Los Angeles fashion designer Bethany Yellowtail draws inspiration from her Crow and Northern Cheyenne roots. | Photo: Echo and Earl When London-based label Kokon to Zai (KTZ) debuted a dress at last years New York Fashion Week that bore a startling resemblance to Los Angeles designer Bethany Yellowtails Crow-inspired creations, it sparked a fresh conversation about cultural appropriation in an industry that regularly co-opts Native American culture.
Fashion fans pored over photos of KTZ designer Marjan Pejoskis self-described salute to the primal woman, noting the similarities between his geometric look and Yellowtails Apsaalooke Nights dress. Tribal activists protested on Twitter. And Yellowtail took to Instagram to defend her design.
Honestly, I was devastated, said Yellowtail, who modeled her hourglass motif after her great-great grandmothers beadwork. Here I am trying to break into the industry and do something I love, do something with passion and do something that has integrity, and its just taken [by someone who says] Oh, Ill do it better. Let me just handle this.
The act, she added, felt like a personal attack. That may sound drastic to some people, Yellowtail acknowledged, but Native artists have been coping with outsiders misappropriating traditional designs and passing them off as their own for centuries.
Models Martin Sensmeier and Jade Whillouby wear clothing from Los Angeles designer Bethany Yellowtails B.Yellowtail line from spring 2015. | Photo: Anthony Thosh Collins
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According to Jessica Metcalfe, who writes about Native American fashion on her blog, Beyond Buckskin, indigenous designers have been fighting for recognition since the mid-1940s, when Lloyd Kiva New, a member of the Cherokee nation, launched his internationally renowned clothing line in Scottsdale, Ariz.
But the debate over who can use tribal designs - and how - has raged even more fiercely in recent years. In 2012, Victoria's Secret courted controversy by sending model Karlie Kloss striding down the runway in a feathered headdress and turquoise jewelry. Chanel outfitted its models in war bonnets in 2013.
The Navajo Nation sued Urban Outfitters in 2012 for using the word Najavo to describe Southwestern-style apparel and other goods, accusing it of violating trademark infringement and the Indian Arts and Crafts Act. And Ralph Lauren drew fire in 2014 for using old photographs of tribal members to promote its RRL line.
We have to take advantage of this moment where the spotlight is on Native fashion, whether it's Native-made or not to have these discussions, Metcalfe said, about how we can share that information and knowledge with the world with respect and [without] crossing any boundaries.
Fortunately, she added, Native designers are using the popularity of the tribal trend to make their voices heard. We're seeing these designers really busting ass and getting recognition, said Metcalfe, a Turtle Mountain Chippewa tribal member who holds master's and doctorate degrees in American Indian studies from the University of Arizona.
Linsay Willier, Shania Russell and Gabrielle Lopez model clothing, accessories and quilts from Los Angeles fashion designer Bethany Yellowtails B.Yellowtail line. | Photo: Anthony Thosh Collins
Yellowtail, who grew up in southern Montana, belongs to a new wave of Native designers who are blending time-honored traditions with 21st century haute couture. They range from Pauma Valley artist Jamie Okuma, whose dazzling beadwork reflects her Luise o and Shoshone-Bannock heritage, to edgy New Mexico designer Virgil Ortiz, part of a long line of Pueblo potters, to Project Runway alumna and New Mexico native Patricia Michaels, a Taos Pueblo designer known for her luxe, eco-friendly looks.
Its really cool to be part of a generation where... were speaking loudly and not being afraid to let our voices be heard for the first time, said Yellowtail, who launched her fashion line, B.Yellowtail, in 2014. Were telling [our stories] directly. Theyre not being translated for us.
Yellowtail, 27, credits home economics teacher Patricia Mischke with encouraging her to pursue fashion as a career. She was really the one who inspired me, who saw I had a knack for making clothing and loved to do it. She helped me connect the dots, said the designer, who moved to Orange County to attend the acclaimed Fashion Institute of Design and Merchandising.
Replica elk teeth accentuate a B.Yellowtail dress modeled by Jade Willoughby and designed by Los Angeles fashion designer Bethany Yellowtail. | Photo: Anthony Thosh Collins
After graduating in 2009, Yellowtail worked for brands such as RaggStar, BCBG Max Azria and Baby Phat. I had to get that industry experience to really learn the skills that I needed to launch my own brand, she explained, and discover where I fit in.
Yellowtail draws on her Aps alooke (Crow) and Northern Cheyenne roots to create effortlessly elegant clothing and accessories - a flowing dress in forest-green chiffon dotted with elk teeth, a suede slip dress embroidered with wild roses, a graceful cashmere cape with leather fringe. (Items by other artists, such as jewelry, silk scarves and beaded buckskin bags, are available via her B.Yellowtail Collective, created last year.)
The designer sees B.Yellowtail as a celebration of ancestral tradition, beauty, and culture that embraces an authentic voice of contemporary Native America through design and wearable art.
Metcalfe praised Yellowtail's respectful approach to her roots. She does have that really smart thinking behind her fashion, said Metcalfe, who sells jewelry, clothing and accessories created by Native artists via the online Beyond Buckskin Boutique, launched in 2012, and a retail storefront that opened in May on the Turtle Mountain Band of Chippewa Indians Re
