High fashion at high latitudes: Event showcases Indigenous design

The fourth annual Far North Fashion Show held last Thursday drew a packed crowd to the Anchorage Museum of History and Art.

The event showcases Indigenous designs that are traditional, contemporary and a blend of the two. It has become a highlight of the three-day Arctic Encounter Symposium, a conference that this year drew nearly 1,000 participants from more than two dozen countries. Among the participants were ambassadors from Arctic and non-Arctic nations, prominent Arctic scientists and members of Congress.

The Far North Fashion Show provided a break from the policy discussions.

Models strutting the catwalk at this year’s event wore parkas, dresses and other items designed by Corrine Danner, Alannah Jones, Diana Martin, Cara Qualluq McDonnell, Merna Lomack Wharton and Jackie Qataliña Schaeffer.

The designers are experienced. Some have their own clothing businesses. Wharton is a celebrated Yup’ik skin-sewer and Schaeffer, who is Inupiat and is director of climate initiatives at the Alaska Native Tribal Health Consortium, holds a fashion degree from the American College in London.

The show closed with a performance by the Tanam Anĝii Collective, an Unangax̂ group.