"This design pays tribute to the Indigenous people of western North America, especially the Plains women who have traditionally been the makers and painters of our beautiful parfleche designs," shares Piikani/Blackfeet artist John Isaiah Pepion of his Parfleche Silk Scarf.
John has taken the geometric designs traditional to parfleche—decorated rawhide containers used by Plains tribes—and combined them with contemporary colors for a beautifully bold accessory. The soft orange is Pantone's Color of the Year 2024 and accented in pastel purple for a playful palette, while the silk twill fabric is an elegant touch that stays cool against your skin.
"Parfleshes are containers of folded or sewn rawhide with designs of symbolic meanings," shares John. "Traditionally, they are decorated by incising or painted with earth pigment. For centuries, they were almost exclusively made and decorated by women artists of Plains tribes; today the art of parfleche flourishes as both women and men of many tribal nations continue to create them."
A note on the fabric: these silk scarves are made from 100% silk twill. Silk is the fiber; twill is the weave structure: the twill weave makes the fabric more durable than plain weave silk, and a bit less slippery than some silk scarves. Our silk twill scarves still have the same lightness and coolness you expect from silk, with a luxurious and elegant drape.
- 100% silk twill
- 35" x 35"/ 88.9cm x 88.9cm
- Designed by John Pepion (Piikani/Blackfeet)
- Modeled by Francesca Robello (Karuk)
- Dry clean only
- Imported
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