CULTURE & COUTURE COMBINE
DAAF Foundation’s Indigenous Fashion Projects (IFP) return to present its two hotly-anticipated events – the Country to Couture fashion shows and the National Indigenous Fashion Awards (NIFA) – this year, with a couple of exciting new developments.
IMAGES Dylan Buckee
COUNTRY TO COUTURE celebrates an 11-year legacy of cultural integrity, artistic innovation, and community empowerment.
To mark the 20th anniversary of DAAF – recognising the popularity the largest runway showcase of First Nations fashion in Australia has so effortlessly garnered – the shows are presented, for the first time, across two huge nights by the boab tree at Charles Darwin University’s Danala Campus in Darwin City.
Show 1, Carried by Our Matriarchs - From Legacy we Rise, has already sold out, its 11 collections celebrating the artistry of women, their collaboration, their lore. It’s an honouring of matriarchal strength and the grace of ancestral knowledge moving through the sacred cycles of Blak women.
If you’re lucky, by the time this edition comes out, there may be some tickets left to Show 2, Imprints and Memory - Seasons of the Land, Waters and Sky. This runway’s 10 collections honours lands and waters, and the sky that stretches above us all. As a living archive, the sky holds memory. It moves in cycles, as Country beneath continues to evolve.
Returning to the beautiful starry setting of Deckchair Cinema, with a national broadcast on NITV, is NIFA, set to hand out seven accolades to the crème de la crème in Australia’s First Nations fashion. This year, 25 nominees have been shortlisted across the award categories, celebrating the strength, innovation and future of First Nations fashion and textile design in our country.
“NIFA creates a space where First Nations designers and creatives are recognised and celebrated by their peers, communities and the wider industry. That acknowledgement is powerful,” says IFP Manager, Michelle Maynard.
“It's more than an award. It’s about community, visibility and celebrating the continuing cultural knowledge, creativity and hard work behind every designer and artist. These moments can be transformative for creatives and continue to strengthen the Indigenous fashion sector as a whole.”
If the above wasn’t enough, another exciting development this year to mark 20 years of DAAF, is IFP setting up camp at the Fair.
“One of the highlights this year is the expansion of our Indigenous Fashion Projects trade stall area at the Art Fair, creating more opportunities for audiences to engage directly with the incredible work of First Nations fashion creatives,” says DAAF Artistic Director Simon Carmichael.
“It’s an important part of our programming and reflects our commitment to celebrating and supporting First Nations creatives across fashion, art and design.”
Country to Couture
WHEN SHOW 1 - SUN 2 AUG, 7PM
SHOW 2 - MON 3 AUG, 7PM
AT CDU DANALA CAMPUS
COST $65-$150
National Indigenous Fashion Awards
WHEN WED 5 AUG | 7PM
DOORS 6PM
AT DECKCHAIR CINEMA
COST $65
INFO ifp.org.au
