Photo: Business of Fashion

Its more established counterparts may have been treading the runway for considerably longer, but that hasn’t stopped Australian Indigenous Fashion Week celebrating the success of its first foray into the global fashion calendar. The schedule of shows from designers such as Wild Barra, Mimi Designs and Ticia showcased traditional inspired batik prints, woven fabrics, hand-printed silks and street wear featuring feathers and shells alongside textures and tones which mirrored their Aboriginal and Torres Island ancestor’s native surroundings.

Walking down the Australian Indigenous Fashion Week runway were models cast from a nationwide model search competition with Australian model and Australian Indigenous Fashion Week ambassador, Samantha Harris (the second Aboriginal woman to feature on Vogue magazine- go, Samantha!) leading the judging panel.

Devised by Krystal Perkins, granddaughter of Aboriginal civil rights activist, Charles Perkins, Australian Indigenous Fashion Week looks on its way to achieve her vision for bringing Indigenous designers to the forefront of the fashion industry, celebrating Indigenous beauty and creating an annual event that encourages Australians of every background to embrace Indigenous style and culture.

Click here to learn more about Australian Indigenous Fashion Week ambassador and Aboriginal model, Samantha Harris, who shared her experiences of breaking the mould within the predominantly blonde haired and blue eyed Australian modelling industry with the BBC.