Virginia Ballenger
Fashion Designer
Navajo Spirit Southwestern Wear
Gallup, New Mexico
Virginia Ballenger
By Virginia Ballenger:
I have been designing Native American inspired clothing since 1984. When I was in high school I entered Indian queen pageants--it was an avenue for me to learn about certain aspects of my culture. I would spend time with my mother, as she taught me how to weave a Navajo rug and we would go out to collect plants and use them to dye the wool. Through the ensuing years, I held seven different queen titles, the last of which was Miss Indian New Mexico in 1980. The titles I held required that I dress in my traditional Navajo outfits. This prompted me to learn how to sew.
I enjoy sewing and working with fabrics. A lot of the Navajo Spirit clothing line consists of velvet, trimmed with silver conchos. We also make coats, jackets, and vests from Pendleton blankets and carry a line of craft items such as golf club covers, purses, steering wheel covers and scarves, all made from the Pendleton pieces left over from the vests. We get very busy at graduation time, outfitting all the local graduates in Navajo style clothing.
Our business is very important to our community, as people turn to us to outfit them with Navajo clothing for school events, weddings, traditional ceremonies, and any event where they want to dress up and represent their heritage with their clothing.
I have traveled to Moscow and St. Petersburg, Russia in 2004 to do fashion shows and share my culture, at the request of the US Embassy. In 2007, the Kellogg Foundation sponsored a cultural exchange visit to South Africa for a group of Native American artists, of which I was a part. We were included in a spectacular fashion show in Johannesburg, South Africa with a group of South African designers.
Just recently I was at the Smithsonian in New York City to speak about the history of Navajo fashion during Native American Heritage Month, and I also traveled to Yakutsk, Russia to participate in a fashion show (Solar Deer), which featured indigenous designers.
I love what I do and it is my way of carrying on my Navajo tradition.
