An historic showcase of Australian First Nations design at London Fashion Week

In the UK capital, a show of an entirely new kind.

In the UK capital, a show of an entirely new kind.

At the close of London Fashion Week, after the city’s brightest design talents had showcased their newest offerings, a show took place that was truly something the city had never seen before. An all-First Nations lineup of designers presented their work in the grand Exhibition Hall of Australia House, the Australian High Commission to the United Kingdom’s home in central London. 

It was an historic first for Australian talent and the UK capital—the first time an all-First Nations runway show has taken place here. Alongside fellow Indigenous artists, a delegation of designers from Australia, led by Wonnarua woman Amanda Healy and Wadjuk, Yued and Balardong woman Shannon McGuire, took to the international stage to proudly present the breadth and depth of talent from back home. 

Image credit: Maara Collective

Labels included Maara Collective by Julie Shaw, the first ever recipient of the fashion designer award at the inaugural National Indigenous Fashion Awards in 2020, art and design label Miimi and Jinda, Ngali by Denni Francisco, who in May of this year became the first Indigenous label to have a solo show at Australian Fashion Week in Sydney, and 2014-founded label and social enterprise Kirrkin, driven by Healy, which translates the work of contemporary Indigenous artists who are supported directly by the sales of the garments. 

Healy, who is also the founder of the Kirrikin foundation, an organisation that supports the commercial development of Indigenous creative businesses, noted the significance of the timing. “This is an amazing opportunity to show Indigenous products during London Fashion week, we are all very excited by the opportunity and potential of this show. It is a first, but hopefully not the last,” she said before the show. “The UK is a much bigger market than Australia, it creates so much possibility for our creatives.  We love to tell our stories, and present our culture to the world, and this stage is a first step in achieving that.” 

Image credit: Ngali

Stephen Smith, Australian high commissioner to the United Kingdom, greeted guests, pointing to the momentousness of the occasion. “This is a great evening,” Smith said. “We’ve had fashion shows here before, but now fashion shows which have featured exclusively Indigenous designers.”

“This First Nations Fashion Show demonstrates the excellence and unique offerings of Australia’s First Nations fashion businesses, which have gone from strength to strength in recent years.”

The show is part of a number of ways First Nations talents are being supported in their journeys into international markets. One of these is the Australia-UK FreeTrade Agreement (A-UKFTA). Signed in 2021, the agreement includes commitments to implementing reciprocal arrangements, which ensures that when an Indigenous artist’s work is resold in the UK, royalties will be paid to the artist. This means, if a work increases in value, and is resold in the UK, new remuneration streams are opened up.

Alongside Healy and McGuire, the latter who has joined Kirrikin as CEO, was Liandra Gaykamangu, swimwear designer and aunty of current Vogue Australia cover talent, model Tarlisa Gaykamangu. From Milingimbi in North East Arnhem Land, Tarlisa broke ground in February walking for Bottega Veneta, hand-selected by the team in Milan, becoming one of the first ever models from Arnhem Land to walk in an international fashion show of that calibre.

Image credit: Kirrikin

The show began, not with the thrum of muted music and the sound of the style set greeting one another, but with an acknowledgment of country by Brad Collard and a greeting in Noongar asking his ancestor's spirits to walk alongside attendees. The didgeridoo, played by Ashley Penfold, a Nyoongar man working to preserve language and culture before a showcase of designs melding traditional techniques with the unique perspectives of each designer. 

Shannon McGuire, sister of model and founder of Mob in Fashion, Nathan McGuire, was excited pre-show, dressed in Miimi and Jinda, the 2018-founded label from mother-daughter duo Lauren Jarrett and Melissa Greenwood. 

Against the backdrop of a London fashion week oozing Britishness - from Burberry’s modern take on British tropes from wet-weather-ready clothing, to Erdem’s stately aristocratic glamour, to Jonathan Anderson at JW Anderson using his grandmother’s slippers as a reference point—the highly-pigmented ochres, flashes of red and and rhythmic, kinetic lines of Indigenous art stood apart. Loose silhouettes, and natural fibres spoke of the signature Australian ease homegrown design is known for. “Our fashion is unique, and has a very different flavour to the rest of the world,” reflected Healy. “I can almost always pick an Aussie designer by the celebration every garment holds, our fashion is fun and stylish, and we need the world to see that.

With a mix of Australians and Londoners in attendance, and initiatives like the A-UKFTA, the world is increasingly opening up to First Nations talent. “We’re so proud to allow our artists and designers to display their wares in front of a London crowd,” he said, while reflecting on the future. “It’s my hope that the United Kingdom and world can see the quality of talent and ideas that First Nations fashion designers are bringing to the world.”

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Originally published as An historic showcase of Australian First Nations design at London Fashion Week