Martini Couture at Scottsdale Fashion Week

Last month, Martini Couture (by Dii Martin of the Navajo Nation) was featured during the annual Scottsdale Fashion Week in Arizona.

Scottsdale Fashion Week is one of the premiere fashion events in the Southwest, and Martini Couture opened the Friday night set. She’s a rising star on the fashion set, pumping out high-end rez streetwear packed with a ton of attitude and cute little cocktail dresses well-suited for a night out on the town.

Video | Vickilyn's Closet at the 2010 Phoenix Fashion Week

Here is some footage from the 2010 Phoenix Fashion Week emerging designers segment held on Thursday October 7th.

Featured in this clip - Monique Fagre, Style Noel, and Vickilyn's Closet (made by Navajo fashion designer Victorialyn McCarthy):

Phoenix Fashion Week Emerging Designers day1 from Heat on Vimeo.

Jezebel Reports: Fashion Week Diversity By The Numbers

Jezebel Reports:
Fashion Week Diversity By The Numbers
By Jenna Sauers

In September of 2007, it was reported that of all the 101 shows that took place during New York fashion week, one third employed zero models of color. Since then, we've tried to track diversity on the runway every season.

We do this here at Jezebel because what we see on the runway — and who wears it — influences the faces we will go on to see in magazine editorials, advertising campaigns, and all the other images the fashion industry will create over the coming season. The models who walk in the shows are working with the stylists who matter, and being seen by the top editors. Those stylists are thinking of the campaigns, editorials, and other jobs they'll be consulting on over the coming months; the editors are thinking of their feature wells and the garments and stories and faces that might fill them. The industry at large is watching these shows and thinking: Who has buzz? Who's that new face? Who do we have to have? The runway is like a hopper that feeds the fashion industry's image-making machine. And the fact is that those images overwhelmingly feature white faces; this, we believe, perpetuates the cycle of marginalization and racism experienced by people of color.

Even if, come spring, you don't buy any of the overpriced designer clothes fashion week notionally exists to unveil, and even if you are not a habitual reader of the hard-core fashion magazines, chances are you'll still be bombarded with the perfume ads, the Gap campaigns, and the Maybelline billboards — not to mention the garden variety ladymag editorials — that will stem from this season and its casting.


This fashion week, there were 128 New York shows and presentations that were covered by Style.com. (We've always used Style.com as the basis for our data because it publishes look-by-look slideshows, often with models' names included, for a comprehensive swath of New York's shows.) Those 128 shows together presented 4,170 runway looks. That means 4,170 opportunities to choose a woman or girl to model that outfit.


3,410 of those opportunities, or 81.8%, went to white models. That means of course that 760, or 18.2%, went to models who were non-white. Non-white Latina models were used 95 times in all of fashion week, or around 2.3% of the time, and Asian models were used 296 times, or 7.1% of the time. Black models were used 353 times, or 8.4% of the time. Models of other races, like the Moroccan Hind Sahli and the Canadian model Tara Gill, who has Native American heritage, were used 16 times, or 0.4% of the time.

Since Jezebel has been been tracking the relative diversity of New York fashion week for so many seasons, I thought I'd try and chart the last few seasons and their numbers. (We did not generate data for Spring/Summer 2009, or Spring/Summer 2010.) You will notice that this season presents a small improvement on six months ago, in terms of its diversity, but that essentially New York fashion week is right back where it was 18 months ago.


Lots of people within fashion will tell you that casting models is an extraordinarily complex, creative pursuit, one that requires balancing multiple subjective qualities (does this model give me the right feeling?) with more objective ones (does this model fit the clothes, and can she walk?). Some people always say that choosing a cast that suits a designer's creative vision is more important than taking even the most basic steps to insure that cast isn't all-white. (At least, the apologists for the status quo prefer to talk about designers and "creative visions" rather than about casting notices that say "No Ethnic Girls" and black models who say they work less than their white friends.) But why is it considered acceptable for a designer's creative vision to not include people of color? Do those designers not want any black or Latino customers either?

