RUNWAY TO SANTA FE

Indigenous designer Orlando Dugi shares his favorite art, culture, and cocktails in his adopted hometown

- ASHLEY M. BIGGERS

THE CREATIONS OF ARIZONA-BORN Orlando Dugi, a member of the Diné Nation, are nothing if not dramatic: gowns glittering with delicate beadwork, silks embroidered with symbolic flora and fauna. Some have been exhibited at places like the Denver Art Museum and the Autry Museum of the American West in Los Angeles. While his imagination is fueled by his upbringing-days spent watching his grandmother sew and nights stargazing at his family's sheep ranchDugi also finds inspiration in Santa Fe, which he's called home since 2010. "All the tribal, colonial, and Spanish history-it's all here," he says. "It's very small, but it's also pretty international." New Mexico's capital city is set to draw a global audience as host of the inaugural Santa Fe Native Fashion Week, the first of its kind in the country, held in early May, where Dugi will present highlights from his mens- and womenswear collections. When he's not designing, he enjoys connecting with Indigenous culture on the ancestral lands of the Tewa people-or kicking back with a margarita.

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