Acoma Pueblo designer Loren Aragon was approached by officials at Walt Disney World to create a dress for their Epcot park as part of the Creating Traditions: Innovation and Change in American Indian Art.
Aragon lived in Phoenix AZ and was approached by Disney and handpicked to be one of the designers for this exhibition. When Powwows journalist Corinne Oestreich spoke with Aragon, he had this to say about his inspiration to begin designing..
“My inspiration to design started with my dislike for off the shelf fabrics that were considered native or Native-inspired but had no true identity to one tribe. My mother and aunt who are seamstresses used a lot of these fabrics in our traditional garment making. I wondered how it would be great to have my own fabrics made or printed that would be truly representative of one tribe, namely the Acoma Pueblo, with the use of pottery designs to which we are best known for. With the help of a fellowship from the Wheelright museum in Santa Fe I was able to research and get my first fabrics printed. The construction of my first garments and the response to the use of authentic designed fabric was enough to keep me inspired to do more. Along the way inspirations from my culture especially our pottery art and our brief in a matrilineal system have become the foundations to ACONAV.”
When asked what it means to him to see his tribe represented in a public space like Epcot, he had this to say..
“It means so much to me to be able to represent my tribe in a gallery/exhibit of this magnitude. As I ventured into being an artist I always imaged what it would be like to have my work viewed by so many people and here it is. This proves to me that anything is achievable and I hope it inspires future generations from my tribe and more so other tribes to step out and do the things they are most passionate about. The pottery art of Acoma is world renown thanks to some great potters in my community. I hope that representing Acoma under a different medium shows the world that we are capable of so much more and more importantly that they get to know more about who we are and where we come from.”
Check below for live video of Aragon walking through the exhibit!
https://www.facebook.com/ACONAV/videos/1753650954684116/
Last Updated on February 15, 2024 by Paul G
Ellany Kayce
says:Love this dress. I would love a dress designed for a more full-figured female, which would be flattering and smooths over larger breast (38 DDD) and stomach, like a size large.
Ophelia
says:He does customize dresses and will make the dress to fit you.
You can look up his website at http://www.aconav.com