This season, there were six shows and presentations that included no models of color at all. These included Philosophy di Alberta Ferretti — which is cast by the highly influential casting director Russell Marsh, who also casts for Prada and Miu Miu — as well as Mulberry, Reem Acra, and Doo.Ri. Prada, you will recall, is the Italian global luxury brand that went more than a decade without casting even a single black model in any of its shows. (This season, Prada had two black models — Jourdan Dunn and Melodie Monrose — present one look apiece in its 41-look collection.)

There were also plenty of shows that had all-white casts but for one or two models. Anna Sui, Calvin Klein, Donna Karan, Jeremy Scott, Jill Stuart, Narciso Rodriguez, Rodarte, Diesel Black Gold, and Thakoon are among them. What's worrisome is that that list is thick with some of the most influential and prestigious labels in all of fashion. And they don't seem to see any use for more than a couple token models of color. Mass-market powerhouse Max Azria, via his brands Hervé Leger by Max Azria, Max Azria, and BCBG Max Azria, booked his customary nearly all-white casts, all while telling us he was the "king of diversity in fashion."

Who were the designers who did things better? 3.1 Phillip Lim, who hired nine models of color, and Sophie Théallet, who showed 13 of her 32 looks on models of color, were among the buzzed-about younger designers had very diverse casts. Among the old guard, Carolina Herrera (11/52), Oscar de la Renta (13/60), and Diane von Furstenberg (17/50), had the most diverse casts. Rachel Comey, Betsey Johnson, Costello Tagliapietra, Tara Subkoff's relaunched Imitation line, Jason Wu, Christian Siriano, Gwen Stefani's L.A.M.B. line, both Marc Jacobs and Marc by Marc Jacobs, and Richard Chai were also among those labels that valued diversity in their casting.

Melodie Monrose, with 19 shows including Tory Burch and Rag & Bone, was fashion week's top black model. Shena Moulton and Joan Smalls, who booked 13 apiece, were second. Moulton was the only black model at Calvin Klein, and Smalls walked for Alexander Wang, Derek Lam, and Michael Kors, among others. The top Asian model at New York fashion week was again Liu Wen, who walked in 18 shows. Fei Fei Sun and Shu Pei Qin had 16 each. Among non-white Latina models, Simone Carvalho booked nine shows, while Juana Burga had a respectable eight. The only models of other ethnic backgrounds to speak of were Hind Sahli, who worked six shows, and Tara Gill, who booked three.

Why doesn't fashion — especially multi-national brands whose profitability rests on convincing the largest number of consumers possible to purchase their perfumes, underwear, and diffusion lines, like Calvin Klein — have more consideration for the beauty and worth of people who aren't white? Is New York fashion week plateauing at around 82% white, no matter how much advocacy or consciousness-raising gets done, or how many trend pieces get written about this issue? Will it ever become unacceptable to put on a fashion show in a thoroughly multi-racial city like New York and not hire a single model of color? Will it ever become unacceptable to blame that choice on an alleged "creative vision"? As long as these questions remain, we'll continue to ask them, time and time again, and look for answers in seasons to come.

Miami Swimwear Fashion Week 2010 - A Mini-Review

(Lisa Blue 2011 Collection. Miami Fashion Week. Photo: Getty Images for IMG)

The Mercedes-Benz Miami Fashion Week Swim 2010 is running amok with cultural appropriation.

I guess with a swimsuit, you don’t have a lot of material to work with, and it’s probably difficult to get super creative with such limited expectations of swimwear. So, evidently, designers have turned to accessorizing in order to convey ‘themes’ that will set their collections apart from other swimwear lines. This trend, then, creates a situation ripe for cultural appropriation.

