Arabic version: أزياء الأمم الأولى تتصدر المشهد في داروين

According to The Guardian, First Nations designers, models, artists and artisans from across Australia gathered on Larrakia Country in Darwin for the Country to Couture runway show and the National Indigenous Fashion awards. The featured work connected fashion with cultural knowledge, environmental themes and stories of Country.

Nagula Jarndu Designs presented hand-carved woodblock prints on cotton and silks. The Rubibi/Broome art centre, whose name means Saltwater Woman, began in 1987 as a gathering place for Yawuru women to preserve language, share knowledge and strengthen culture. Its prints tell stories of saltwater, plants, family and Country.

Corella & Crow’s Madhan (Tree) collection used upcycled materials, including reclaimed curtains, as well as dyeing, printmaking, beading and embroidery. The label described its slow-fashion processes as a way to honour and care for materials, story and place. Yarrenyty Arltere Artists showed Thepa Ilpalha, featuring bold structured cotton pieces inspired by painted and soft-sculpture birds.

Model turned designer Lucas Schober made his Country to Couture debut with an ensemble inspired by the gakinga, or magpie goose. Model Jake Powers wore the linen cape, printed with bird emblems and covered with hand-stitched feathers. The bird’s arrival in the Northern Territory signals the beginning of balnba, the wet season. Powers was named the Cecilia Cubillo Young Achiever at the National Indigenous Fashion awards.

Other collections included the Mermaid Collective, a collaboration by Bobbi Lockyer, Skye Lockyer and Mali Isabel, combining streetwear with beadwork, weaving and embroidery. Bábbarra Women’s Centre and Bengaluru’s Tharangini Studio received the Community Collaboration prize for their cross-cultural printing partnership. MumRed introduced its first ready-to-wear collection, Flow State, while Noongar Arts Fashion debuted Kambarang, celebrating a Noongar season of transformation and birth.