The Politics of Fashion: PRL x Naiomi Glasses

We return to the American West. The 2024/2025 fashion scene is promising leather, denim, and dust reminiscent of the Western working class.

Polo Ralph Lauren Launches "Artist In Residence" Program with Navajo Textile Artist Naiomi Glasses

Last week, I discussed the effects, both positive and negative, of Louis Vuitton’s Ready-to-Wear Men's Show in how it incorporates Native American artistry to reimagine the Cowboy. Today, we look to Polo Ralph Lauren. Both brands collaborated with Native artists, but Ralph Lauren’s inaugural Artist in Residence puts control in the hands of Naiomi Glasses, a seventh-generation Diné textile artist and weaver. PRL and the Ralph Lauren Corporation are distinctly American. Where Louis Vuitton is a Parisian fashion house with over a hundred years of expertise, Ralph Lauren, the man, began fashioning menswear in late 1960s New York. Blending business with the casual American spirit, the man became the brand and soon established itself with function-and-form designs which appealed to its largely American customer base. From the businessman of New York to the cowboy of Santa Fe, the brand has explored all facets of American life. No wonder, then, that Ralph Lauren’s inaugural Artist in Residence collection features Indigenous American designs led by an Indigenous artist. “Ralph Lauren’s design ethos has long been inspired by the lands, cultures, and artistry that make up the fabric of America,” the brand said in their announcement for this collaboration. The goal of the Artist in Residence program is to work with an expert in heritage skills, from silversmithing to weaving, to move from “inspiration to collaboration with communities that have inspired Ralph Lauren.”

Naiomi Glasses brings her Diné heritage to the forefront of this inaugural collaboration. Glasses specializes in weaving traditional Diné rugs with her brother, Tyler. Commonly known as Navajo, the Diné have a rich textile history. Blankets, wraps, and rugs are usually made from churro wool, according to Dakota Mace, with recurring motifs and colors. Glasses’ first drop for 2024 instead uses alpaca and Italian wool, but the motifs remain. The four-spoked cross found in the designs honors the importance of the number in Diné culture: “four sacred mountains, four cardinal directions, four sacred colors,” said Mace of Edging Effects. Glasses also honors Spider Woman in this collection, the first weaver within Diné beliefs, seen in the thin cross with two points on each spoke. Finally, the dragonfly motif is a call for water. Dinétah (the Navajo Nation) resides in drought-stricken desert lands, bordering the states of Arizona, New Mexico, and Utah. This results in rich sweaters, skilled embroidery, and culturally conscious fashion for any who wish to purchase.

The collaboration extends beyond Glasses herself. As previously mentioned, she crafts rugs with her brother Tyler, and both were taught by their late grandmother to weave and spin. Together, the siblings began making saddle blankets, in connection with their herding and rodeo backgrounds. The collection is, she said for the PRL feature, “this story of my own weaving, where my brother and I use a lot more natural colors.” Undyed wool and deep red sweaters evoke the dried prairie grasses and red sandstone of Dinétah, both current and past. Her love for turquoise jewelry led her to involve more Diné, Hopi, and Puebloan artisans with expertise in silversmithing and jewelry making. This first drop features indigenous models like Quannah Chasinghorse (Lakota/Hän Gwich'in) and Phillip Bread (Comanche/Kiowa). And, behind the camera, PRL continued native representation by hiring Native crews for photography, cinematography, and cultural consultation to ensure all was handled with due respect. Not only is this drop in conversation with Louis Vuitton, but it is also in conversation with Ralph Lauren itself. In the 1980s, Ralph Lauren released their Santa Fe collection. This collection, “[i]nspired by the city’s artistry and free spirit”, appropriated Indigenous textile patterns while attempting to emulate American West fashion, with excessive belt buckles and confusing furs. Models seemingly take on a Native appearance with long braids and headbands while wearing moccasins and leg wraps, all without care or consideration to the Native groups they were inspired by. So, this attention to detail, from conception to production to advertisement, corrects the wrongs of the past by fully celebrating Native American craftsmanship.

With more drops coming later this year, not much fault can be found in this collaboration, except for one detail. Ralph Lauren said in the initial press statement that “a percentage of the purchase price from sales of the first drop… will benefit Change Labs, a Native-led organization focused on fostering the creation of successful Navajo and Hopi small businesses.” This pledge is good. Many Native Americans, given the reservation system of the U.S., do not have the means most Americans do. Just one example is that up to 30% of families in Dinétah are without running water. The proceeds, while not directly fighting this crisis, would still give Diné and Hopi business owners a fighting chance in the American market. However, buried in the fine print of items like the Wool-blend sweater is how it will work: “Five percent of the purchase price from global sales of the first capsule of Polo Ralph Lauren x Naiomi Glasses collection will benefit Change Labs.” Why only five percent, and why only for this first drop? The details are murky for us on the outside. Pre-production, procurement of materials, and Glasses’ well-deserved cut are top of the list for what happens after your purchase. Five percent may be the most reasonable allotment for Change Labs. Yet I fail to see why this practice cannot extend to all drops. It would be a great show of dedication to the Native communities of the Southwest to continue this practice. It may be that in future drops, PRL will work with other Native charities. That has yet to be seen, and the best we can do is overanalyze a press release.

Polo Ralph Lauren Launches "Artist In Residence" Program with Navajo Textile Artist Naiomi Glasses

Overall, this collaboration is already promising. The overall philosophy of this collaboration, and the Artist in Residence program, is the protection of heritage craftsmanship. I think PRL has done a great service in working with Naiomi Glasses and other Indigenous artisans. The bumps of today are minor, and the mistakes of the past feel correctly addressed. Ralph Lauren is giving a voice and platform to underrepresented artists. A true reflection of the American West, the PRL x Naiomi Glasses collaboration is the highlight of my year, and we still have two more drops to anticipate.