At the Miami Fashion Swim Week, designers look to the Middle East (for a Genie in a bottle feel – with harem pants, belly-dancer garb, and glimmering gold coins), to Hawaii (for a luau vibe – with beating drums, shells as instruments, and contrasting black detailing), and to ‘Aboriginals’ (for an eco-friendly, save the whales feel – with feathers, body paint, and swirling tribal prints). These lines, interestingly, were presented alongside one designer’s Little Mermaid-inspired collection.

Which begs the question – are cartoons a main inspiration point for these designers? or, has Disney’s renditions of various world cultures (which are drawn from popular stereotypes) seeped into our minds and tainted the perceptions we have of them?

Swimwear, it seems, with its need to accessorize to convey artistic creativity, highlights how stereotypes influence fashion, which in turn influences our everyday lives and our perceptions of other cultures.

Swimwear designers: surely you can find another point of inspiration rather than Aladdin, Pocahontas, and Lilo and Stitch.

Review | Fashion Week Trinidad & Tobago

Wow, ever since I started researching Native American fashion, I have also been interested in Native, tribal, or Indigenous fashion elsewhere - i.e. Australia, New Zealand, Africa, Polynesia, etc - and I've come across some really neat things in my search. One of the latest gems is the Trinidad and Tobago Fashion Week held this time each year. Well, I say each year, but they've only just begun, with this recent showing being their third year.

I’m charting the launching of ‘other’ fashion weeks (by ‘other,’ I mean those that are not the established top 4: New York, London, Milan, Paris) because I am interested in the idea or possibility of a ‘Native American’ fashion week (perhaps years down the road?), or a fashion collective that could show at New York. Seeing the buzz that these organizations draw is exciting because it demonstrates a conversation that is occurring – one in which nations are saying “Hey, check us out, we’ve got some innovative and creative (and sometimes culturally ‘traditional’) ideas for fashion.”


The third annual installment of Fashion Week Trinidad & Tobago (FWTT) was highly anticipated and featured the largest number of designers in its history. With a whopping 50 designers recorded, the event launched in Tobago on May 29-31 before moving to Trinidad from June 2-6. The line-up featured 40 designers from T&T and 10 from other Caribbean nations.

“Forty is the highest number of local designers featured in their own country of any Caribbean fashion event,” Richard Young, Fashion Week Trinidad & Tobago’s artistic director stated.

“We were flooded with requests and interest not only locally but regionally, so we were able to select an eclectic mix to reach a wider cross section of fashion to meet buying tastes.”

Each runway show uniquely displayed designs and creations encompassing five branded categories: Caribbean Cutting Edge, Cosquelle Swimwear, Nouveau Caribbean, New World Style, and Haute Caribbean.

The focus for Fashion Week Trinidad & Tobago is to revitalize and develop the local fashion industry and bring about the awareness of its socio-economic potential. FWTT organizers recognize the tremendous creative and technical fashion talent present in T&T and strive to provide opportunities for the fashion industry’s development – both locally and regionally – with the ultimate goal of becoming a global fashion force. With FWTT's exposure, they undoubtedly also offer a great deal of diversity to the fashion world (especially when it comes to models - check 'em out in the images below).

In its third year, FWTT paid tribute to 2010 as the year of Biodiversity. Honoring proactive initiatives for the preservation of nature and for current and future human wellbeing, FWTT3 designated three major agendas:

1. Staying power
2. Sustainable development
3. Style definition

FWTT3 hopes to provide opportunities for young people to access the ability, authority and agency to influence decisions and implement change within the developing local fashion industry.

They also hope to define a Caribbean aesthetic – an alternative fashion perspective born out of a regional experience, and charting a new-world identity characterized by an inimitable Trinbagonian style.

Fashion Week Trinidad & Tobago 2010 also launched its first every seminar series. The seminars covered topics including intellectual property and copyright, the business of fashion, developing greater Caribbean export, styling and photography, the definition of the Caribbean Aesthetic, and the influence of technology on fashion.

