Postings
Canberra Centre brings a fashion show to the city, showcasing the award-winning clothing from 2023 National Indigenous Fashion Awards.
You can find the collection on Level 1 outside Zara (glass floor) from Wednesday, 6 September.
This year the glass floor displays all the winner’s designs on a purpose-built six-metre-long raised ‘catwalk’ surrounded by Australian flora. Celebrating the innovation, diversity and ethical practices of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander artists and fashion designers, from a record 66 nominees—the highest number of nominees since the award’s inception in 2020—the six winners were chosen across six categories.
A large TV unit, which has been covered with Indigenous artwork created by the award-winning artist Kristie P. Peters will also be on display. It will show the video that promotes the winners and educates shoppers.
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.
The Canberra Centre has been honoured for the second consecutive year to be the sponsor of the Community Collaboration Award. This award celebrates the effective and productive relationship 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.
This year it was awarded to Gapuwiyak Culture & Arts X Aly de Groot. As part of the collection that also secured Gapuwiyak Culture & Arts the Traditional Adornment Award, judges also recognised the artists for their collaboration with Darwin artist and designer Aly de Groot.
Working with Aly, the artists took inspiration from the photographs of Donald Thompson–a photographer and journalist who fought to preserve Indigenous culture in the 1930s–into a collaborative workshop to finalise 10 looks that were presented to resounding applause at Country to Couture and Melbourne Fashion Week last year. Bringing designers young and old together, the collection celebrated collaboration and drove economic benefit for the artists’ community.
Kristie, a Wiradjuri designer and 2021 ACT NAIDOC artist of the year, was taken to Darwin by the Canberra Centre to further her journey in clothing design. This follows the Centre featuring some of her work amongst the 2022 NIFA winners in last year’s floor display.
The hope is that this kind of support will help Kristie enter next year’s awards as currently there have been no nominations from artists in the Canberra region since the awards began.
“Through our valued partnership with the Darwin Aboriginal Art Fair Foundation (DAAFF) and Indigenous Fashion Projects (IFP), we aim to promote indigenous local talent, encouraging artists and designers to participate in future National Indigenous Fashion Awards and events,” says Canberra Centre General Manager, Gary Stewart.
The NIFA exhibit at Canberra Centre will continue until Wednesday, 6 September 2023. The individual winning collections will have more information about the winners. You can also find it here.
Photography: Ben Calvert Photography.