WICHITA, Kan. (KSNW) – Amid the Avant-Garde, glam, and glitz of Paris Fashion Week, a Wichita woman filled the international runway with her own designs.
Wichita’s Hazel Stabler does her designs embracing her Native American and Latin heritage.
“It was a wonderful experience. I, actually, was very fortunate to be chosen to be the opener for the show,” she said.
Stabler presented 15 of her works, many inspired by the Latino culture.
“I designed an outfit that was inspired more traditional Hispanic, where it had a lace skirt,” she said.
Stabler is Native American but has some blood ties from her mother’s ancestors, who trace back to Mexico.
“I’m Yaki, and my tribe is from Sonora, [Mexico]. They migrated to Tucson, Arizona,” she said. “So we have a lot of Spanish influence.”
That inspiration goes hand in hand with her Native American heritage.
“And it shows the use of feathers and buckskin, elk teeth,” Stabler said. “More components that we use in our traditional culture.”
Stabler will also be participating next year in the Milan Fashion Week in Italy.
Hispanic Heritage Month is held from Sept. 15 through Oct. 15. It begins on Sept. 15 because it is the anniversary of independence for Latin American countries Costa Rica, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras and Nicaragua.