(Information from CaribbeanLifeNews.com and fwtt.org. All images are from the Fashion Week Trinidad & Tobago website, and are from FWTT2. I tried to include an image from each designer - but there were too many fabulous designs! I loved looking through their images - if you're bored or procrastinating, definitely check them out on their website at fwtt.org)

Review | Maya Stewart at NYFW

(Image from Dream Sequins. Maya Stewart with her purses.)

Below is a review posted by Dream Sequins about the UNRESERVED Alliance trunk show at Bryant Park during NY Fashion Week on purse-maker Maya Stewart (Chickasaw/Creek):

Tamara and I made our way to Bryant Park Hotel for a showcase of American Indian fashion and accessories sponsored by the Unreserved American Indian Fashion and Art Alliance. The Loft at the hotel was a beautiful, sunny backdrop for six talented emerging designers. Being an accessories lover, I immediately fell for the inky clutch creations of Maya Stewart, who is currently enrolled in London College for accessory design. Crazy Snake Rebellion is the name of her socially-conscious collection and despite the urban-friendly colors of her pieces, the collection pays tribute to American Indian cultures and themes.

Native Fashion Covered in New York Social Diary

Designer Patricia Michaels' (Taos Pueblo) Native American Couture.

Zuni Jewelry Designer Veronica Paoblano.

Filmmaker Anna Fischer, Founder UnReserved Gail Bruce, and Steve Goodman.

The Native NY fashion event was covered in the New York Social Diary.

The blogger had this to say:
Unreserved presented new Native American Fashion and Accessories. Of special note the exquisite jewelry by Veronica Poblano (Zuni) fabricating traditional iconography into new, colorful work and the beautiful first couture collection of Designer Patricia Michaels (Taos Pueblo).

The post was meant for those of us who are not in the fashion business (aka those of us who couldn't make it past the red ropes of NY Fashion Week). One of the goals of the UNRESERVED Alliance is to increase coverage of Native artists and designers in New York, the art and fashion mecca of the U.S.

Jean Paul Gaultier: Influenced by Avatar, Inca, Aztec, and Mexico

Jean Paul Gaultier: Influenced by Avatar, Inca, Aztec, and Mexico -

I enjoy the fashion designs produced by the house of Gaultier - he seems to know how to properly acknowledge his influences, and how to remix common tropes to create exciting new fashion designs.

Read a review here. And view the entire collection here.

UNRESERVED Alliance Launches Designer Collective: New York Fashion Week Showcase

(Images: all from NYFW, February 2009)

As I blogged earlier, UNRESERVED is a newly formed collective founded to empower and encourage artistic expression by Native artists.

Their latest announcement describes the establishment of a Designer Collective, which will launch a fashion installation during the Mercedes-Benz Fashion Week in just a few weeks. The event will feature accessory and ready-to-wear designers from various tribal backgrounds at the Bryant Park Hotel Loft in Manhattan on Thursday, February 11th from 4pm to 5:30pm.

The artists include purse-maker Maya Stewart (Chickasaw/Creek), fashion designer Patricia Michaels (Taos Pueblo), jewelry-maker Kenneth Johnson (Seminole), mother and son jewelers Dylan and Veronica Poblano (Zuni), and jeweler Maria Samora (Taos).

Last February, UNRESERVED co-founders Gail Bruce and Michael Chapman hosted a similar event at Ramscale Penthouse Studio, in which three Native American fashion designers showcased their work during the New York Fashion Week, February 2009. These three designers, Dorothy Grant, Patricia Michaels, and Virgil Ortiz, marked a historical moment – this was the first time in history that Native designers participated in an event in Manhattan during the Mercedes-Benz Fashion Week. However, they did not show at the elite and hard-to-get-into Bryant Park. Physically, Ramscale is on the outer limits of the fashion week events, located on West Street, which is a few blocks away from Bryant Park. The upcoming event, however, will be held at the Bryant Park Hotel, which regularly hosts several important events during fashion week. Once again, it is not Bryant Park, [the tents at Bryant Park are fashion central for the week] but the hotel is literally right across the street and it is most definitely the next best thing, and it's very exciting to witness this movement. I’m booking my plane ticket now... see you in New York!

