Jamie Okuma (Luiseño/Shoshone-Bannock), Adaptation II, 2012, shoes designed by Christian Louboutin, leather, glass beads, porcupine quills, sterling silver cones, brass sequins, chicken feathers, cloth, deer rawhide, and buckskin, Minneapolis Institute of Art, Bequest of Virginia Doneghy, by exchange 2012.68.1A,B. Photo: Minneapolis Institute of Art. © 2012 Jamie Okuma
Artist’s Language
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English
Detail and quality are the trademarks of this fine artist’s work. Jamie Okuma began her vocation making extravagant attire in which to attend powwows, but these efforts quickly turned into a successful career creating wearable art. These meticulously beaded and quilled Louboutin shoes are Okuma’s way of reimagining Native couture. Okuma had planned on working in the fashion industry, then became very successful as a beadworker. Now blending both worlds, she works in traditional forms and couture.