76th Emmy Awards

If you tuned in to the 76th Emmy Awards red carpet on September 15th, 2024, you might have seen the Emmys looking a little different. We saw the usually actors, producers, directors, and anyone else that is involved in the film / tv industry, all dressed to impress. But, the standouts were our very stylish Native American brothers and sisters who were involved in the FX Productions series Reservation Dogs, created by Sterlin Harjo and Taika Waititi.

Reservation Dogs was nominated for Best Comedy Series. If you have yet to watch this great show, it follows the lives of four indigenous teenagers in rural Oklahoma as they deal with death, friendship, self discovery, abandonment, and many other issues we all face at different stages throughout life. This show masterfully blends spirituality, comedy, and drama in a way that connects us all. We highly recommend watching this show as it provides a modern day look into life on the reservation. Although Reservation Dogs did not take home an Emmy Award for best comedy series, Sterlin was still a winner in all of our eyes. He broke barriers in Hollywood and has opened the doors for so many indigenous actors and creatives. He will continue his mark in film and story telling as he shares his creativity with the world. His most recent accolades are the MacArthur Genius Grant and new FX series The Sensitive Kind staring Ethan Hawke. 

Following up from the leather jacket we made for the acceptance of Sterlin's Peabody Award, we proposed a leather tuxedo inspired by the color palette worn by Tony Shaloub's 75th Emmy Awards. At first, Sterlin was unsure if he should stick to the script with a traditional black tuxedo or wear our recommended lamb suede leather jacket with black calf hair lapels. Sterlin took the day to think about his proposed options. I will never forget this but I was outside moving the lawn when I received the confirmation text from Sterlin that said, "so maybe we do this". Sterlin had just given us the "green light" to our design! The leather suit was not the only item that was in play. We also coordinated our jacket color palette with hatmaker Nick Fouquet, and styled his look to highlight a custom necklace by Santa Fe jewelry designer Kenneth Johnson. 

The proposed leather tuxedo design: 

• Lamb suede leather in the color sand and hair on calf lapels in a black sheen
• Black cotton pants with tuxedo accents in lamb leather and hair on calf
• Silk chiffon dress shirt in a neutral taupe color

We spent the next two months in the creation process. We flew to NYC to shop the leathers at District Leathers and purchased the cottons and silks at Beckenstein Fabrics. Our mornings we spent waking up at 3:30am to work on the patterns, samples, and final pieces. We were inspired by Sterlin's hand tattoo of the Muscogee knot to make custom sterling silver jacket buttons with this insignia. The buttons were fabricate by Tulsa based jeweler Landon Thomas. The Muscogee knot shows the relationship of all things. It symbolizes the totality of creation through the four directions, four seasons, and the balance of nature. It can also shows the continuation of time. The cuff buttons were also made of sterling silver and spelled out "REZ" and "DOG". 

We are truly honored to be a part of this journey with Sterlin. He looked better than we ever imagined. Seeing him shine in his Emmy outfit was a pinnacle moment in our fashion career. What made it that much more euphoric for us was Sterlin made the Esquire Best-Dressed List at the 2024 Emmy Awards.