LOREN ARAGON: FIVE YEARS LATER

BY KELLY HOLMES

Photo by Valentina Aragon

After working as a mechanical engineer for twelve years, Loren Aragon and his wife Valentina debuted their fashion brand called ACONAV [the name represents the cohesion of cultures between its founders Loren (Acoma Pueblo) and Valentina (Navajo)]. Five years later, Aragon's eponymous brand is now a couture fashion brand that's cat-walked on runways all over the country, graced magazine covers, had countless media mentions, styled celebrities, and won coveted titles. A lthough we've worked closely together with Loren Aragon and his team for years, the last time we wrote a story that focused on him and his fashion brand was in 2015, where he was at the starting line of his fashion career. At the time, Aragon had just captured attention for his custom-made gown worn by Pueblo model and stylist Daphne Coriz during a Miss Native American USA pageant followed by a presentation of his collection at Plitzs New York City Fashion Week, which happened If you could go back and tell yourself one thing before beginning your career in fashion, what would it be? "Do or do not… There is no try." I know it's a quote from Yoda, but if anything pushed me forward to do what I had in my mind, it would be these words and what they meant. After so many years, I learned that dreams mean nothing if we don't take action and if we say we are going to "try," we already place doubt upon ourselves, but if we say we will "do" something, you are more likely to take action. during New York Fashion Week. What was the biggest rookie mistake you made when just starting in fash While recapping his journey, it's incredible to see how far he and his team ion? have come. Thus far, Aragon has been in a handful of fashion shows, showWait for things to happen after a runway show. You have to make the show cases, Indian Markets, and more. His accolades include a commission for work for you, and you have to put forth the effort to build your audience. Walt Disney World in 2018, the cover of AZ RedBook Magazine, and a grand People will go to a show to watch, but if you want to move forward in this mention in Cowboys and Indians Magazine. He's also styled celebrities–business, you have to bring the people who will buy the creations you put Tony Awards member Collen Jennings-Roggensack debuted an ACONAV forth. gown on the red carpet at the 2019 Tony Awards, Secwépemc First Nation actress Grace Dove from Oscar-award winning film "The Revenant" at Phoenix What is one thing you look for when working with anyone new for ACONAV? Fashion Week 2017, and Apache actress Sivan Alyra Rose, best known as the The first question I ask is, "are they good for my brand?". Most decisions first Native American female lead of television series "Chambers" on Netflix, made in moving forward with ACONAV have been based on the answer to for the cover of Native Max Magazine's inaugural Fashion issue last year. this question. I want to see meaningful contributions to my brand, which will Most notably, Aragon won the prestige title of Phoenix Fashion Week's 2018 reflect what we stand for, which is the "celebration of women's strength and Couture Designer of the Year. empowerment, to Evoke Empowerment." Now, the brand ACONAV is synonymous with couture fashion, and Aragon is now one of North America's most promising Indigenous fashion How is working in fashion different today than from when you first started? visionaries. He's at the forefront of the movement of advancing Native fashIt is indeed more about business than it is creativity. A fashion brand is only ion into the mainstream fashion industry, where he collaborates with other as good as the business effort you put into it. Creativity will always be there, fashion designers, artists, and organizations for the cause. Lastly, the brand but you have to push your creativity to new levels, even in business. continues to celebrate women's strength and empowerment through positive expressions in designs that tie culture to modern style, a long-standing What role do you think social media plays in fashion today? mission of Aragon's. We are proud to see Aragon's progress and his team's Social media is still an excellent tool for marketing and creating awareness fashion brand and wanted to have a quick catch-up. for a brand. We use social media extensively to promote new products and Let's start with a quick introduction for our readers who are just getting to it keeps us connected with those who look to ACONAV and believe in what it know you. represents. I am Aa'ku' meh, from the Acoma Pueblo of New Mexico. The first eighteen years of my life were spent growing up on the reservation with a balance of What made you want to expand your business from just designing fashion traditional and modern teachings. I attended our elementary/junior high to doing various collaborations? school, then graduated from Grants High School, in the neighboring town. I Collaborations are a great way to expand your audience. Collaborations with attended Arizona State University, where I obtained my degree in Mechaniother designers and artists is a great way to create even more awareness to cal Engineering in 2004. I spent the next 12 years working as an engineer in those who may not know about the high-end fashion side of things and the automotive testing, then later in military applications and virtual training as progression of Native fashion in the fashion industry. I love that collaboraa design engineer. I was always involved in the arts all through my education tion is a sort of educational tool, and many of them have generated growth in and professional career. I had my hands busy in illustration since my childour following. hood and kept advancing my techniques and trying new things. I eventually discovered the mediums of sculpture and jewelry, but fashion is where I What is your favorite part about being a fashion designer? could genuinely apply everything I love to do and blend my technical and To this day, my favorite part is seeing a design come to life when a model artistic backgrounds. wears it down the runway. There is no greater sense of accomplishment than What is your first fashion memory? Who did you learn sewing from? most especially seeing the audience connect with me through the story being I always saw my mother and aunt sewing growing up. Although I never told. wanted to sew as a kid, I found that I wanted to preserve our family tradition and sought lessons from my mother and aunt, who taught me the basics of How do you want womxn to feel when wearing your designs? sewing and helped me construct my first garments. As our message entails, we want womxn to be empowered! The idea of emWhen did you first realize you wanted to pursue a career as a fashion dea catalyst to the idea of empowerment. Every garment is designed to instill signer? What inspired you to take on fashion? empowerment; I hope that whoever wears ACONAV will find their strengths, I came upon fashion design by accident. I had no passion for sewing or dethen embrace them and celebrate them. signing dresses. I always thought it was the "girly" thing to do, but what proshow our audience what is happening behind the scenes. More importantly, seeing all your efforts grace a runway and seeing my vision come to life, and powerment is not coming from us; it is a discovery within the wearer. We are voked me to pursue this career was observing an absence of Native American There's so much pressure for fashion designers to come out with their best talent on the major runways all over the world. collection season after season. How do you find inspiration for new ideas

