Indigenous Fashion Takes Center Stage at the Dayton Arcade
The Four Winds Indigenous Fashion Show will celebrate the creativity, resilience and cultural heritage of Indigenous designers and artists—November 9 in The Tank at the Dayton Arcade.
Four Winds Great Miami Indigenous Fashion Show Nov 9 from 11am to 4pm
Under the guidance of Ruby Redfox Irwin, influences from the East, West, South, and North are all merging together at the Dayton Arcade on November 9 to create whirlwind of activity highlighting Indigenous culture. The Four Winds Indigenous Fashion Show will celebrate the creativity, resilience and cultural heritage of Indigenous designers and artists. All while entertaining and educating those in attendance.
“This opportunity presented itself as a way to shine a light of awareness on strong Native women, matriarchal traditions, creativity that deserves the upmost recognition and acknowledgement of the beauty that is intrinsic to our culture,” said Irwin.
Something to engage everyone’s interests will be featured, including fashion, food, and live entertainment. The fashion show will highlight 5 Native American designers including feature designer, Kayla Lookinghorse, a luxury designer who’s designs are inspired by her Hunkpapa Lakota and Dakota roots. Those with an appetite for cultural cuisine can satisfy their tastebuds with delicacies like frybread, wojapi, and even some mocktails. Of the 13 vendors in all, others will be selling authentic handmade goods. The intermission is can’t miss with a Native American dance exhibition, plus the DustyCreek Singers will perform. A total of 40 tribal nations will be represented providing a vey immersive and educational experience.
After seeing a need for Indigenous representation in fashion and art in the Midwest Irwin decided to use her experience and connections in the fashion industry to build something as a platform to bring visibility and opportunity for Native fashion, art and modeling. “The idea hit me and I went to work on making it happen the very next day. The community has rallied around this and helped it become what it is already in our inaugural year,” she said.
The goal is to make Four Winds an annual event and there is already plans for creating avenues of continued education throughout the year.
A mixed Indigenous herself, Irwin grew up not fully understanding where she fit into the different aspects of her culture. It’s especially meaningful to her to now fully embrace that part of her and to also help others acknowledge the building blocks the Indigenous provided for todays society. “We hope attendees will come to the show ready to soak in the beauty of tradition, support the artists and walk away understanding more about roots of our country. With it being Veterans Day weekend and also Native American Heritage Month, this is a perfect time to support ypur veterans and Indigenous people in your community and beyond,” said Irwin.
The Four Winds Indigenous Fashion Show is Sunday, November 9 from 11 am to 4 pm at the Dayton Arcade, tickets can be purchased here