Article | On the Issue of Wire-Thin Models

(Image: Models changing backstage at São Paolo Fashion Week. Photo: Getty Images)

As the world is buzzing with fashion week excitement for the Fall/Winter 2010 collections, check out this article, reposted from The Huffington Post, which discusses the issue of wire-thin models on the catwalk for Sao Paulo's Fashion Week, which just ended:

The Velveteen Revolution: Say No to Wire-Thin Models

A message to the fashion industry: If you want hangers to show your clothes off, then put a bunch of hangers on a cleaning-store style conveyor belt and send that down the runway. It will be way cheaper than 'hanging' your garments on wire-thin women.

The fashion industry's state of affairs has grown increasingly disturbing. Even the Creative Director of Sao Paulo Fashion Week, Paulo Borges, said this week, "This situation cannot be ignored. We would like to propose a joint effort towards minimizing this issue and preventing the effects of this trend on models, on our industry and on society itself."

Echoing Mr. Borges plea, today we call out to the fashion, media, and entertainment world for A Velveteen Revolution. Unlike war and peace, this is simple. The message: Just stop.

Stop peddling your wares using underweight models. This is perpetuating an unrealistic and unhealthy body ideal for girls. It is time to halt this practice.

1. Designers and manufacturers: Stop designing for and featuring clothing on emaciated models. Stop advertising campaigns featuring them. Stop airbrushing photos.

2. Retailers: Stop buying and selling the clothing that is being marketed in this way.

3. Modeling Agencies: Stop recruiting and sending out underweight models.

4. Magazine editors: Stop accepting sample clothing for layouts in too small sizing. Stop the excessive self-congratulation when you feature a normal size woman in a spread.

5. Entertainment industry: Stop featuring models and actresses who resemble skeletons.

In our Huffington Post article Bring Back the Belly, we wrote, "Girls growing up today have enough pressure without these unrealistic and unhealthy images of scarecrows." We lamented the fact that magazines are not seamlessly integrating regular-sized models into their fashion spreads; that when regular-sized women are occasionally included in their pages, it's generally in a piece about body image.

Meanwhile, already tiny models are being airbrushed to seem even thinner (to the point of absurdity). We are not advocating unhealthy overweight role models; we're advocating the inclusion of pleasing, healthy bodies in all shapes and all sizes. In our book, Bitches on a Budget, we say "Wake up, look around--in this mulit-culti world we live in there's no longer a single icon of beauty. A woman with a hip modern aesthetic doesn't settle for just loving her inner bitch; she knows the outer one is fine too, whatever her shape!"

It's time for the fashion industry to wake up. Look at how gorgeous, curvy Michelle Obama has become a beacon for style. We are advocating variety. We are advocating an end to deception.

This latest outrage in Sao Paolo, where underweight models have supposedly been banned, is a reminder of how hard it is to make change whether in government or industry. It takes courage and will to foment a revolution. Small steps have been made--but isn't it time for the entire industry to take a stand?

You can read more from Bitches on a Budget at: www.bitchesonabudget.com

Group | UNRESERVED Alliance

(art by Sarah Sense)

UNRESERVED is a new collective based out of New York and formed by a team of American Indian entrepreneurs and leaders from the international worlds of fashion and art.

Dedicated to empowerment, education and sustainability, their goal is to help American Indian designers and artists find careers in the art and fashion industries, allowing them to incorporate their skill sets and traditional heritage while establishing financial independence and encouraging cultural renewal within American Indian communities.

The mission of UNRESERVED is to encourage American Indians interested in exploring and pursuing careers in the worlds of fashion and art through internships. UNRESERVED seeks to create awareness and bridge American Indian communities with established companies and organizations, renewing the relevance and power of American Indian cultures, ensuring self-sufficiency and economic development.

