This mother-daughter duo is helping shape the future of First Nations fashion

Melissa Greenwood, and her mother Lauren Jarrett, work in creative harmony on label Miimi and Jiinda, which is going from strength to strength. 

Image credit: Marley Morgan

Melissa Greenwood, and her mother Lauren Jarrett, work in creative harmony on label Miimi and Jiinda, which is going from strength to strength.

It’s sometimes said that creativity is genetic. In the case of Lauren Jarrett and her daughter, Melissa Greenwood, this couldn’t be more true. Aside from their familial bond, the Gumbaynggirr women are united through art and turning their vivid brushstrokes into fashion under their label, Miimi and Jiinda. Founded in 2018, the brand showed on the Indigenous Fashion Projects runway at Australian Fashion Week in 2023, at the Country to Couture show in Darwin earlier this week, among 21 other First Nations brands exhibiting on Larrakia Country. Greenwood has memories of her mother’s affinity for art, stemming back to childhood.

“The paintings were from floor to ceiling, around the whole house, and she always had paint brushes and weaving projects everywhere,” Greenwood says of Jarrett, seated next to her mother and zooming in from their workspace in Coffs Harbour. In a similar way, the bright room they speak from resembles the fun and spontaneity of a creative haven; over Greenwood’s shoulder is a rack of clothing, presumably from Miimi and Jiinda’s new Burraaba resort collection (meaning ‘unearthed’ in Gumbaynggirr), and her young son gleefully crashes midway through the call to wave at the camera.

“I think I was just too busy, being young and having fun with my friends to take [the art] seriously until I got a bit older,” Greenwood continues, but Jarrett says her daughter always had a creative side. “I noticed when she was young that she was creative… I’d give her sketchbooks, charcoal, crayons to get her interested in something and that seemed to quiet her down.”

Lauren Greenwood and Melissa Jarrett. Image credit: Marley Morgan

It wasn’t until Greenwood became a mother herself, and Jarrett moved in with her while on maternity leave with her first child, that she began to understand its significance. “Having a baby opens up so much creativity … you just change as a person. Mum just was painting beside me all the time. And so, I jumped in and started doing it.”

One thing not lost on Greenwood is her mother’s use of art as a way of healing. At nine years old, Jarrett was taken from her family and became part of what it known as the Stolen Generations, remaining in an orphanage until she was 18. Stories like hers are unfortunately too familiar in the communities and families that were affected by the government policies, which continued until the 1970s and are considered a national shame. Jarrett is now one of the estimated 17,000 survivors, and Greenwood says sharing the practice of painting with her mother provided a special way of bonding. 

“Having a baby opens up so much creativity … you just change as a person. Mum just was painting beside me all the time. And so, I jumped in and started doing it.”

“We were painting every day together as a way of connecting and healing… and then the penny has dropped one day I thought, 'We need to do a little business together Mum, this would be so special.' Because I’ve seen her do it for so many years, and never really put it out there in the world for anyone to see.” Jarrett explains that she still uses the artistic process to relax and unwind. “It’s important to use your imagination—art can take you to other places, when you just have time out from a busy day.”

Founding their business, which now encompasses fashion, art and even children’s clothes under the range Ochre Kids by Miimi and Jiinda, started off small. Demand from clients encouraged them to move into making apparel, which became a new way of expressing their creativity. 

Brooke Blurton in a look. by the brand. Image credit: Miimi and Jiinda

“I’d always had an interest in fashion, since I was really young… Bringing out my own fashion range or different ideas for swimwear. And then I thought, well, maybe we should give it a go,” Greenwood recalls. “We just dabbled in it at first and made some beautiful linen robes and silk scarves.” Those scarves are still a core product, but the Burraaba resort collection shows their wide scope as designers; take the long Jaanymili skirt adorned in one of their original artworks with a bias cut that flows down into a ruffled hem, or their tailored-fit blazers and trousers which present an elegant take on formalwear and modelled by Brooke Blurton in brand imagery. “The goal was to do more high-end fashion because the storytelling behind it and the meaning is just so important that I didn’t want it to be, I guess, cheap or mass produced, I [wanted it] to be sacred.”

Jarrett walks the runway at the Indigenous Fashion Projects show during Australian fashion week in May 2023. Image credit: Getty Images

When the collection first appeared on the runway at Indigenous Fashion Projects in May, Greenwood’s brother and Jarrett’s son Minjarrah opened the show with a traditional dance; per Greenwood, “I just really wanted to have that strong cultural presence in a mainstream space, and the energy that he brought to the room was beautiful, and exactly what we wanted to bring.” A highlight came when Jarrett herself modelled the final look, to cheers and excitement from the audience. While she stayed backstage at this week’s Country to Couture show, the beauty of Miimi and Jiinda’s wearable art—which now includes unisex options—spoke for itself.

“It’s a similar collection [to Australian fashion week], but we’ve added a few different pieces in there,” Greenwood explains. “It’s focused around unearthing—which is Burraaba—our culture, our storytelling, history, the essence of who we are in the ancient myths of our culture and our people and just bringing that to the forefront of the fashion industry, into people’s minds to spark conversation. Just that beautiful energy, that’s really ancient, in our history and stories.”

Purchase Miimi and Jiinda pieces below. 

SHOP NOW: Yaara Full Sleeve Keyhole Linen Dress, $549 from Miimi and Jiinda

SHOP NOW: Jaanymili Silk Full Sleeve Keyhole Blouse, $399 from Miimi and Jiinda

SHOP NOW: Yaara Linen Slimline Comfort Jacket, $549, from Miimi and Jiinda. Top and pants sold separately. 

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Originally published as This mother-daughter duo is helping shape the future of First Nations fashion