I wanted the brand to be a voice for my people who have always been underrepresented in mainstream culture.
Dressing for New York ethnic meets urban meets ivy – a columbia student turns style into a mouthpiece for culture by kavitha surana
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t is an unlikely fusion: Native American ruggedness mixed with downtown New York swag. Yet, creating this eyecatching combination is precisely what Dustin Martin, (CC ’11), sets out to do with his budding clothing line S.O.L.O (Sovereign Original Land Owners). His first attempt at a line features citywearable clothing sprinkled with Native American details inspired by growing up in a reservation town. Zippers transform into the mouths of ravens, arrowhead prints adorn sweatshirts, and a lone horseman poised with bow and arrow splashes off almost every item. It’s urban, ethnic, funky—and comes complete with a Columbia-style message. An Anthropology major in his third year, Martin’s interest in studying culture
and his close identification with his Navajo heritage feed into his artistic design and vision. Sometimes frustrated with the inaccessibility of his scholarly studies in academia to a wider audience, he seeks to use fashion and media to do something proactive for his Native community. “So much of the brand is intellectual,” says Martin, “I want it to be a dialogue about articulating culture and design in a way that people have to look at a second time. I’m not trying to preach, but I want there to be some learning involved.” Hence the idea for his main brand logo: a Native archer on a horse. At first glance, the design looks deceptively like the ubiquitous Ralph Lauren jockey horse. “I had the idea that I wanted the brand to be a voice for my people who have always