National Indigenous Fashion Awards winning garments on display at Canberra Centre
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Canberra Centre is bringing a diverse fashion experience to the city, displaying a collection of award-winning garments from the recently announced 2022 National Indigenous Fashion Awards (NIFA).
The collection showcases the work of five of the six winning designers and can be found on the glass floor space on Level 1, outside Zara.
Alongside the display is an artwork created by celebrated Wiradjuri artist and recipient of 2021 ACT NAIDOC Artist of the year, Kristie Peters, as well as Indigenous textiles from Bábbarra Designs by the Bábbarra Women’s Centre, highly commended in this year’s Business Achievement category.
Launched in 2020 as part of the Darwin Aboriginal Art Fair Foundation’s (DAAFF), Indigenous Fashion Projects (IFP), supported by the Northern Territory Government, NIFA provides a vibrant and exciting platform to celebrate the innovation, diversity, and ethical practices of Australia’s First Nations peoples in fashion and textiles, whilst contributing to the capacity building of the sector.
Recognising and showcasing excellence across six categories including traditional adornment, textile design, fashion design, wearable art, community collaboration and business achievement, the award ceremony is a unique opportunity for the Australian and international fashion community to connect to the world’s oldest living cultures.
This year, Canberra Centre sponsored the Community Collaboration award, which celebrates effective and productive relationships between Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities and the textile and fashion industry.
The award considers the collaborative process, Indigenous agency, cultural expression and storytelling, social and economic contribution to Indigenous communities, originality and innovation.
Image by Ben Calvert
The award recipient is Linda Puna from Mimili Maku-Arts, through her collaboration with ethical fashion label, Unreal Fur, creating a collection of outerwear pieces including printed puffer coats and a reversible faux-fur jacket, embroidered with Linda’s artwork.
As part of the project, Linda directed a fashion shoot on Country supporting young women in Mimili Community to develop skills in photography and videography and engaging the next generation of youth with the Art Centre. She also has a selection of her pieces currently for sale at the National Gallery of Australia.
Other collections on display at Canberra Centre include the work of Laura Thompson, the recipient of the Business Achievement Award supported by KIN Fashion. Thompson’s label, Clothing the Gaps, is a First Nations-led business, showing both creative and commercial success in textiles and fashion, and positively impacting the Indigenous fashion sector.
Less than three years old, Clothing the Gaps has built a platform that elevates First People’s voices and causes. Their successful Free the Flag campaign made a critical contribution in raising awareness and engaging the broader community to free the Aboriginal flag from licensing agreements. Their ‘Shades of deadly’’ campaign promoted diversity and inclusion of mob skin tones.
Recipient of the NIFA’s Fashion Designer Award, is Wiradjuri woman Denni Francisco, who will also have works on display. Her sustainable fashion label, Ngali, is world-class, taking Indigenous fashion to an international level with strong cultural expression and commercial capabilities.
Her womenswear collection features digital prints and hand-embellished details adapted from the works of First Nations artists from across the country. Presented by Country Road, this award will see Ngali benefit from a continued 12-month business mentorship with the iconic Australian fashion lifestyle brand.
Image by Ben Calvert
“It is our hope that in sponsoring the award and displaying these incredible pieces in our centre, we are celebrating our talented Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander artists and fashion designers,” says Canberra Centre Manager Gary Stewart.
“However, as there has been no Canberra representation in the awards since its establishment, we hope that this display also fosters interest from local Indigenous talent to get involved in future National Indigenous Fashion Awards,”
The NIFA display at Canberra Centre will run until 12 September 2022. More information on the individual winners will be on display with their collections or can be found at NIFA 2022.
