The Indigenous American supermodel on bringing change

‘People are surprised I said yes’: Model, activist and budding actor talks about her childhood, her culture and making a difference.

On a windy September night, model Quanna Chasinghorse joined legendary designer Ralph Lauren on the New York Fashion Week catwalk. At the beginning of the year, she wasn’t even sure if she could look him in the eye.

Chasing Horse, 22, is a Native American member of the Oglala Lakota and Han Gwich’in tribes and was born on the Navajo Nation Reservation in Arizona. She had seen some of Ralph Lauren’s past advertisements, as well as designs that she believed were unmistakable copies of indigenous motifs, and was troubled by what she saw. In 2014, Ralph Lauren apologized for its Native American-themed products. advertisementand apologized again in 2022. design It reflected Mexican indigenous motifs. The brand pledged further “trust and collaboration” on new clothing with Indigenous motifs, adding that the company is deepening its “cultural awareness training” and expanding its work with Indigenous communities.

Chasing Horse admits he had to “really wrestle” with whether to work with the fashion megabrand or tell them to quit. In fact, the Alaskan native used a harsher word than “buzz,” but I can’t post it here. Still, she eventually accepted the job.

“I think they could have slammed the door instead of asking for a real conversation,” she told the BBC. “But in the end, nothing changes. And that’s the exact opposite of how I want to live.”

Chasing Horse has flowing black hair and a unique tattoo of a geometric pattern on his chin. Idudutoo And it’s sacred to her Alaskan tribal culture, hand-poked by her mother, a land activist and musher. Jody Potts-Josephin the rite of coming of age.

Born on tribal land in Arizona, Chasinghorse moved with his mother and siblings to Mongolia as a toddler, where he lived with his maternal grandparents, who were Christian missionaries. “I don’t agree to that kind of work,” she says. “But I love them so much. They also helped small communities and nomadic tribes.” On an overnight trip to Mongolia’s capital, Ulaanbaatar, Chasinghorse attended a fashion show broadcast on public television. I watched it. “Since then, I’ve started posing like a supermodel in family photos,” she says. “I was hooked.”

When Chasing Horse was six years old, the family rode the Trans-Siberian Railroad across Europe, camping on the beaches of Italy, before flying back to Arizona and then moving to Alaska. “We camped on the banks of rivers and lived off the land, and it was the most magical thing. But now that we’re older, we realize we were homeless. My mother worked hard to keep us from that.” Know that. ”

Potts-Joseph became a public safety officer in a tribal community. They moved into a rustic log cabin with no electricity and rebuilt it from scratch. When a snowstorm made it impossible to drive the family’s small car, Potts-Joseph took Quanna and her siblings to school by dog ​​sled. The family rallied to protect Alaska’s ecosystems, protect Native women, and bring more health care and education to tribal lands. “I had a really rich childhood,” she says. “But being wealthy had nothing to do with money. It had everything to do with culture, tradition and community. That’s how we survived.”

Chasing Horse was scouted for the 2020 Calvin Klein campaign by casting director Shay Nielsen while speaking at a youth conservation event in Alaska. “Her energy and confidence really set her apart,” Nielsen told the BBC. “At just 18 years old, she was already a strong leader and advocate for Indigenous communities.”

After his Calvin Klein break, Chasing Horse was invited to meet with a modeling agency in New York. problem? She couldn’t afford a plane ticket until the indigenous community pooled funds to send the then-teenage to Manhattan. Along the way, she learned her craft from YouTube videos. “I watched a lot of Vogue models and tried to learn how they walked and how they did their makeup. It felt like I was watching that Mongolian fashion TV all over again.”

Ultimately, Chasing Horse signed with IMG Models, the agency that discovered supermodels like Gigi Hadid and Lily Cole, and the photography duo known for cutting-edge photography of Taylor Swift and Lady Gaga. Sent to meet Ines van Lamsweerde and Vinoodh Matadin. “When I walked into the casting room, everyone was just staring, like, ‘Oh my God, am I wrong? Am I not looking the way you want me to look?’ ”She had flashbacks to being bullied in high school. Thanks to her tall physique and unique native nose. “I thought, ‘Maybe it’s a mistake to try to become a model.'”

