In Santa Fe, There’s Plenty of Indigenous Art and Fashion to See

The creations of Arizona-born Orlando Dugi, a member of the Diné Nation, are nothing if not dramatic: robes glittering with delicate beadwork, silks embroidered with symbolic natural world. Some have been exhibited at locations just like the Denver Art Museum and the Autry Museum of the American West in Los Angeles. Whereas his creativeness is fueled by his upbringing—days spent watching his grandmother sew and nights stargazing at his household’s sheep ranch—Dugi additionally finds inspiration in Santa Fe, which he’s known as residence since 2010. “All of the tribal, colonial, and Spanish historical past—it’s all right here,” he says. “It’s very small, nevertheless it’s additionally fairly worldwide.” New Mexico‘s capital metropolis is ready to attract a world viewers as host of the inaugural Santa Fe Native Fashion Week, the primary of its type within the nation, held from Could 2 to five, the place Dugi will current highlights from his mens- and womenswear collections. When he’s not designing, he enjoys connecting with Indigenous tradition on the ancestral lands of the Tewa folks—or kicking again with a margarita.

The Silver Coin margarita on the Rosewood Inn of the Anasazi is made with silver tequila and Cointreau.

Anasazi Resort/Rosewood

On the Wheelwright Museum of the American Indian Guests can store its Case Buying and selling Submit, which has a collection of artwork on the market.

Addison Doty

The Wheelwright Museum of the American Indian

The Wheelwright Museum of the American Indian is finest recognized for the Jim and Lauris Phillips Heart for the Research of Southwestern Jewellery, which showcases some 700 works made by Navajo and Pueblo artisans, previous and current. Guests can store its Case Buying and selling Submit, which Dugi says “has a wide selection of worth ranges, from the extra reasonably priced to the upper finish.” Examples embody daring Zuni-made classic squash blossom necklaces and an intricate Laguna/Chiricahua Apache inlay bracelet.

The Owings Gallery

Though there’s no scarcity of galleries and artists in Santa Fe, Dugi is drawn to the modern collaborations between the Diné designer Yazzie Johnson and the Pueblo designer Gail Chook at The Owings Gallery. Along with the turquoise jewellery generally related to Native American crafts, Johnson and Chook work with 18-karat gold, semiprecious stones, and pearls. Dugi says, “I’m drawn to work like theirs: primarily based on conventional and Indigenous kinds however not what most individuals anticipate.”

The designers Gail Chook and Yazzie Johnson work with 18-karat gold, semiprecious stones, and pearls.

James D. Hart

The vaults of the Faculty for Superior Analysis home greater than 12,000 items of pottery, basketry, and uncommon objects.

Rosewood Inn of the Anasazi

In the summertime, Dugi lingers at Rosewood Inn of the Anasazi— their patio is a shady out of doors spot steps from the 400-year-old Santa Fe Plaza. “You’ll be able to have lunch and watch folks from all around the world stroll by,” he says. On the Anasazi Restaurant, there’s tons to like in regards to the seasonal menu, like cheese from Tucumcari Mountain and bread from Sage Bakehouse, a bakery on the foot of the close by Sangre de Cristo mountains. Dugi’s go-to drink is a perennial favourite: “You’ll be able to’t go mistaken with a Silver Coin margarita”—the resort’s signature cocktail made with silver tequila and Cointreau.

The Faculty for Superior Analysis

“The School for Advanced Research is a wow you probably have an opportunity to go to,” Dugi says. He recommends the establishment’s public excursions of its vaults, which home greater than 12,000 items of pottery, basketry, and uncommon objects, like a 1,500-year-old pair of woven yucca sandals and a Navajo garment with a black-and-white twill sample from a Hopi man’s gown. The latter two impressed Dugi to design a silk-caped jumpsuit with a waistband that includes a houndstooth sample out of cactus fiber and wool.