At the Far North Fashion Show, Alaska Native designs take flight
The show, held at the Anchorage Museum and hosted by the Arctic Encounter Symposium, featured eye-catching creations riffing on this year’s “Black and White Raven Collection” theme.
Model Kenzi Osgood wears a creation by Jackie Qatalina Schaeffer, an Inupiaq designer from Kotzebue, at the Far North Fashion Show at the Anchorage Museum on April 11, 2024. (Kerry Tasker photo)
The Anchorage Museum atrium transformed into a catwalk for the 2024 Far North Fashion show Thursday night.
The show featured eight Alaska Native designers who created nearly 40 looks for the event. Walking to a playlist of music drawn from around the circumpolar north, some models wore traditional garments while others showed off looks that featured fur, skins and feathers on gowns and streetwear. Occasionally, a model broke into a traditional Alaska Native dance move as the crowd of about 650 people cheered their approval.
This is the second year fashion show coordinator Trina Landlord has organized the event. She said when she was 13, she and her best friend would dream about Alaska Native fashion on runways.
“We didn’t ever see anyone who looked like us who were designers or models,” Landlord said. “Fast forward to now, and this is my fifth fashion show I’ve done featuring Alaska Native designers. Some have shown at Toronto fashion week.”
The theme of this year’s fashion show — the “Black and White Raven Collection” — appeared throughout the night, from models’ makeup and hair to the feathered capelets and adornments of many looks.
The raven theme was inspired by the magical, transformative creatures that appear in the stories and songs of many Alaska Native cultures, Landlord said. But like the fashion show itself, it’s also a take on modern-day life — and 2024′s buzziest local celebrity.
“With the new paparazzi following the white raven around — keeping that in mind, it’s so new and unusual and unique,” Landlord said.
The show was presented by Arctic Encounter, a symposium of events centered on Arctic policy, business and culture that took place Wednesday through Friday in downtown Anchorage.
Model Deenaalee Hodgdon wears Inupiaq designer Jackie Qatalina Schaeffer featuring accessories by Tlingit artist Jennifer Younger at the Far North Fashion Show at the Anchorage Museum on April 11, 2024. (Kerry Tasker photo)
Trina Landlord, pictured here, coordinated the Far North Fashion Show at the Anchorage Museum on Thursday, April 11, 2024. When she was young, “We didn’t ever see anyone who looked like us who were designers or models," Landlord said. "Fast forward to now." (Kerry Tasker photo)
Amiah Xootsk Johnson wears a seal skin vest by Jeremiah James and a white raven mask by Jerry Laktonen during the Far North Fashion Show on April 11, 2024, at the Anchorage Museum. (Alena Naiden / ADN)
Inupiaq model Robin Thompson wears Unangax designer Mary Kelsay at the Far North Fashion Show at the Anchorage Museum on April 11, 2024. (Kerry Tasker photo)
Unangax model Erin Messmer wears a design by Unangax designer Mary Kelsay at the Far North Fashion Show at the Anchorage Museum on April 11, 2024. (Kerry Tasker photo)
Aaron Tolen models for designer Jeremiah James at the Far North Fashion Show at the Anchorage Museum on April 11, 2024. (Kerry Tasker photo)
Model Samuel Sivulaq Mecham wears Merna Lomack Wharton's design during the Far North Fashion Show on April 12, 2024, at the Anchorage Museum. (Alena Naiden / ADN)
Unangax model Haliehana Stepetin wears Inupiaq designer Jackie Qatalina Schaeffer at the Far North Fashion Show at the Anchorage Museum on April 11, 2024. (Kerry Tasker photo)
Models Deenaalee Hodgdon, Keegan Richards, Ryan Richards and Kenzi Osgood wear designs by Jackie Qatalina Schaeffer, an Inupiaq designer from Kotzebue, at the Far North Fashion Show at the Anchorage Museum on April 11, 2024. (Kerry Tasker photo)
Yup’ik model Jenay Mike models for Tlingit designer Reine Pavlik of Yakutat at the Far North Fashion Show at the Anchorage Museum on April 11, 2024. (Kerry Tasker photo)