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Designer Profile | Lloyd Kiva New: The Father of Contemporary Native Fashion

Lloyd Kiva New (Cherokee) is well-known for his work in the advancement of Indian art education, but few people know that after he taught Indian art courses at the Phoenix Indian School in Arizona, and before he helped co-found the Institute of American Indian Arts in Santa Fe, New was a successful fashion designer.

In December of 1945, New opened his first boutique in Scottsdale, selling accessories and handbags inspired by Navajo medicine pouches. These reinterpreted and secularized bags were the genesis of the Lloyd Kiva leatherworks company.

Within ten years, New expanded to include dresses, coats, and shirts for both men and women. Kiva designs were featured in national publications, such as Harper’s Bazaar, Holiday Magazine, The New Yorker, and Town and Country, and were sold through stores like Nieman-Marcus in Dallas, Lord and Taylor in New York, and Newsetter’s in Denver.

New firmly believed that Native people were an integral aspect of the life and identity of the United States. In the post-war environment of American national pride, New advocated that there wasn’t much more American than the Native American, and encouraged people to express this on their clothing.

Lloyd Kiva New played an important role in revolutionizing Native American, and American, customary clothing design in the mid-1900s. His business prospered when opportunities for Native individuals were limited and bounded, and he acknowledged social limitations and cultural expectations and worked within these frameworks to create new possibilities for Native people.

(Lloyd Kiva Boutique in Scottsdale)

(Lloyd Kiva New silkscreening his own textiles)

(Lloyd Kiva original shirt, image my own)

Princess Diana's Hats Fashion

Black and white fashion

Tribal Trend Gone Wild

(Image from Angela DeMontigny (Chippewa/Cree/Metis))

So I'm new to blogging (yep it's true!), and I've been searching around this blogosphere, and I've found many, many, many blogs about the so-called now-popular Tribal Trend!

While it's exciting to see Indian-inspired designs all over the runways and in the boutiques (because Native fashion has added greatly to the broader fashion world), it's also worrisome to see how some designers, stylists, and bloggers offer some really bad advice about this trend. *gasp*

Many blogs, including the Official Blog of Polyvore.com, tell readers how to wear Native American-Inspired Styles. Unfortunately, the majority of blogs like these completely miss the mark because they stick to stereotypes and promote cheap replicas (or overly-priced designer knock-ups).

There's so much more to Native fashion than the stereotypical aspects of Native attire: fringe, feathers, and turquoise. There are several contemporary Native designers and artists who make pieces that reflect the now-hot Tribal Trend, but who will also outlast this trend (all trends come and go) and continue to produce chic Native fashion and accessories. See for example Angela DeMontigny or the Tsosie-Gaussoin family. While we may love fringe, feathers, and turquoise, there are many ways to incorporate these elements into fashion without looking like cheesy Indians from a 1950s Hollywood western. It can be done! Taos Pueblo designer Patricia Michaels created feather scarves that are anything but cliche.

Alas, the majority of these How to Wear Tribal Trend blogs also state that Native American accessories are inexpensive, while in reality, the handwork (and quality materials) that goes into accessories made by Native artists is anything but cheap. This misnomer makes it hard for Native artists to compete with imported cheap replicas. This is particularly true when buyers are expecting accessories to be no more than a couple of dollars (thanks to bloggers who tout that you can "take any classic piece out of your closet and update it with an inexpensive and fun beaded cuff"). If you would like to check out some super fresh budget-friendly Native-made earrings, hit up GrayFox Creations, or Enspired Visions. I would also suggest checking out a powwow or Indian Market. At these venues you will find Native artists and designers selling some awesome jewelry and garments.

In short: 1) Support Native creativity! Don't just stick to the conventional Native elements - and the best way to do this is to look into the work of edgy Native designers. 2) Uplift Indigenous communities and buy directly from Native artists/designers. Go for the real deal!

Get Clicky

The world of Native high fashion is extremely diverse, and designers are increasingly putting examples of their work on the web.

Several Native designers have their own websites, where you can find images of their clothing collections, brief bios, articles about their work, event listings, and contact information.


