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HomeCultureArts & CultureRalph Lauren collaborates with Diné textile artist Naiomi Glasses

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Ralph Lauren collaborates with Diné textile artist Naiomi Glasses

Hud Oberly, Osage/Comanche/Caddo entrepreneur and artist, featured in photos for new special-edition product collection for Polo Ralph Lauren

In a historic collaboration with an Indigenous designer, Ralph Lauren launched Polo Ralph Lauren x Naiomi Glasses on Dec. 5, featuring a beautiful ad campaign that showcased her Diné (Navajo) designs worn by Indigenous models.

But one Indigenous model stood out to Osages, Comanches and Caddos everywhere: Hud Oberly.

“Even now it’s a little surreal, just thinking of being on a platform like Polo Ralph Lauren,” said 29-year-old Oberly, Osage/Comanche/Caddo, who is based in New York. “I went to the stores on Wednesday, that are in New York, and that was another moment of … I can’t believe this on so many fronts. Basically, me being in it is cool, but just the project in general is such a moment that will be looked back on as setting the stage for so many more similar collaborations in the future. So even seeing just that, all that work, in person was really cool.”

The product campaign was shot by Ryan RedCorn (Osage) and Daryn Sells (Diné/Navajo) with behind-the-scenes footage captured by Lonnie Begaye (Diné/Navajo). It features a predominantly Indigenous cast and crew of Glasses’ family, friends and community, set against the striking landscape of the Navajo Nation.

Diné (Navajo) textile artist Naiomi Glasses, seated in the middle, poses with her family and Indigenous models for the ad campaign for her collaboration with designer Ralph Lauren. Oberly stands tall in the middle, back row. Photo by Ryan RedCorn (Osage) for Ralph Lauren

Glasses, a seventh-generation textile artist and weaver, is the first Indigenous designer to participate in Ralph Lauren’s Artist in Residence program, part of the company’s broader efforts to shift from inspiration to collaboration with communities that have inspired Ralph Lauren, according to the release.

Oberly, who is good friends with Glasses and her family, said they first met in 2020 and have supported each other and other Indigenous designers on their journeys. Glasses requested Indigenous models and crew for the photoshoot and selected Oberly and RedCorn.

“If someone asks how did this happen for me, whether it’s this or something else that pops up … to me it’s like relentlessly going for this life I want to live but being super supportive and kind and embracing interpersonal relationships along the way,” Oberly said. “Because that’s what I think the point to me being involved with this is me being very proactive and motivated, wanting to go after my dreams and that’s admired by other people who do the same but just like along the way being generous and supportive of everyone along the way that provides these things that pop up I think.”   

Oberly is the Founder and Creative Director of Here’s To You, an independent fashion brand that creates clothing and visual media about the creative artist experience, with a focus on the Indigenous creative community and New York creative community. He is also the Managing Director of Business Development for Old Hat Creative, where his focus is working with New York public school districts and high schools who are transitioning out Native American/ Indigenous team names and mascots.

Ryan RedCorn. Courtesy Photo/Buffalo Nickel Creative

The Polo Ralph Lauren x Naiomi Glasses Collection will be unveiled to consumers as three seasonal, special-edition product launches through 2024. The first capsule includes men’s, women’s and unisex apparel and accessories in a color palette inspired by the lands of Dinétah (Navajo Nation), where the Glasses family resides, according to the release.

Contemporary adaptations of cherished Navajo symbols like spider woman crosses, four-directional crosses, dragonflies and wedge weave motifs are incorporated throughout the collection, reflecting the tradition, innovation and creativity present throughout Navajo culture, according to the release.

“Navajo weaving is a craft that has carried on through my family for seven generations and preserving these traditions in new ways has been so inspiring to me as an artist. To now be able to share it with people around the world, as seen through my eyes and brought to life in clothing, is a dream come true,” said Glasses in the release. “It is only through the power of collaboration and Ralph Lauren’s unique program that this collection was made possible, and the best part is that it brings traditional Navajo weaving to a new generation.”

Glasses, an avid turquoise and silver collector, also curated a unique selection of handcrafted silver and turquoise jewelry from six artisan families throughout the Navajo Nation, Hopi Pueblo, San Felipe Pueblo and Zuni Pueblo. Special pieces from the curation are available for purchase online and in select flagship stores, according to the release.

Entrepreneur and artist Hud Oberly in Ralph Lauren x Naiomi Glasses ad campaign. Photo by Ryan RedCorn (Osage) for Ralph Lauren

In line with Ralph Lauren’s commitment to deepen its engagement with Native and Indigenous communities, a percentage of the purchase price from sales of the first drop of the Polo Ralph Lauren x Naiomi Glasses Collection will benefit Change Labs, a Native-led organization focused on fostering the creation of successful Navajo and Hopi small businesses. Full details are available in stores and on RalphLauren.com.

The first of three assortments of the collection is now available to consumers on RalphLauren.com, the Ralph Lauren App, Tmall and in select global stores, while quantities last. Drops two and three of the collection will follow in spring and fall 2024, respectively.

As for Oberly, he’s looking into various modeling agencies to sign with and he is also involved in a Spring modeling campaign he isn’t at liberty to speak about just yet.

“The importance of blending … whether it’s Navajo, or Osage, but blending culture with a brand like Polo Ralph Lauren is no easy task,” he said. “And like I said, it’s the seed of what’s to come for collaborations in the future.”

Author

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Shannon Shaw Duty
Shannon Shaw Dutyhttps://osagenews.org

Title: Editor
Email: sshaw20@gmail.com
Twitter: @dutyshaw
Topic Expertise: Columnist, Culture, Community
Languages spoken: English, Osage (intermediate), Spanish (beginner)

Shannon Shaw Duty, Osage from the Grayhorse District, is the editor of the award-winning Osage News, the official independent media of the Osage Nation. She is a graduate of the University of Oklahoma with a bachelor’s degree in Journalism and a master’s degree in Legal Studies with an emphasis in Indigenous Peoples Law. She currently sits on the Freedom of Information Committee for the Society of Professional Journalists. She has served as a board member for LION Publishers, as Vice President for the Pawhuska Public Schools Board of Education, on the Board of Directors for the Native American Journalists Association (now Indigenous Journalists Association) and served as a board member and Chairwoman for the Pawhuska Johnson O’Malley Parent Committee. She is a Chips Quinn Scholar, a former instructor for the Freedom Forum’s Native American Journalism Career Conference and the Freedom Forum’s American Indian Journalism Institute. She is a former reporter for The Santa Fe New Mexican. She is a 2012 recipient of the Native American 40 Under 40 from the National Center for American Indian Enterprise Development. In 2014 she helped lead the Osage News to receive NAJA's Elias Boudinot Free Press Award. The Osage News won Best Newspaper from the SPJ-Oklahoma Chapter in their division 2018-2022. Her award-winning work has been published in Indian Country Today, The Washington Post, the Center for Public Integrity, NPR, the Associated Press, Tulsa World and others. She currently resides in Pawhuska, Okla., with her husband and together they share six children, two dogs and two cats.

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