Celebrating NAIDOC: Meet the Award-winning Designers Driving Change in Australian Fashion

The 2022 NAIDOC Week theme is ‘Get Up! Stand Up! Show Up!’—a call to amplify First Nations voices and support institutional, structural and collaborative reforms. It’s also a time to celebrate those driving change in their communities.

In line with this year’s theme, we’re proud to share the stories of Wiradjuri woman Denni Francisco and Yuwaalaraay woman Julie Shaw—two award-winning designers who are using fashion to celebrate the culture and creativity of First Nations artists.

We first met Denni and Julie following their respective award wins at the National Indigenous Fashion Awards (NIFAs), an event held by Darwin Aboriginal Art Fair Foundation’s Indigenous Fashion Projects, sponsored by Country Road.

Since then, each designer has undertaken a tailored 12-month mentorship at Country Road to receive consulting on the needs of their brand, while providing a valuable experience for Country Road to learn from the mentees as designers, collaborators and storytellers.

Here, Denni and Julie share insight into their design practices, what they’ve been up to since their NIFA Award wins and the meaning of this year’s NAIDOC Week theme.

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Denni Francisco
Proud Wiradjuri woman and founder of Ngali

Hi Denni, can you start by telling us how Ngali began?

I started Ngali in 2018 as a way of being able to work with our First Nations artists in remote regions of Australia, and as a way to celebrate our culture and the incredible creativity that happens within the First Nations space.

Can you talk us through your design practice?

What we do is align or collaborate with particular artists, and work to translate their artworks into fabric prints. It's really important that we do that really respectfully. The artist's story is their own story, it's not our story to tell, but we can do the translation that they agree upon.

We're very committed to being Australian Made. It certainly comes with its challenges to do that, but we work to protect Country as much as possible, to always be aware of the sustainability component when it comes to fashion and what our carbon footprint is, and how we work in the most respectful way to Country and community.

Can you tell us about your work with remote artist Lindsay Malay, and the Ngali Autumn Winter collection you collaborated on?

I met Lindsay Malay at the 2018 Darwin Aboriginal Art Fair. It was just a fantastic meeting. I found him simply walking around all the incredibly beautiful First Nations paintings. And his paintings really stood out to me.

Our Nginha collection came from a time when the world really slowed down and there was so much quietness around... The sky was bluer, the grass seemed greener. Apart from the fact that it was a challenging period in many ways, from a creativity point of view it was just a beautiful space to be in.

What does the NAIDOC Week theme, ‘Get Up! Stand Up! Show Up!’ mean to you?

I think it helps to bring an awareness to who we are in the space, what it is that collectively we're trying to achieve. And the fact that we are willing to show up, to take the best path into the future, and how we do that collectively.

What’s on the horizon for Ngali?

In August this year, we're going back to the Darwin Aboriginal Art Fair, participating again in Country to Couture, which is just a fantastic opportunity to get together with mob and celebrate creativity.

Julie Shaw
Proud descendant of the Yuwaalaraay people and founder of MAARA Collective

Hi Julie, can you share the journey of MAARA Collective following your NIFA Fashion Design award win?

I won the NIFA Fashion Design Award during the early stages of Maara Collective. Having won that award really helped with brand awareness across the fashion industry, and also with consumer audiences. The recognition of winning the NIFA Fashion Design Award has definitely helped the brand gain traction from quite early on.

Why are events like the NIFAs important?

Events like the NIFAs and Country to Couture are opportunities to acknowledge the work of First Nations fashion designers, and they also act as a platform to showcase brands that may not have otherwise had such an opportunity.

Can you tell us a little bit about your latest collection for MAARA Collective?

The latest collection is for Resort ’23, and it's called Likara. The main focus of the collection is the artwork we've licensed from Pitjantjatjara artist, Alison Lionel from Ernabella Art Centre, which is located in the remote Anangu Pitjantjatjara Yankunytjatjara Lands of Central Australia.

I was really drawn to this artwork through the beautiful use of colour; that although it showcases some really vibrant reds and deep oranges, the way that Alison has translated these colours comes out looking really harmonious. Alison paints her homeland surroundings and her observations of nature and the environment and her Country. And this particular piece, Likara, which means bark in her language, is particularly inspired by the way that the sunlight touches the trees and moves around, and within the bark. And you can really sense this flowing movement within the print.

I'm also really inspired by nature and landscape through my own design process, so this print just worked in so perfectly with the collection, and it really spoke to the way that I also work creatively.

What does the NAIDOC Week theme, ‘Get Up! Stand Up! Show Up!’ mean to you?

To me, this year's theme is really powerful, because it's all about taking action. Getting up, standing up and showing up for ourselves, for our communities, for our old people and our young ones. Doing what is 'right' and having the strength to call out what isn't. That's what it means to me.

What shifts have you seen in the Australian fashion industry in recent years?

The move to an increased awareness around sustainability and environmental impact within the fashion sector has been a major shift, and an important one at that. It’s great to see big companies like Country Road really making this a priority within their business models because it inspires others to do the same and follow their lead.

Looking forward, what changes do you hope to see in the industry?

My vision is for a much more inclusive Australian fashion sector where everyone just feels like they belong. I'd also love to see that one day we don't have to separate our First Nations fashion because we're just part of the same big family, we're just part of the broader Australian fashion industry.

• Discover Ngali
• Discover Maara Collective