Native Couture

At Shiprock Trading Company, a fuzzy picture of the calm before the storm

I just returned home from a witnessing a phenomenon. New on the scene, this past weekend I was properly initiated into the Virgil Ortiz fan club. Who is Virgil Ortiz, you might ask? After returning home from a whirlwind trip to Santa Fe, New Mexico, I feel a little better equipped to tell you.

For the past few months, I have been privileged enough to be on the inside track, consulting on the product development end of the brand-new fashion line for this artist-cum-fashion-cum-interior design star. Working on the Fall 09 release of mens and womens tee-shirts and lux silk scarves for Virgil's fashion line Indigene-pronounced 'in-di-ju-nay', proved to be both exciting and inspiring. However, this is not Virgil's first foray into the fashion scene. As a sought-after ceramic pottery artist, who blends traditional technique with contemporary, edgy, graphic imagery, Mr. Ortiz's work has been snapped up by savvy collectors for years. In fact, after catching the eye of Donna Karan a few years ago, she invited him as a guest designer to help create pieces for her spring line in 2003. That experience sparked a passion in Virgil, expressed in limited edition collections of handbags, leather jackets, hand-painted denim, collector-quality tee-shirts and cashmere.

Only this season, after much experimentation, has Virgil finally released a line that will be available for wholesale to select boutiques around the country. A selection of organic cotton tee-shirts, screened with highly graphic images designed by Virgil debuted alongside his offering of sumptuous printed silk scarves at the annual Indian Market in Santa Fe this past weekend. We were prepared for his line to cause a stir, but the feeding frenzy that became of this quiet little space in the back of Shiprock Trading Company finally clued me in to what is really going on here. When the doors opened at 6 o'clock Thursday evening, it was like a rock concert-really! Hey, even Val Kilmer showed up to check things out. Now, with my eyes open a little wider, I watch with great awareness this star rising to take his place among legends. Which is exactly where he belongs.

Visit the artist's website at: virgilortiz.com

Cheers for now,

The Maven