- Details
- By Darren Thompson
PHOENIX—Last night, Norma Baker Flying Horse, founder of Red Berry Woman, was chosen among three other designers as Phoenix Fashion Week’s Designer of the Year at the Chateaux Luxe. She was one of two Indigenous fashion designers chosen by the organization to participate in a 3-month bootcamp that challenged participants with a curriculum designed to advance each designer’s business in the fashion industry.
“I’m beyond happy to receive this recognition,” said Flying Horse to Native News Online. “Thank you to my family, supporters, and the Phoenix Fashion Week for this incredible opportunity.”
As a result of being chosen as Designer of the Year, Flying Horse will be promoted by Agency Arizona, a marquee modeling and talent agency that will promote Red Berry Woman to international markets.
Red Berry Woman is also Norma’s Dakota name, and the business strives to incorporate traditional designs with contemporary couture garments that are ready to wear for both women and men. Norma Baker Flying Horse is an enrolled member of the Hidatsa tribe from the Ft. Berthold Indian Reservation and also Dakota Sioux and Assiniboine. Her clothing and designs pay homage to her cultural heritage. Her opening featured a dance demonstration by fancy shawl and northern traditional buckskin dancers.
Each year, organizers of the popular fashion event travel across the country to search for emerging designers to apply for Phoenix Fashion Week’s challenging 3-month designer bootcamp. This was Phoenix Fashion Week’s first live event since the beginning of the pandemic, more than 2 years ago.
“I’m so proud of her,” said Elmer Flying Horse, Norma’s husband, when Norma was chosen as Designer of the Year. “All of her work and sacrifice was all worth it.” The Flying Horse family drove from the Fort Berthold Indian Reservation in North Dakota during a blizzard that crippled most of the state for several days.
The Phoenix Fashion Week predominantly featured Indigenous culture in this year’s program. Saturday’s opening act Indigenous Enterprise, an Indigenous dance troupe that’s performing at the Met Gala later this year. In 2021, Indigenous Enterprise performed in the “Virtual Parade” for the Presidential Inauguration of Joe Biden.
The Phoenix Fashion Week is a curated two-day event that showcases models, designers, and fashion in the premier fashion event in the Southwest. The organization chose 40 models, female and male, to walk the runway for eight fashion shows a day in the chosen designers’ clothing.
https://nativenewsonline.net/arts-entertainment/norma-baker-flying-horse-phoenix-fashion-week-s-designer-of-the-year#sigProId7c800954b6
This story has been updated to include a quote from the executive director of Phoenix Fashion Week.
More Stories Like This
Eighth Generation Blanket Featured on Cover of British Vogue in OctoberHere’s What's Going On in Indian Country, September 21 —September 28
The Land That Carries Our Ancestors: Contemporary Art by Native Americans Exhibition Begins Sept. 22 at National Gallery of Art
Gifted Native American Flutist Robert Tree Cody Walks On
The Future is Now at Newly Opened Center for Native Futures in Chicago
Native News is free to read.
We hope you enjoyed the story you've just read. For the past dozen years, we’ve covered the most important news stories that are usually overlooked by other media. From the protests at Standing Rock and the rise of the American Indian Movement (AIM), to the ongoing epidemic of Murdered and Missing Indigenous People (MMIP) and the past-due reckoning related to assimilation, cultural genocide and Indian Boarding Schools.
Our news is free for everyone to read, but it is not free to produce. That’s why we’re asking you to make a donation to help support our efforts. Any contribution — big or small — helps. Most readers donate between $10 and $25 to help us cover the costs of salaries, travel and maintaining our digital platforms. If you’re in a position to do so, we ask you to consider making a recurring donation of $12 per month to join the Founder's Circle. All donations help us remain a force for change in Indian Country and tell the stories that are so often ignored, erased or overlooked.
Donate to Native News Online today and support independent Indigenous journalism. Thank you.
