EVEN IN A BASTION of creativity like Santa Fe, Peshawn Bread (Comanche/Kiowa/Cherokee) stands out. “Clothing keeps me warm and alive,” Bread says, while wearing a yellow-and-black-plaid, fuzzy duster; leather-and-rabbit-fur Manitobah boots; and a black clutch covered with metal spikes. “Fashion keeps me sane.” With an ever-growing repertoire of creative roles—runway star, filmmaker, cultural adviser, and campaign model for brands like Levi’s and Ralph Lauren—Bread is helping lead this month’s third annual Southwestern Association for Indian Arts Native Fashion Week, co-producing the Santa Fe show and presenting their jewelry and fashion label, House of Sutai. A Sundance Institute alum, they’ve advised on major productions, including the Disney+ miniseries Echo and the Prime sci-fi Western Outer Range. “I was the weird kid in school,” says Bread, who left Oklahoma for Santa Fe as a teenager. “I was gay. I was dorky. I dressed for me, and I didn’t care if I was different.”
Instinct works for me. A few years ago, I was freaking out about a beaded bag. I didn’t know how to even approach the project. My great-aunt Josephine Myers-Wapp came to me in a dream and told me, “Your body will remember what needs to be done.” I woke up the next morning and said, “Okay, let’s buck up and get to work.”
I founded my brand, House of Sutai, in 2024. It’s all about expression and storytelling. I love experimenting with prints and modern fabric, but my collections also feature classic Indigenous materials like dentalium shell and leather fringe.
I just designed a boot for Manitobah.
Everything in my universe is gay. I see the world first as a queer person.
I love American designers and fashion labels: Tom Ford, Halston, and Ralph Lauren. These are heroes of mine who represent fearlessness.
This year’s fashion show will be hosted at the Eldorado Hotel and Spa in downtown Santa Fe. It’s going to feel more intimate and more consolidated than previous runway shows.
I first connected with Diné designer Orlando Dugi as a young teenager. I modeled his clothing in some of SWAIA’s first fashion shows.
My bangs are my signature, inspired by the Disney show Hannah Montana.
For a lot of Indigenous people, Indian Market is our livelihood.
I’m totally a market kid. Even before moving to Santa Fe, my mom, [Jhane Myers], had a booth in Indian Market, and other family members would be there every August too. I was the salesperson. I could talk to anybody about my art.
International brands like Manitobah and Ralph Lauren aren’t just promoting Native designers but making meaningful partnerships with us. When Indigenous people work together with mainstream designers, it’s not selling out. It’s branching out. It means success.
As a TV set adviser, I’ve noticed many films and shows still portraying Indigenous people as dirty, with unkempt homes and minimal clothing. Native cultures were clean and organized. We were never “primitive.”
I would not be in the position I’m in without my queer relatives and mentors.
New Mexico will always be home to me. I love how quiet it is. Who needs a big city? You can come here and have your silence and breathe.
Fashion and believing in the power of beauty has always given me strength.
SEE FOR YOURSELF
Get tickets for SWAIA Native Fashion Week, in Santa Fe, May 8–9 at nmmag.us/nfw. Follow Peshawn Bread and House of Sutai on Instagram @houseofsutai.