They launched last summer with a $400,000 WK Kellogg Foundation grant, and held their first public reception at the Santa Fe Indian Market last August. Their first art exhibit will be IN/SIGHT, which will be on view at the Chelsea Art Museum in New York City from January 14th through February 13th. I'm proud to say that the exhibit features the artwork of one of my good friends, Sarah Sense.

Fashion and art go hand-in-hand with American Indian culture, and UNRESERVED seeks to prep the runway and open gallery doors for undiscovered American Indian talent. Their annual calendar includes fashion shows, art exhibitions and events as well as internship programs. Check out their website for more information, and information on opportunities.

Getting Past the Red Rope of Fashion: Mercedes-Benz Fashion Week

The Mercedes-Benz Fashion Week recently took place in New York City (September 10-17), and for all those interested, I suggest going to the MBFW website to view sample slides and videos of the featured designers’ Spring 2010 clothing lines. Since I’m interested in the popularity of the Tribal Style and Native-influenced fashion, and in the democratization of fashion, I perused the collections searching for evidence of diversity in fashion, through tribal influences and brown faces.

The New York Fashion Week began in 1943 as Press Week in an attempt to highlight American fashion to the press who would hopefully write about American designers (as opposed to European designers) in fashion magazines such as Vogue. The first New York Fashion Week was a success: American styles were praised as modern and flattering, and American designers were finally gaining the respect previously reserved for European designers. At first, the fashion events were held at Hotels. But during the '70s and '80s, American designers began to stage their own shows in lofts, clubs, and restaurants. In 1994 the events were ‘consolidated’ to one location: Bryant Park. One of the main concerns with centralizing the event came from the designers – they didn’t want their creativity stifled. However, Fashion Week helped American designers reach a greater audience by allowing editors and buyers to see the country's best work at a single time, in a single place. Nevertheless, this centralizing didn’t come without a cost – the event became exclusive, and new designers continue to have a hard time getting in. Furthermore, the limited audience seating is reserved for elite buyers, celebrities, and select members of the press.

In February 2009, three Native American designers, Dorothy Grant (Haida), Patricia Michaels (Taos), and Virgil Ortiz (Cochiti), marked an historical moment and showed their work during the New York Fashion Week. This is the first time in history that Native designers participated in an event in Manhattan during Fashion Week.

The Native fashion event was held at Ramscale Penthouse Studio in February, and was hosted by Gail and Murray Bruce and Michael Chapman. Ramscale offered the space and opportunity for these designers to network throughout the week with various individuals in the New York fashion world. It was a foot in the door. However, the event was held on the fringes of Fashion Week, and it was not at the prestigious, elite, and hard-to-get-into Bryant Park (physically, Ramscale is on the outer limits of the fashion week events, located on West St, which is a few blocks away from Bryant Park). The high ticket price of a slot in Bryant Park ensures that those slots remain reserved for the recognizable names, such as Ralph Lauren and Marc Jacobs. Gail Bruce and others hope that the big name American designers, such as Lauren and Anna Sui, will work collaboratively with Native designers instead of just using Native designs as their own. Though we are only at the very beginning of this movement, these three designers plan to show again at Fashion Week next February, and they are dedicated toward building a Native Fashion Week movement. Patricia Michaels explained that it was difficult to find a market for cutting-edge Native-made fashion, but was hopeful that times were changing. She stated, “When people see something so different and new, it’s kind of hard to take, but now it’s finally happening.”

While these designers were absent from the September event, Indianness was still present as non-Native designers sought inspiration from America’s first peoples. Props to Mara Hoffman for producing a line reflecting diverse inspirations, including Aztec and Native American geometrics and beadwork patterns. But best of all, they were shown on ethnically diverse models as well.

We’ll look to the future as designers push Native-made fashion past the red rope and hail it to be as equally as important as its non-Native counterparts.