Gala Showcases Five Celebrated Native American Designers Before a Sold-Out Audience
SANTA FE, N.M., May 11, 2026 /PRNewswire/ — This weekend, the Southwestern Association for Indian Arts (SWAIA) presented its third annual Native Fashion Week, culminating in the A Taste of Native Fashion at the Eldorado Hotel and Spa. The sold-out gala, produced in partnership with Peshawn Bread (Comanche/Kiowa/Cherokee), featured capsule collections from five celebrated Native American designers, revealing 25 breathtaking, one-of-a-kind looks rooted in culture, story, sovereignty, and artistic excellence.
The evening unfolded as a multisensory celebration of Indigenous creativity. Between fashion presentations, Chef Raymond Naranjo’s (Santa Clara Pueblo) menu led guests through a feast highlighting traditional Indigenous ingredients, including squash, wild plums, and buffalo short ribs, accompanied by live performances by opera singer Bo Shimmin (Acoma Pueblo), violinist Aspyn Kaskalla (Navajo), and singer Tiana Spotted Thunder (Lakota).
Designer Collections
Jamie Okuma (Luiseño/Wailaki/Okinawan/Shoshone-Bannock), a Council of Fashion Designers of America (CFDA) designer, opened the evening with a collection that drew immediate awe, anchored by a standout hand-painted leather dress — one of the night’s most celebrated pieces.
Patricia Michaels (Taos Pueblo), a veteran of the fashion world, presented Secrets of the Harvest — five handmade dresses inspired by memory and the sacred rhythm of the harvest. Her signature hand-painted silks lent the collection an ethereal, flowing quality.
Jontay Kham (Plains Cree) presented River Lily Park, a collection marking what the designer calls a homecoming — a return to childhood dreams of color, gardens, and imagination. “This year’s collection marks a homecoming, a return to where it all began,” said Kham. “‘River Lily Park’ revisits the dreams and visions that first started to bloom in my childhood, when I imagined becoming a fashion designer and shaped my world from gardens, color, and fun imagination.”
Himikalas Pamela Baker (Squamish/Kwakiutl/Tlingit/Haida), based in Vancouver, British Columbia, presented Back to Roots — Family: Where the Earth Hears Our Names 2026. The collection examines the bonds between ceremony, land, and lineage through bold avant-garde silhouettes, textures evoking family regalia, and innovative fabric techniques that carry the depth of ancestral memory.
Lauren Good Day (Mandan/Hidatsa/Arikara) closed the evening with a collection exploring matriarchy as a living system of care, memory, and continuity. Drawing on the visual traditions of the Mandan, Hidatsa, and Arikara Nation of the Northern Plains, Good Day reimagined the ribbon dress and traditional silhouettes through the lens of her celebrated ledger art.
“What is extraordinary about this year’s event is that this group of artists will never again come together to create in this format,” said SWAIA Executive Director Jamie Schulze (Northern Cheyenne/Sisseton Wahpeton Oyate). “We are immensely proud of this year’s Native Fashion Week, and of our ability to present a bold new format to a sold-out audience. Events like this affirm why SWAIA Native Fashion Week matters, for our designers, for Indigenous communities, and for the future of fashion.”
SWAIA’s next fashion show is scheduled for August 16 at 3 p.m. during the 104th Annual Santa Fe Indian Market. Tickets go on sale mid-May 2026.
ABOUT SWAIA:
The Southwestern Association for Indian Arts (SWAIA) cultivates excellence and innovation across traditional and non-traditional art forms, developing programs and events that support, promote, and honor Native artists year-round. SWAIA creates economic and cultural opportunities for Native artists by producing and promoting the Santa Fe Indian Market ™, the largest and most prestigious Native art market in the world, Native Fashion Week, and Winter Indian Market. www.swaia.org
About SWAIA Native Fashion Week (SNFW):
SWAIA Native Fashion Week is an offshoot of the popular SWAIA Native Fashion Show that has taken place during Santa Fe Indian Market since 2014. SWAIA Native Fashion Week debuted in May 2024, an event dedicated to Indigenous fashion designers and Indigenous representation in the fashion industry. The goals of SWAIA Native Fashion Week are to establish Santa Fe, New Mexico, as the Indigenous fashion capital of North America, showcase Indigenous creativity, create networking opportunities, and amplify Indigenous voices.
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SOURCE Southwestern Association for Indian Arts
