Source : PERTHNOW NEWS
Indigenous culture’s 60,000-plus years of stories are intersecting with high-end fashion on the runway in impeccable style.
Indigenous designers and models are centre stage in the Northern Territory for the annual Country to Couture fashion event and National Indigenous Fashion Awards, presented through Indigenous Fashion Projects as part of the Darwin Aboriginal Art Fair Foundation program.
Australia’s largest annual showcase of First Nations fashion, the two-day Country to Couture features more than 120 collections including designs that have graced the international stage at New York Fashion Week.
Indigenous Fashion Projects manager Michelle Maynard said the showcase and awards were an opportunity to recognise and celebrate First Nations designers and creatives.
“That acknowledgement is powerful,” she said.
“It’s about community, visibility and celebrating the continuing cultural knowledge, creativity and hard work behind every designer and artist.
“These moments can be transformative for creatives and continue to strengthen the Indigenous fashion sector as a whole.”
Designer Bobbi Lockyer, a Kariyarra, Ngarluma, Nyul Nyul and Yawuru woman, worked closely with her sister Skye Lockyer on their collaboration The Mermaid Collective.
“We’re both Saltwater women, and so we have that connection to the saltwater and mermaids, so we kind of just wanted to celebrate that … through showcasing just beautiful handwoven beaded, embroidered pieces,” she said.
“We bounce ideas off each other, and yeah, we’ve just created something that we’re both really, really proud of.”
Bobbi said moving into fashion and textiles had been a natural progression.
“Aboriginal people, we have always been makers, creators, and a lot of us are passing down stories and creating using resourcefulness,” she said.
“We need to continue keeping our culture alive and sharing those stories.”
Country to Couture takes place at Darwin University’s Danala campus on Sunday and Monday.
The National Indigenous Fashion Awards winners will be announced on Wednesday at Darwin’s Deckchair Cinema, with 25 nominees shortlisted across seven categories.
