“We Are Looking Back at the Old Ways”: Meet the 2021 Country to Couture Designers
- Words by Peppermint
Shining a light on the incredible Indigenous fashion and design talent we have in this country, the Darwin Aboriginal Art Fair Foundation’s (DAAFF) cornerstone fashion event, Country to Couture, is a brilliant showcase supporting and encouraging the growth of First Nations peoples within the industry.
Born out of DAAFF’s Indigenous Fashion Projects platform, which centres First Nations peoples working in textiles and fashion, the event is a vibrant celebration of cultural storytelling and wearable art. Building on the burgeoning textile design movement in remote Indigenous communities, Country to Couture has been showcased alongside the annual Darwin Aboriginal Art Fair since 2016. It will follow this year’s National Indigenous Fashion Awards, streaming on NITV’s Facebook page on 3 August from 6.30pm.
This year the Country to Couture showcase will return to Larrakia Country after a digital iteration in 2020. In the lead-up to the event this Wednesday 4 August, and if you don’t find yourself in Darwin, we thought we’d have a quick yarn with each of the featured designers to learn more about their collections. Grab a cuppa, scroll down and get acquainted – you may just find a new favourite.
image above NGALI, COUNTRY TO COUTURE. PHOTO BY TIMOTHY HILLIER.
image PINK DRESS BY MAICIE LALARA, ANINDILYAKWA ARTS. PHOTO BY ANNA REYNOLDS.
Anindilyakwa Arts
“I am mixing the old ways and the new ways, because we want to show the world our artwork, culture and island lifestyle. We are looking back at the old ways… to make links between our ancestors and the future generations. That’s my vision. When the young girls wear my designs, I am proud for my community; that’s why the ancestors gave me that vision.” – Maicie Lalara, artist.
image DEADLY DENIM FOUNDER REBECCA RICKARD.
Deadly Denim
“What started off as a passion project, has now blossomed into a thriving business that blends all things we love into one: our culture, sustainable fashion and giving back to the community.”
images (left to right) KAY FINN AND AUDREY STEWART; JASMINE NELSON. PHOTOS TAKEN IN DUBJIBA (OODNADATTA, SA) BY MELANIE HENDERSON, KU ARTS.
Dunjiba Fashions, from Dunjiba Community Artists supported by Ku Arts
“Walking in Dunjiba is inspired by our community, the landscape, wildflowers and the vibrant colours of Dunjiba. My design is about keeping strong together.” – Carmen Amos, featured artist.
image JARU GIRL DESIGNS FOUNDER BIANCA LONG.
Jaru Girl Designs
“The My Country painting reflects the Jaru Country. The Conkerberry Bush Plum artwork is of a bush plum that is found across the Kimberley. The Archipelago painting is of the Bucceener Archipelgo near Derby, West Kimberley. The Water, Creek and Billabong painting reflects water that is very important for everyone. The River Flowing Onto Mudflats painting represents rivers that flow onto mudflats all around the Kimberley. The Travelling though Country painting shows the different country that we have for travelling to work and to see family and friends and rugged country which is of the Kimberley region.” – Bianca Long, founder.
image YINJAA-BARNI ART CENTRE.
Jina-Jina, by Yinjaa-Barni Art
“The Yinjaa-Barni Art Centre wanted this range to be designed around our principal artist Clifton Mack; in memory of the beautiful artworks he made over the 18 years of painting [from] 2001 to 2019. He was a quiet, highly respected and gentle artist for whom painting brought great pleasure. His works are admired by many.”
image CINDY ROSTRON FOR MARRAWUDDI ART CENTRE AND INJALAK ART CENTRE COLLABORATION WITH NORTH HOME TEXTILES. PHOTO BY TIFFANY PARKER.
Marrawuddi Art Centre and Injalak Art Centre collaboration with North Home Textiles
“I’m honoured to be a part of the Stone Country Collection and have the opportunity to design something so close to me. I feel really proud to be working alongside artists, Graham, Kabbindi, Gabriel and Robbie. Working at Marrawuddi I’m lucky enough to work alongside these artists and have seen the hard work that goes into creating these amazing artworks. Learning from these artists has given me the opportunity to learn more about my culture and our ancestors, which I’m really proud of.
“The design that I have made is very close to my heart, Ngurrungurrudjba (
mirarr.net | injalak.com | northhome.org
image COURTESY OF MOYDRA DESIGNS.
Moydra Designs
“I continue to create my art on canvas, jewellery and fabrics to keep my culture alive and strong. My jewellery is collected from Wagait Beach, [things] such as bush seeds, washed-up rope, mangrove wood and driftwood. My fashion designs reflect the unique tropical climate of Darwin, Northern Territory.” – Yvonne Odegaard, designer.
images COURTESY OF NGALI.
Ngali by Denni Francisco with prints adapted from the work of Lindsay Malay
“Together we create. As a Wiradjuri woman, creating Ngali is a journey embedded in reflexivity and culture. When I began, I reflected on what fashion as a platform could do to celebrate our culture to a wider audience and how our participation in the fashion industry could help change mindsets about fashion consumption and respect for Country.” – Denni Francisco
Numus Design
“I knew when I saw artists screen printing that it was something I wanted to do and I have been doing it ever since – that was 30 years ago! This knowledge has been instilled in us from a young age, which has allowed us to continue our connection to our land and tell our stories about our Country by creating unique textile pieces. Each piece has a unique story, relating back to our ancestors through the way my mother has taught me, which is now being taught to my children and grandchildren.” – Naomi Briston
image PAPULANKUTJA FABRICS.
