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Bonjour, Comment allez-vous?
I am a fashion designer in the traditional sense. I attended design school and worked in and around the fashion industry in Los Angeles, California. My design style is more modern. I use techniques I learned in design school and what I picked up working with design houses. I used fashion as a way of presenting myself to the general public. Hybrid styles are my specialty. I mix different cultural costuming motifs to come up with a modern ready-to-wear line. Geometric shapes found in Navajo rug designs, as well as, elements found in a Japanese kimono or French undergarments from the 1700s, become components I incorporate in my designs. Subject matter is for a more open-minded individual. My design skills are not just limited to Navajo blouses and squaw skirts. For the some of the shows Ive done, I presented a 2-piece bikini and corseted pieces but I DO NOT believe in nudity as a selling point. I work in all sorts of fabrics. Everything from fine silks to polyester.
The techniques depend on the design. Classic old-world tailoring is used in suit jackets and formal wear. Pattern grading and stretch-control are used for knitwear garments. My goals are to take my label, Nizhoni Way Apparel, to a boarder audience. I don't just want to design for Native America but America as a whole.
I want to change peoples perceptions of what it means to be a Fashion Designer (who happens to be a Native American). When you tell people your a Native American Designer--they assume velvet blouses and squaw skirts-not that there's anything wrong with that. I feel that it does not fully grasp my design skills.
I attended The American Intercontinental University (formerly, The American College for the Applied Arts). From day one, I had known that I had found my calling. While I lived in Los Angeles, I use to work as a dresser (someone that is hired to help models backstage to get dressed--
YES I saw naked models...get over it!) behind the scenes with such design labels as Phat Farm, FUBU, Tommy, and Sean Jon. I also worked with the Halston and Escada design houses to prep gowns for the 1999 Oscars. I prepped the gown Tyra Banks wore to the ceremony that year.
I for a very brief time, I worked for a very well known Southwestern Label as a head pattern-maker and co-designer. In the time, I worked for the company, I designed outfits for
Miss Indian World 2003--Onawa Lacy (Miss New Mexico USA 2006).
I currently work to promote Nizhoni Way Apparel. What Nizhoni Way Apparel strives for is to create original designs that are in step with modern fashion while paying homage to the traditional ceremonial clothing of the Navajo. Nizhoni Way Apparel is a label that is not only Grandma will love but the grand-daughter as well. Nizhoni Way Apparel is working on a mens line--everything from sport coats to pants. To
"Buy Navajo" with Nizhoni Way Apparel is to experience designer quality apparel at the fraction of the price.
Any questions, pertaining to any of the designs can be answered by emailing:
[email protected] or by calling (505) 406-1529. Don’t forget to visit the website at:
