The world of Ralph Lauren Home has long included hallmarks of the American West: tooled leather, silver accessories, handmade rugs, and more. For its new Canyon Road collection, the iconic brand followed that inspiration directly to the source, teaming up with seventh-generation sister-brother Navajo weavers Naiomi and Tyler Glasses to create a range of furnishings that herald indigenous craft.
The siblings now serve as the label’s first artists in residence in the home category. “Like us, many Navajo weavers learned from our family members,” explains Naiomi. With Tyler, she was taught how to use an upright loom by their grandmother after moving to Dinétah (Navajo Nation) from the Phoenix suburbs. Practicing with undyed strands, they eventually made saddle blankets for their horse—the beginning of a lifelong practice.
Now, Naiomi and Tyler are putting their stamp on accessories, fabrics, and bedding. Whereas Peppy’s Blanket, a by-the-yard textile, is named after their beloved horse, Heather riffs on the graphic pattern of a late-19th-century chief blanket. Meanwhile the Spider Woman crosses that are stamped into the Rena tableware (made with English Pewter Company) nod to the symbolic creator and protector of weaving.
Many recurring characters allude to the land, among them the cruciform detail on the Asher throw pillow that signifies the cardinal directions and the stepped lines on the Standing Crosses rug. Says Tyler: “Geometric elements like zigzags, repeated triangles, and fine stripes represent the mountains and rock striations found in our homelands.”
The designs incorporate happily into the larger Canyon Road array, including oak furniture and a stainless-steel serving set. “It’s been amazing to have a global platform like this to demonstrate that Native people are not only still here, we are thriving,” Naiomi reflects. “We hope this collaboration encourages other Native artists to keep creating, keep innovating, and keep sharing their work.”
Naiomi and Tyler Glasses collaboration with Ralph Lauren Home is featured in AD’s October issue. Never miss a story when you subscribe to AD.