US brand Ralph Lauren partners with TÓPA to honour Indigenous craft

Wife-and-husband Jocy and Trae Little Sky are the founders of TÓPA, award-winning performers, designers and proud members of the Oceti Sakowin. Jocy is Dakota and from the Mandan, Hidatsa and Arikara Nations and Trae is Oglala Lakota and Stoney Nakoda. As a family, the Little Skys embrace traditional arts by meticulously hand-crafting regalia worn during Pow Wows, using time-honored techniques such as quilling, beading and leatherwork, which serve as a living expression of their heritage.

Ralph Lauren’s Artist in Residence program is an ongoing initiative that invites artisans who sustain heritage craft to collaborate with its design teams in a mutually beneficial creative partnership. This program is part of the Company's larger efforts, known as Design with Intent, to expand its portrayal of America and to evolve from inspiration to collaboration with communities that have historically inspired Ralph Lauren’s designs. TÓPA is the Company’s fourth Artist in Residence collaboration, following the program’s debut with the Polo Ralph Lauren x Naiomi Glasses collection in 2023, the Double RL x Zefren-M capsule in 2024 and the Fall 2025 Ralph Lauren Home collection featuring designs by Naiomi and Tyler Glasses.

“We’ve long admired Ralph Lauren and how the brand brings worlds to life through its designs and storytelling,” said Jocy Little Sky, co-founder of TÓPA. “This collaboration with Polo Ralph Lauren honors our community, culture and way of life, and we hope it inspires people to be proud of who they are, where they come from and to follow their dreams.”

The vast and rugged landscapes of the American West — and its enduring artistry and spirit of home — have long been a source of inspiration for Ralph Lauren. This season, that landscape serves as the backdrop for the brand’s holiday campaign, a celebration of family, togetherness and community that is also reflected in the timeless pieces created in collaboration with TÓPA.

The Polo Ralph Lauren x TÓPA collection celebrates the beauty of enduring craftsmanship, merging modern silhouettes with Native design motifs in an assortment of men’s, women’s and accessories products. In the languages of the Oceti Sakowin, "TÓPA" means "four," a significant number that symbolizes the four directions, four seasons, four stages of life and the four meaningful colors of red, black, yellow and white, weaving profound cultural meaning throughout the collection's designs.

The story of this partnership is brought to life through a short film that shares Jocy and Trae’s artistry, family life and cultural celebrations that influenced the designs of Polo Ralph Lauren x TÓPA, filmed on the ancestral lands of the Mandan, Hidatsa and Arikara Nations that are located on the Fort Berthold Indian Reservation in North Dakota.

A percentage of the purchase price of each item of the Polo Ralph Lauren x TÓPA collection will be donated to Thunder Valley Community Development Corporation (CDC), specifically supporting its Lakota Language and Education Initiative. The Little Skys honor their heritage by learning their ancestral language, and through this collaboration, Ralph Lauren is proud to support Thunder Valley CDC in its dedicated efforts to preserve Lakota culture and traditions by empowering its community through programs such as Lakota language immersion, traditional arts and storytelling.

The Polo Ralph Lauren x TÓPA collection will be available to consumers in North America on November 18, 2025 on RalphLauren.com, in the Ralph Lauren app and at select Ralph Lauren stores; and globally on November 20 on RalphLauren.com and at select Ralph Lauren stores. It will also be sold on 4Topa4.com, at Bloomingdale’s 59th Street in New York and Century City in Los Angeles and on Bloomingdales.com.

Note: The headline, insights, and image of this press release may have been refined by the Fibre2Fashion staff; the rest of the content remains unchanged.

ALCHEMPro News Desk (RM)