Papulankutja Artists collaboration with Black Cat Couture
“As artists from Papulankutja and Mantamarru (Blackstone and Jameson), we love to paint and share ancestral stories in vivid colours. As a designer, I love to make clothes that celebrate fabric designs respectfully and are colourful with a sense of fun. The designs lend themselves beautifully to a collection with a retro vibe. We feel as artists, fabric designers and a clothing and fashion designer, we are a wonderful match.”
images TIWI DESIGNS COLLABORATION WITH OSSOM.
Tiwi Designs collaboration with Ossom
“Olga from Ossom approached us to use our printed fabric designs. Olga was keen to work with our ‘SistaGal models’. A tasteful collection was produced rendering feminine lines oozing both class and sass!” – Steve Anderson, Tiwi Designs manager.
tiwidesigns.com | ossom.com.au
images (left to right) DELANY GRIFFITHS, WARINGARRI ABORIGINAL ARTS, PHOTO COURTESY OF GRACE LILLIAN LEE AND CHRIS BAKER; WARINGARRI ABORIGINAL ARTS, PHOTO COURTESY OF SARAH DUGUID.
Waringarri Aboriginal Arts
“The Boonkaj Collection is inspired by bush tucker. Boonkaj means “coming out” in Miriwoong and, as young artists, we wanted to learn more about bush tucker and learn from our old people like my grandmother Peggy Griffiths. We wanted to see our fabrics made into clothes. I modelled many of them and I enjoyed dressing up and showing off our designs.” – Anita Churchill, artist.
Join us in bringing Australian Indigenous fashion to the world! You can be part of the Australian Indigenous fashion movement by donating to the Indigenous Fashion Projects. Peppermint is proud to be a Founding Supporter.
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Pattern via the link in bio! 🪡
Photos: @KelleySheenan
Fabric: @Spoonflower
Model: MelaninGoddessEfon
“In the 1940’s, Norwegians made and wore red pointed hats with a tassel as a form of visual protest against Nazi occupation of their country. Within two years, the Nazis made these protest hats illegal and punishable by law to wear, make, or distribute. As purveyors of traditional craft, we felt it appropriate to revisit this design.”
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The proceeds from the $5 pattern will go to local immigrant aid organisations – or you can donate without buying the pattern.
Raise those needles, folks – art and craft can change the world. 🧶
Link in bio for the pattern.
Images: @Gather_Fiber @NeedleAndSkein @a2ina2 @KyraGiggles Sandi.204 @WhatTracyMakes AllieKnitsAway Auntabwi2
#MeltTheIce #Craftivism #Knitting #CraftForChange
TWO WEEKS TO GO! 🤩
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Only two more weeks until @Life_Instyle – Australia`s leading boutique retail trade show. If you own a store, don`t miss this event! Connect with designers, source exquisite – and mindful – products, and see firsthand why this is Australia’s go-to trade show for creatives and retailers alike. And it`s free! ✨️
Life Instyle – Sydney/Eora Country
14-17 February 2026
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This gorgeous green number was modelled (and made) by the fabulous Lisa of @Tricky.Pockets 🙌🏼
If you need a nudge, @ePrintOnline are offering Peppermint sewists a huge 🌟 30% off ALL A0 printing 🌟 when you purchase the Special Release Waratah Wrap Dress pattern – how generous is that?!
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🔗 Link in bio of @ClothingTheGaps to read the full blog
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As the world careens towards AI seeping into our feeds, finds and even friend-zones, it`s becoming increasingly hard to ignore.
We just wanted to say that here at Peppermint, we are choosing to not print or publish AI-generated art, photos, words, videos or content.
Merriam-Webster’s human editors chose `slop` as the 2025 Word of the Year – they define it as “digital content of low quality that is produced usually in quantity by means of artificial intelligence.” The problem is, as AI increases in quality, it`s becoming more and more difficult to ascertain what`s real and what`s not.
Let`s be clear here, AI absolutely has its place in science, in climate modelling, in medical breakthroughs, in many places... but not in replacing the work of artists, writers and creatives.
Can we guarantee that everything we publish is AI-free? Honestly, not really. We know we are not using it to create content, but we are also relying on the artists, makers and contributors we work with, as well as our advertisers, to supply imagery, artwork or words created by humans. AI features are also creeping into programs and apps too, making it difficult to navigate. But we will do our best to avoid it and make a stand for the artists and creatives who have had their work stolen and used to train AI machines, and those who are now losing work as they are replaced by this energy-sapping, environment-destroying magic wand.
Could using it help our productivity and bottom line? Sure. And as a small business in a difficult landscape, that`s a hard one to turn down. We know other publishers who use AI to write stories, create recipes, produce photo shoots... but this one is important to us.
`Touch grass` was also a Merriam-Webster Word of the Year. We`ll happily stick with that as a theme, thanks very much. 🌿
