Indigenous fashion (finally) steps into the limelight

First Nations designers are hopeful of a genuinely inclusive future for their industry, which 'helps non-Indigenous people experience our culture'.

A model wears one of Denni Francisco's designs from her Ngali label. Francisco says fashion offers “a great opportunity to celebrate what First Nations people bring to the table”.

Dan F StapletonWriter

Jul 29, 2020 – 10.31am

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Critically acclaimed designer Julie Shaw grew up far from the glamour and lights of the world’s fashion capitals. She was raised in Lightning Ridge, a small opal-mining town in outback NSW, “surrounded by family and community”, she says.

In this perhaps unlikely setting, Shaw, who is a descendant of the Yuwaalaraay people through her mother’s family, became obsessed with fashion and design. “I’m not even sure how or why that was,” she says, “but somehow I was just drawn to the creativity and knew that it would be my path.”