Indigenous Designers Stage Independent Runway Ahead of Australian Fashion Week
On Sunday night in Sydney, on the eve of Australian fashion week, First Nations Fashion and Design (FNFD) staged their first runway show in four years. Titled Reclamation, the collective featured the work of six Indigenous brands and designers with an all-Indigenous cast of models, and closed with performances from rapper Barkaa and poet Luke Currie-Richardson.
Announcing their plan to become an annual runway platform for Indigenous designers – outside of the industry’s formal structures – the FNFD founder, Grace Lillian Lee said: ‘Reclamation was never designed to fit comfortably within the existing fashion system. It was designed to challenge it, expand it, and ensure that our voices are not invited in temporarily, but embedded permanently within the future of Australian fashion.’
Designers and Collections
The event showcased a diverse range of Indigenous talent. Western Australian and Northern Territory collective Tjarlirli and Kaltukatjara Art presented hand-painted silk garments, with silk’s natural movement drawing an inherent connection to pirriya (breeze) and showcasing Ngaanyatjarra and Pitjantjatjara culture in a new form.
Merrepen Arts, a remote Northern Territory arts centre, collaborated with fashion brands including Albertini Designs, Black Cat Couture and Jo Dunne. Their screen prints were crafted into holiday-ready garments including sundresses, maxi skirts and halter tops.
Multidisciplinary textile artist Dr Grace Lillian Lee showcased a vivid collection of ‘body sculptures’ and also presented costume works from Flora, designed for the Australian Ballet in partnership with Bangarra Dance Theatre. Lee is known for her ‘grasshopper weaving’ technique, passed down from her mentor, Dr Uncle Ken Thaiday.
Lightweight suiting and dresses from KingKing Creative were enlivened with prints from sisters Tarisse and Sarrita King. The Gurindji/Waanyi artists aimed to ‘bring the beauty, the connection and the stories of our deadly culture into everyday life’.
Nungala Creative, a communications agency, offered oversized school uniform-style suiting as a punky canvas for colourful illustrations and text-based artwork.
MumRed, Samala Thakialee Cronin’s fashion label, showed glamorous evening wear silhouettes with woven details made using traditional materials and techniques.
Rapper Barkaa wore a technicolored Ulupna coat, designed by Anastasia Keshan and Ashley Maher in collaboration with That New Label. Ulupna translates to ‘strong woman’ in Yorta Yorta language, created in memory of Yorta Yorta winyarr Gloria Lexi Matthews – Big Nan, Yettica.
Performances and Highlights
The runway closed with a spoken word performance from poet Luke Currie-Richardson, accompanied by musician William Barton. Richardson received a standing ovation as he led attendees in a chant of ‘Always was, always will be Aboriginal land’. TV presenter Bianca Hunt modelled several garments, eliciting whoops and cheers from the crowd.
The event celebrated Indigenous creativity and resilience, positioning First Nations voices permanently within Australian fashion.