Here's a sampling of what's out there:

Pilar Agoyo (Ohkay Owingeh/Cochiti/Santo Domingo) - pilaragoyo.com

Pam Baker (Squamish/Coast Salish) - toclegends.com

Angela DeMontigny (Chippewa/Cree/Metis) - angelademontigny.com

Dorothy Grant (Haida) - dorothygrant.com

Patricia Michaels (Taos Pueblo) - pmwaterlily.com

Virgil Ortiz (Cochiti Pueblo) - virgilortiz.com

Penny Singer (Navajo) - pennysinger.com

The Tsosie-Gaussoin Family (Picuris Pueblo/Navajo) - tsosie-gaussoin.com


Want to watch some Native fashion show videos? Check these out:

Angela DeMontigny, Promo Video.

Patricia Michaels, Tribal Fusions Fashion Show, Africa, 2005.

Virgil Ortiz, Scottsdale Fashion Week, 2007.

The Path: From There to Here, and Into the Future

While flipping through Native Peoples magazine one day in 2003, I came across a photo spread of contemporary Native high fashion. It intrigued me how the designers incorporated elements from their cultures’ traditional art forms into high fashion. Who were these designers, how did they break into the competitive world of high fashion, and how did they do it on their own culturally specific terms?

These questions led to my 2006 Master’s thesis, which explored the world of Native high fashion and wearable art, and focused on the life and artwork of Chickasaw/Choctaw weaver Margaret Roach Wheeler and the Squamish designer Pamela Baker. Through them, I investigated several aspects of Native high fashion, including the use of clothing as a communicator, clothing as a means of perpetuating aspects of Native cultures, and the use of clothing in honoring and expressing status and identity. The purpose of my dissertation is to build on my Master’s research and to document the Native fashion movement and the evolution of Native American dress as fashion.

Through this blog I hope to share excerpts from my thesis, thoughts from my dissertation, information about contemporary Indigenous fashion and its designers, and updates on Native fashion events. Also through this blog, I hope to explore issues in Native fashion including cultural misappropriation, differing concepts of beauty, and deconstructing the “model” body image.

The genesis of this blog came about from four sources: First, I have been thinking about how I can make my research and writing more accessible to a broader audience. For the most part, dissertations are inaccessible to the average person. Second, I was working as a consultant and co-curator with Shelby Tisdale at the Museum of Indian Arts and Culture on their exhibit Native Couture II: Innovation and Style when Shelby suggested the title of the exhibit be Beyond Buckskin (the name was scrapped, and Innovation and Style was the adopted title). Beyond Buckskin is an apt title - it deconstructs stereotypes, and suggests looking at the topic of contemporary customary clothing design from a new perspective, so I wanted to use this title for this blog. Third, one of my best friends, Mercedes, introduced me to the world of blog-o-fun via Tumblr, where I started a Beyond Buckskin blog, but wanted to select another venue that would be more searchable. Then, one of my routine online searches for the latest in Native fashion led me to the blog site of Lisa Charleyboy. Her blog on 'Urban Native Girl Stuff' was inspiring. I wanted to do something that would combine these sources of inspiration into an accessible blog, which also confronted and discussed contemporary issues from a fresh angle.

Long Hairstyle Vs Short Hairstyle

Short Hairstyles :



Short hairstyles:

Which one do you like to choose for you..........?

Photographer at work

Celebrities maintaining their fashion morals

"An increasing number of celebrities have been associated with sustainable fashion, be it with their own recyclable creations or just by wearing sustainable garments to draw attention to the importance of it."

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Fashion trend 1990s

How To Make Japanese Big Bun Hair

1. Make a very high ponytail. For me it is easier to tilt my head down when doing a high ponytail. I usually use hair wax before styling my hair. This way my hair stick together without having a lot of fall outs.

2. Bring your hair to the front, and spread it and apply hairspray. You want to hairspray the inside rather than the outside.

3. Once the hairspray is dry, start teasing all of your hair. Give a lot of volume!!!



4. Now, it’s time to make a bun! Take all of your hair. Grab on to the end of your hair and loosely wrap it around the base. Use bobby pins to secure the hair under a bun.


5. Hairspray all over and you are done!

Since my hair is not that long, this is as big as it can get for me. If you have longer hair, it will be easier to add more volume. If you do not want to have so much volume, then do not tease your hair so much.

Divya's fashion dress