"I recently bought a sweater online. The designer, Twelfth Street by Cynthia Vincent, calls it a Navajo blanket cardigan, and I’m well aware that it’s trendy. “Navajo,” “Native American,” and “Indian” prints are everywhere. Fashion magazines like Elle and Teen Vogue have touted their now-ness. High-end designers like Vivienne Westwood and middle—range lines like William Rast have shown these prints on the runway. Even retailers like the Gap—which this past winter peddled multiple sweaters featuring a striped pattern described as Navajo—and Urban Outfitters—which currently has 27 pieces of Navajo merchandise available online—are getting in on the action.

But why are these prints suddenly so popular? And what, if anything, do these Native American or Navajo prints have to do with Native American textiles?"

Get the Story:
Julia Felsenthal: The Strange History of the Indian Trade Blanket (Slate 7/20)