After Elaine George skyrocketed to fame as Vogue Australia’s First Indigenous covergirl in 1993, she had only walked the runway for an Indigenous designer once.

“[It was] very limited back then,” she says.

“[There was] no other Blak model, no make-up artist, no hairstylist – I was literally on my own back in ’93.”

But after leaving the industry for 29 years to pursue a full-time career in child protection, the Arakwal Bundjalung model’s return to the spotlight in recent years has been anything but lonely.

Closing the runway at Country to Couture on Tuesday — an annual showcase of First Nations fashions, held on Larrakia country in Darwin — Ms George was surrounded by a diverse array of models and designers who she helped pave the way for.

“I’m very privileged to be able to wear these garments on behalf of the designers and their people,” she said.

“When you hear from the designers [about] all the work they’ve done – especially the traditional dying of garments, or 30,000 hours it takes to do a whole collection – that really hits me.”

Now a mentor to emerging models, Ms George said shows like Country to Couture demonstrate just how far fashion has come since the 90s.

“Now I’m thrust into the world of fashion again, to see the [First Nations’ designers’] collections here and [at] Sydney Fashion Week has just been amazing,” she said.

But she said the industry needed to acknowledge the barriers remote models and designers faced in bringing their work from the bush to big cities.

“They’ve come so far — five to six hours on a bus on a dirt road — just to come here and be part of this experience,” she said.

This year’s Country to Couture showcase spanned 20 collections, showcasing emerging and established Indigenous art centres, designers and models from across Australia.

The show aims to elevate the works of emerging First Nations designers, models and creatives by showcasing their collections alongside industry leaders.

“It’s very special because we get to meet the designers, we get to hear their stories and we also get to hear how passionate they are — it’s just unbelievably beautiful,” Ms George said.

New generation using social media to forge new audiences

One of Ms George’s mentees is 19-year-old Cindy Rostron, who is part of a new generation of First Nations models using social media to speak directly to mob and blaze a path from remote Australia.

“I’m the old school, she’s the new school,” Ms George said.

Along with her modelling career and work as a ranger, she’s carved out a new audience of 178,000 followers on TikTok.

Ms Rostron’s mother’s country is Banam-banamdi — located about a 10-hour drive from the remote community of Maningrida, which is itself an 8-hour drive from Darwin.

She was scouted at the Barunga Festival three years ago, launching her onto catwalks across the country as well as the cover of Vogue Australia.

Ms Rostron said by using social media, she was able to bridge the gap between life at home and on the runway.

“Posting photoshoots and the catwalk, it shows that if I can do it, they can do it,” she said.

Keeping ancestors alive on international catwalks

First Nations artists such as painter Roseranna Larry are using the medium of fashion to keep the stories of her ancestors alive.

As the chair of Ikuntji Artists, based in Haasts Bluff in Central Australia, the Luritja woman has brought the designs her grandmothers taught her to paint to catwalks in Australia and abroad.

“There’s ladies that used to make fun inside the art centre – sing, paint, laugh, tell stories – and their spirit is still in the art centre,” she said.

“They’re still there because of the paintings – because of the paintings everywhere in this fashion show.”

Ms George said to engage authentically with First Nations artists, big labels and boutique designers needed to visit artists such as Ms Larry on their country.

“If you really want to collaborate with our designers, go out to the community,” she said.

“They’re very opening and welcoming.”

NIFA winners announced

The celebration of First Nations talent continued at the National Indigenous Fashion Awards in Darwin on Wednesday night.

Seven award winners were announced from a pool of 36 finalists, in recognition of their outstanding contributions to Australia’s fashion industry.

Among them was Yawaru woman Kahlia Rogers, an emerging model from the Kimberley in Western Australia, who received the Cecilia Cubillo Young Achiever Award.

“It’s amazing,” she said of the awards.

“It’s just showing young Indigenous kids you can do anything, anything you put your mind to.”

Gunggandji Yarrabah artist Simone Arnol, from Queensland, took home this year’s prestigious Fashion Designer Award for her rich textile designs using recycled material.

See the winners below. 

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