A New Book Spotlights the Pioneering Work of Indigenous Designer Dorothy Grant

It didn’t take long for the fashion world to take notice of her one-of-a-kind work. Since debuting her very first collection at the Hotel Vancouver, Grant quickly rose to prominence—hosting runway shows everywhere from Paris to Tokyo, and displaying her work in museums such as the Metropolitan Museum of Art and the American Museum of Natural History. In 2015, she also received the Order of Canada, a prestigious honor that recognized her contributions to the fashion world and her work with mentoring youth. (Recently, Grant has been visiting Indigenous communities to work with young people, and to teach them how to create fur-felted ceremonial hats.)

While delving into the new book, readers can take a look back on four decades of Grant’s meaningful and striking designs. Her traditional button robes, graphic scarf tops and dresses, and signature hats are displayed everywhere from natural settings in British Columbia to on the runway at the annual Santa Fe Indian Market Indigenous fashion show. Grant’s sketches, personal stories, and reflections are also woven throughout.

In an industry that often overlooks Indigenous talent, then, An Endless Thread serves as a long-overdue celebration of Grant, who has long advocated for the intersection of cultural pride, style, and a maintaining of tradition. “This book has been seventeen years in the making—to see it come to fruition has me beyond words,” Grant writes in the acknowledgments. “The journey to here and now has been a wild and great ride! These photographs have helped me remember all the nuances of pasttimes: the moods, locations, events, and, most importantly, the people.”