SALT LAKE CITY — The second annual Utah Indigenous Fashion Week happened at the Leonardo Museum in Salt Lake City on Saturday.
The event, organized by a group of volunteers collectively known as Utah Indigenous Fashion Week represented 12 different tribes comprised of models and designers.
The fashion show featured 19 designers from across the state that displayed everything from modern takes on traditional designs, ready-to-wear, couture collections and the avant-garde.
For Jessica Wiarda, director of the Utah Indigenous Fashion week, the event is an opportunity to elevate Indigenous creators and their cultures.
“We always express ourselves through what we wear,” Wiarda said. “So it's just a perfect way to express more about what we believe, what we feel and through a truly Indigenous lens.”
While the event was organized by a group of volunteers, eventually the annual fashion show hopes to turn into a non-profit by next year, added Wiarda. Becoming a non-profit would allow the group to access grants and pay employees.
The success of the fashion show was evident by the enthusiastic sold-out crowd which greeted models and designers with loud cheers and claps as they walked down the runway. The event was even made more unique by the use of everyday Indigenous The event was even made more unique by the use of everyday Indigenous women, children and men from all walks of life as models.
Rica Benally, a model who wore a design made to raise awareness on Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women, says the event was an insight into the future of Indigenous Fashion.
“I feel that indigenous fashion has come a really far way,” Benally said. “There are traditional looks that are being put on pieces that are, you could say from the Y2K era, from the 80s. It's so interesting because you can really throw a beautiful pattern on something so modern and it ties it together so well.”
For Gabe Brody, an attendee, the fashion show was a special gathering place to share each other's cultures and raise awareness about Native American talent.
“Every tribe is unique,” said Brody. “Every tribe is different. They have their own culture, their own customs, their own songs, their own dances. And we get people that come together like this. It's a beautiful thing. Indigenous voices are rising."
