Indigenous Designers Shine in the Met’s Refreshed In America: A Lexicon of Fashion Exhibit

Earlier this month, while walking through In America: A Lexicon of Fashion—the Metropolitan Museum of Art’s current Costume Institute exhibition that opened last September—several guests flocked around a floor-length, silk and stretch-tulle dress on display. Designed by the Native American designer Jamie Okuma, the gown’s diamond-shaped, Parfleche-inspired motifs are certainly head-turners. But for Okuma, who is based on the La Jolla Indian Reservation in Pauma Valley, California, having her work displayed in the Met is just as thrilling to witness. “I’m incredibly thankful to the Met for including me,” the artist tells Vogue. “The feedback so far has been really great.”

Okuma is no stranger to having her work featured in museums, of course. Her striking artwork, like hand-beaded boots or miniature dolls sporting handmade regalia, have been on display at the Heard Museum in Phoenix, Arizona and the Denver Art Museum, among others. Yet, seeing two of Okuma’s ready-to-wear ensembles featured in a renowned institution like the Met wields a different kind of power, especially considering contemporary Indigenous fashion design has long been overlooked both, in mainstream art and fashion spaces.

The Lexicon of Fashion exhibit originally debuted at the Met in September last year, but was refreshed this March with over 70 new ensembles, including pieces from Rodarte, Batsheva Hay, the late Virgil Abloh, and four Indigenous designers including Okuma, Evan Ducharme, Margaret Roach Wheeler, and Section 35’s Justin Louis. (The first edition of the exhibit featured one Native designer, Korina Emmerich). Like Okuma, many of the new talents featured in the Met this time around were surprised to be included, especially alongside the greats like Halston. Yet their distinctive works— ranging from couture gowns, to streetwear and sweatpant—completely shine and hold their own, challenging notions of what Indigenous design can look like.

Below, meet the five Indigenous designers who are featured in the Met’s refreshed Lexicon of Fashion exhibit—and learn about what inspired each of their one-of-a-kind works, too.

Margaret Roach Wheeler

Chickasaw and Choctaw
Based in: Sulphur, Oklahoma