“It’s incredible seeing a lot of brands are starting to work with the actual Indigenous artists, instead of pulling inspiration from us,” says Glasses. “It’s beautiful to see that collaboration because you get to see these designs interpreted from these original artists.”
It’s a full-circle moment for Glasses, who often wore Ralph Lauren clothing as a child. Once she and her brother chose to weave full-time, their business-minded parents asked them to come up with some practical goals. She replied that she’d like to one day make floor rugs, blankets and clothing with Diné designs. Asked to write down which brands she wanted to collaborate with, she put Ralph Lauren at the top of the list. Seeing her name on the tags beside Ralph Lauren’s is completely unreal, she says. “There are no words to describe it.”
On a video call ahead of the launch, Glasses wears a multitude of turquoise and silver jewellery pieces – they appear on her fingers, earlobes and scarf – representing each of the seven Navajo and Hopi artist families whose jewellery she curated for the collection’s campaign. A selection of their handcrafted pieces was used to style the capsule and will also be available for purchase.
“I wanted to lift up other Indigenous artists along with me because this is going to be a huge release,” she says. “It’s a big platform, and I would love to be able to share that along with others.”
