Georgia O’Keeffe painted the American West. Josh Tafoya is questioning who gets to own its image. With O’Keeffe, the designer turns Western fashion into a playful, provocative exploration of heritage, identity and the myths we dress ourselves in.
Few artists are as closely associated with the American Southwest as Georgia O’Keeffe, who became one of the defining American modernist artists of the 20th century. Her relationship with New Mexico began in 1929, when she first travelled to the state and became captivated by its vast landscapes, distinctive architecture, light and natural forms. O’Keeffe’s New Mexico work transformed the landscape into something simultaneously recognizable and almost otherworldly. Her work also became deeply intertwined with the popular image of the Southwest itself, helping establish the visual vocabulary through which generations of people have imagined the region. It is this complicated mythology surrounding O’Keeffe and New Mexico that Josh Tafoya takes up for Spring/Summer 2027. Titled O’Keeffe, the collection looks at the commodification of New Mexico and the Western fantasy often brought to the region by outsiders.
For Tafoya, the reference is particularly personal. Born and raised in the American Southwest, the textile artist explores Indigenous identity within his Genízaro, Spanish and Chicano heritage. His family history is connected to both ranching and weaving, while his own practice draws on the rich textile traditions of the Rio Grande Valley. After studying at Parsons and working under luxury brands, Tafoya returned to Taos, New Mexico, in 2020, where he developed his own label and continued to explore the relationship between regional history, craft and contemporary fashion.
That background makes O’Keeffe more than an exercise in Western styling. Tafoya is looking at a place that has already been heavily mythologised and asking who gets to define its image. The womenswear plays with that mythology through exaggerated silhouettes, accessories and Western references, creating a wardrobe that feels deliberately heightened rather than nostalgic. The familiar becomes theatrical, allowing Tafoya to question the difference between experiencing the Southwest and dressing up as an idea of it.
O’Keeffe herself spent much of her career resisting easy definitions of her work, particularly interpretations that reduced her paintings to simplistic ideas about femininity. Her determination to develop an individual visual language is part of what makes her such an interesting figure for Tafoya to revisit. O’Keeffe takes that spirit of independence into fashion while confronting the layers of fantasy that have accumulated around the American West.
Credits
Runway Images: Shayla Blatchford @sidesquash
Look Book Images: Amanda Lopez @amandalopezphoto
Shoes: @nike
Production: @nepantlacoraones
Choreographer: @yungxgabuelo
Music Production: @jptrsbaby
Collaboration Hats: @thundervoiceco
Earrings, Rings, Bracelets: @neoancient
Necklaces: @muchomucho.me
Beauty Director: @therealamyfarid
Key Hair: @deyah_cassadore
Key Makeup: @beautybybrita
Hair Sponsor: @mrsmithhair
Makeup Sponsor: @pradosbeauty
Show Production: @indigenousnyfw
