
www.instagram.com/stevens_snyder_artistries » www.stevensandsnyder.com
Additional Designers
Alex Manitopyes
Brand/Label: Sacrdthndr
www.instagram.com/sacrd.thndr www.sacrdthndr.com
Jeremy Donavan Arviso
Brand/Label: RVSO78
www.instagram.com/rvso78 www.rvso78.com
Wabanoonkwe
Brand/Label: Wabanoonkwe
www.instagram.com/wabanoonkwe www.wabanoonkwe.com
Sage Mountain Flower
Brand/Label: Sage Mountain Flower
www.instagram.com/sagemountainflower www.sagemountainflower.com
Schedule of Events:
Wednesday, May 7
VIP/Donor/Member Preview, 6-9 p.m.
Eldorado Hotel, 309 W. San Francisco Street, Santa Fe, NM 87501
Invite only
Thursday, May 8
Industry Day (with panel discussions and trunk shows), 9 a.m.-3 p.m.
La Fonda on the Plaza (La Terraza Ballroom and patio) and downtown retail locations
100 E. San Francisco Street, Santa Fe, NM 87501
Tickets available at www.swaia.org
Friday, May 9
SWAIA Native Fashion Show, 6-7 p.m.
Santa Fe Community Convention Center
201 W. Marcy Street, Santa Fe, NM 87501
Tickets available at www.swaia.org
Saturday, May 10
SWAIA Native Fashion Shows, 2-3 p.m. and 5-6 p.m.
Santa Fe Community Convention Center
201 W. Marcy Street, Santa Fe, NM 87501
Tickets available at www.swaia.org
Sunday, May 11
SWAIA Native Fashion Shows, 2-3 p.m. and 5-6 p.m.
Santa Fe Community Convention Center
Tickets available at www.swaia.org
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