Rising model Quannah Chasinghorse’s first gala was filled with meaning

During New York Fashion Week, there was one escape model in particular who ran the runways at Gabriela Hearst, Prabal Gurung, and Jonathan Simkhai: Quannah Chasinghorse. The 19-year-old Indigenous model, named Hän Gwich’in and Oglala Lakota, is taking the fashion world by storm and providing much-needed representation for Indigenous people in the process. To cap off her week, Chasinghorse attended the Met Gala for the first time and documented her experience exclusively for Vogue. “It was amazing to be able to be there and represent indigenous people,” says Chasinghorse. “Before I came to the Met, I listened to Indigenous music and artists to help me feel more empowered, and I was extremely excited to show the world the beauty of Indigenous indigenousness.”

Peter Dundas dressed Chasinghorse for the glitzy evening, an exciting experience for the designer, who had noticed her in various magazine editorials. “I love the way she makes her heritage such a strong part of her visual identity, which I realize we miss in fashion,” says Dundas. He chose a gold lamé dress with chain accents from the recently launched Dundas x Revolve American Dream collection. The puffy cape also gave the illusion that the model had wings. “It’s almost like she just came down from the sky,” says Tabitha Simmons, who gave her the red carpet look.

For the model, it was important for her and her team to also reflect her Indigenous culture as a whole. “It is extremely important to represent and bring an authentic and true American culture to this year’s theme, because Native American culture has been so often appropriated and distorted in fashion,” said Chasinghorse. “Reclaiming our culture is key – we have to show the world that we are still here and that the land everyone occupies is stolen indigenous land. She, Simmons, and Dundas did so by paying homage to her Indigenous roots through jewelry, stacking turquoise and silver pieces that reflected her connection to the Navajo tribe.

“Quannah comes from the Hän Gwich’in and Lakota tribes; however, she was born and partly raised in the Navajo Nation in Arizona, ”says Simmons. “I wanted to complement the dress with Navajo jewelry.” To do this, Chasinghorse contacted her aunt, Jocelyn Billy-Upshaw, a former Miss Navajo Nation, who loaned her a few pieces from her personal jewelry collection, featuring Navajo artists from the Southwest. (Billy-Upshaw flew out of Phoenix with the coins.) “Turquoise jewelry represents protection, guidance, and love in Navajo culture,” Chasinghorse explains. “I grew up close to the Navajo people and culture.”

Overall, the most important part of the night for Chasinghorse wasn’t delivering that stellar fashion moment – although she actually did – rather sitting down at the table. “I constantly break down these barriers and stereotypes that are supposed to harm my people and make us feel less than human. It was refreshing to feel empowered in a space where I wouldn’t have been welcome if it was ten years ago, ”says Chasinghorse. “I really wanted to be able to have some visibility and show the world that we are still here. “

Below is a preview of the first Met Gala in Chasinghorse.