and designs? How do you overcome any challenges?

Model: Rania DeWahe (Pueblo)

Photo by Nikki Gonzales

Jewelry by Silver Artichoke

Countless ideas are swirling in my mind, just waiting to come to life. It's hard to judge what is the "best," but you feel it and know it, especially when the response you get is the one you are looking for. Inspiration can come from anywhere. The challenge is how to capture all the ideas inspired by whatever it is that inspired it. My Acoma culture is the foundation of all my inspiration. I love it when an observation in the greater world brings me back to connecting with something from my culture.

You work with a small team in creating and bringing designs to life; who works with you? What's the importance of working as a team?

My team consists of myself, my master seamstress, and my chief operations officer. They are not only my team but my family; they are my mother and my wife. We also have an intern who is an extension of our family. My team is essential, without them, I wouldn't be able to bring many of the creations I have in mind or from the sketch to the runway. We all wear so many different hats, and we all spark creativity in one another.

It’s been five years since we last featured you, where you were at the starting line of your fashion career. Reflecting on your journey so far, how do you feel? What were some of your proudest moments?

The journey continues. It’s been a great experience since coming on to the fashion scene. So many great people I’ve met along the way. I feel that the decision to pursue this career path was the right one. It’s been great to see the response to what I’ve done and what I continue to do—such generous support from our fans and patrons. My proudest moments will always be getting that next collection to walk down the runway, but among the greatest have been a collaboration with Walt Disney World and outfitting some of my biggest influencers for the red carpet. The greatest of which was being represented at the Tony Awards!

Lastly, how does your work contribute to bringing Native fashion to the mainstream fashion industry?

I like to continue to challenge myself to push Native fashion out of the Native community and into the greater community. We have every right to be on the same runways as more well-known non-native designers. I love that we continue to gain new audiences' interests and generate greater awareness of Native Fashion.

For information about ACONAV and Loren, visit WWW.ACONAV.COM.