It wasn’t a mistake. Matadin and Van Lamswierde took one look at the teenager and knew they had found a star. “Quanna’s face and personality are the perfect blend of the most beautiful Native American traditional sculpture and the coolest modern rave girl,” he told the BBC. “She represents history. and He quickly made her the face of a new Chanel campaign, with designer Prabal Gurung on the catwalk, as well as Gucci and Tommy Hilfiger, and advertising work for Net-a-Porter and Stella McCartney. also appeared.

Chasing Horse developed a special relationship with Gabriella Hearst through their work on the runway. Gabriela Hearst is a 48-year-old Uruguayan designer who recently served as Chloé’s creative director. Hearst employs indigenous design collectives as part of its production process. “Quanna embodies the type of person we love to represent us and promote our work because she is dedicated to her platform and her commitment to our industry. Because we’re really using provenance to uncover the needs of others,” Hirst told the BBC.

Chasing Horse is currently represented by leading talent agency The Society, which also manages fashion projects for Kendall Jenner, Pamela Anderson and Dior’s first plus-size talent ambassador, French singer Yeezy. She is also backed by William Morris Endeavor, the talent agency behind Jake Gyllenhaal and Sienna Miller. Why are so many fashion and Hollywood heavyweights counting on her success?

“Quanna redefines beauty and boldly dismantles outdated constructs. Working with her has been nothing short of inspiring,” says Collina Strada, creative director of sustainable fashion brand Collina Strada, and her catwalk designer. Hilary Taymor, who featured Chasing Horse in her collection, says: “She’s more than just a leader. She’s a force.”

Chasinghorse also works with mainstream fashion brands. How does she find the balance between building a successful career and adhering to long-held ideals?

“I love this question!” Chasing Horse enthuses. “Sometimes people are surprised that I said yes. But what people don’t realize is that with every project I do, there’s a conversation about how the industry can improve. The established trade platform says that a model wears recycled and organic cotton in an ad for the ZARA chain’s “Good American” collaboration. It is said that it was a special feature. sourcing journal. Her work with Victoria’s Secret was part of the brand’s 2023 Fashion Campaign, which featured the most ethnically and physically diverse group of models in the company’s history. “As long as people are respectful, there’s always a chance of changing someone’s mind through conversation,” she says.

At Ralph Lauren, Chasing Horse and her mother met with the brand. “We explained to them why it’s a problem to profit from Indigenous culture without employing Indigenous artists,” she said. Thanks in part to her advocacy, the brand created a Native American advisory board and ultimately partnered with a Navajo designer. niomi glasses In 2023.

“I think her willingness to talk to brands rather than just cancel them is very powerful,” she says. parker gracea Navajo photographer and recent graduate of New York City’s prestigious Parsons School of Design. “Seeing her face on the billboard uplifts the entire community. It’s a spotlight forever.”

Chasinghorse uses its spotlight to raise awareness for other Native models and artisans. That includes Ralph Lauren faces and members of the Navajo Nation heather diamond strongarmhas become a rising star on the European catwalks. “A lot of people are trying to pit us against each other,” Chasing Horse sighs. “It’s so frustrating. We should have room for more than one.”During Paris Fashion Week, models took to the streets of a French hotel to honor tribal hunting season (often missed for runway shows). We gathered around the room sharing dried elk meat.

Chasing Horse is currently working on a feature film script in Los Angeles. She starred in the hit TV comedy reserved dogproduced a documentary for 2024 bad river, “The fashion industry has been a tool and a resource for me to enter into all other fields,” she says. “My goal is to expand a larger worldview to people from all walks of life.”

Yet, despite its flaws, her love for fashion runs deep. “I was shooting an ad campaign in Venice,” she says. “And I was like, ‘Hmm. I used to backpack through here with my family. I didn’t have any money, so I pretended to be a model. And now I’m here. This is who I am. I want to keep that in mind. ”