How this First Nations designer imagined the legacy of Evonne Goolagong through clothes

Artist and designer Lyn-Al Young was entrusted with the legacy of tennis champion Evonne Goolagong Cawley when creating a new collection of merchandise for Tennis Australia. Here, she shares her process.

Image credit: Getty Images

Artist and designer Lyn-Al Young was entrusted with the legacy of tennis champion Evonne Goolagong Cawley when creating a new collection of merchandise for Tennis Australia. Here, she shares her process.

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Lyn-Al Young might be one of Australia’s brightest young creatives, but she’s the first to admit her tennis knowledge isn’t a natural forte.

“I’ve always loved sport and I grew up in a very sporty home… I remember [Serena and Venus Williams], that was my era,” the Wiradjuri and Yorta Yorta designer says over Zoom from her art-filled Melbourne studio. At 28, Young’s career has involved milestones—her clothing designs, which spotlight techniques unique to her heritage through diaphanous fabric and silk, have been published in Vogue, while her artworks have been exhibited around the country.

But a recent collaboration with Tennis Australia, on merchandise to celebrate the 50th anniversary of tennis champion Evonne Goolagong Cawley’s first Australian Open victory, was unlike anything she’d worked on before. 

Lyn-Al scarves in Vogue September 2020. Photographed by Jake Terrey. Styled by Pip Moroney.

Lyn-Al Young. Image credit: courtesy

Goolagong Cawley, a fellow Wiradjuri woman and former world #1 player, won Wimbledon in 1971, the same year she was awarded Australian of the Year. She returned home to win the Open’s singles tournament in 1974, which became the first of four consecutive wins; the others happened in 1975, 1976 and 1977. When Young was asked to work on a merch collection honouring Goolagong Cawley, she spent time with the retired champion at her home in Noosa and found out they don’t just share the same heritage but are related.

“When I was with her and Roger [Cawley, her husband], we were looking through her family tree. And I was like, ‘that’s my family name, here, here, and here.’ Three different times, maybe four. Also, through our Yorta Yorta side, there’s another connection. It was just amazing, and we even felt it.”

This was one of several revelations Young experienced in three days staying with Goolagong Cawley in Queensland, where the two went on nature walks and engaged in deep conversations. Aside from being entertained by the tennis champion’s mental rolodex of unbelievable life experiences—including recollections of experiences with Kenny Rogers and Elvis Presley—Young was inspired by Goolagong Cawley’s resilience, in times when First Nations Australians were given far less opportunities, and subjected to more racism, than today.

Young with Goolagong Cawley at her home in Noosa. Image credit: courtesy

“She’d said her dream [out loud] and stayed focused on it since she was a little girl,” Young says. “All the criticism was just like water off a duck’s back. She didn’t let it impact her, which is such a great message, because everyone can get disheartened by other peoples’ opinions, but she was so focused on who she wanted to be. She didn’t let anything stop her, and she achieved it all.”

Evonne’s strength and victory in the face of obstacles was the guiding principle for Young’s art, which features on Tennis Australia’s merchandise designs. Feeling that just one design wouldn’t do justice to the complexities of Goolagong Cawley’s life, she created several works that are made to create a larger tableau, using the inspiration of a possum skin cloak, which carries significance in certain First Nations cultures.

“Traditionally, you’d get your first skin with markings [that] your parents would give you,” Young explains. “Then over life as you go through initiation, travel across the country… you gather another skin and sew it together. Over your entire life, you might have around 50 skins, and then you’d be wrapped in [the coat] and buried in it. You’d be wrapped in your story.”

Given Goolagong Cawley’s life, experiences, and victories, one could imagine her coat would be large. Young’s vivid artwork, which incorporates watercolour brushstrokes, became the perfect way to illustrate the tennis pro’s life and legacy.

“[Evonne] shared all the colours she was drawn to,” Young shares, adding that pink, which features prominently across the collection, is one of the pro player’s favourite hues. Stars are also a key motif and represent guidance and always looking towards future goals. Another is the butterfly; “the cocoon and the caterpillar… the journey of [Evonne] becoming who she was meant to be”. All feature in the pieces, which are available for purchase on Tennis Australia’s website before next month’s Australian Open.

Goolagong Cawley plays at Wimbledon in 1970. Image credit: Getty Images

The collaboration might feel like a natural fit, but it also presented new ground for Young. Given most of her work involves hand-painting and craftsmanship, working with Tennis Australia on digital versions of her prints required trust, to ensure Goolagong Cawley’s story was correctly told.

“I felt very protective of her, to be honest … I really wanted [the messages] to be translated right,” she says. “So it was a learning experience for both Tennis and me, and how we collaborate.” The finished product carries the wearability of sport attire but adorned with Young’s distinct art; take caps adorned with intricate colours and splashes of pink, as well as butterfly drawings on t-shirts. One item, a white tee with the words ‘Have a lovely day’, is one of the collection’s most personal messages, connoting advice that’s a major reason behind Goolagong Cawley’s global success.

“Evonne’s mum, every day, would say ‘Have a lovely day’,” Young shares. “After playing a tournament—after Wimbledon—she would never ask, ‘How did you go?’ or ‘Did you win or lose?’. She’d ask if she’d had a lovely day, and [Evonne] still has that goal in mind. I thought, ‘How beautiful’.”

SHOP NOW: Tennis Australia cap, $35 from Tennis Australia

SHOP NOW: Tennis Australia t-shirt, $55 from Tennis Australia

Originally published as How this First Nations designer imagined the legacy of Evonne Goolagong through clothes