Native Nomad trend: history

Okay, so maaaaybe it won't be everything that you need to know, but I'm going to try my best to educate you on the Native Nomad trend. First I'm going to take it waaaaay back to something I've previously touched on in an older post; Native Americans.

Back the day, a group of travellers (where I think the Nomad part comes from) who were later known as the American Pioneers settled in newly discovered areas. Regardless of whether these areas were inhabited by Native Indians, these settlers soon gave birth to the likes of cowboys and the Wild West as we know it today.

The joining(ish) of the two cultures introduced fringing, beading, layering and fur to fashion: elements that are still big factors in many trends across fashion, design, interior etc today. What was once used to rely status and tribes is now used to decorate a particular season in our fashion cycle. White Mountaineering is one of the latest brands to invest in a new premium nomadic take on the native style; reintroducing ponchos and the use of layers.

(http://www.whitemountaineering.com/collection/2016aw/index.php)

From this collection of images you can clearly see the continuity between pattern and shape in both menswear and womenswear. Similar prints are applied to different garments, all creating this grey, navy and red palette, almost of military/utility connotations.

When comparing the latest AW collection from White Mountaineering to old imagery of typical Native Indian dress, it's clear to see the similarities. The lose, almost a-line shape of the clothing would typically be down to the qualities of the materials used: would they be likely to stretch, did technology available allow for more interrogate designs, would they even care? From my research, the Indians believed very much in being one with the land, and to survive their tribes had their own hierarchy, in which decorative such as shells and colour beads coupled with face paint and occupation decided your status.

Some might say that this trend has made an appearance before in earlier boho looks or even bohemian. The difference this season is that the striking geometric patterns, taken from native traditional art work and sometimes even an identification of which tribe they belonged to, have been simplified and upscaled: almost like a literal high end take on a more 'common place' trend.

(https://www.wgsn.com/fashion/)

Pretty no?

The existence of the trend, as far as I'm aware, relies solely on earthy, subdued, minimalistic colour palettes. Fashion garments seeing the power of minimalistic colours coupled with the highlight of red: design seeing a bigger influence of the burnt out hues, often oranges that can be seen as a direct influence from the Wild West American plains that is often what comes to mind when you see the words 'cowboys and indians'.