Bethany Yellowtail and Ernesto Yerena at Summer Gathering pop-up July 21.
B.Yellowtail Mixes Fashion & Protest
At the Ace Hotel in downtown Los Angeles July 21, Native American designer Bethany Yellowtail introduced her B.Yellowtail line’s first swim looks at the Summer Gathering pop-up shop. She also made a point to weave in social consciousness into her fashion.
She worked with Chicano artist Ernesto Yerena to mix imagery from his politically inspired art for a capsule collection B.Yellowtail x Ernesto Yerena Montejano. “This collection challenged me to think beyond myself, beyond my own community, and how we can join forces with other communities of color,” she said.
Looks include a summer dress with a print from Yerena’s art called Decolonize Maiz. Other pieces include a scarf that mixes a Yerena print of a child mixed with Native American imagery and a frisson of protest. Ten percent of proceeds from B.Yellowtail’s collections will go to familiesbelongtogether.org, which seeks to reunite children separated from their parents at the U.S.- Mexico border.
Events at the Summer Gathering pop-up included a blessing given by Tongva language by Jessa Calderon. The Tongva were the original inhabitants of Los Angeles County. Some of B.Yellotail's labels feature the motto “Made In Occupied Tongva Territory (Los Angeles.)” “Indigenously Designed For All” is another of the line's mottos. B.Yellowtail plans on releasing her Fall ’18 collection before November.
