Property industry backs First Nations fashion
Australian fashion graces some of the world’s top catwalks and is incredibly diverse in its range of styles and textiles. But behind the scenes, that diversity is distinctly lacking.
And while we’ve seen a number of Aboriginal fashion models hitting the heights in recent years – people like Samantha Harris, Cindy Rostron, Dubs Yunupingu, Kiesha Bovill and Nathan McGuire – where are all the Indigenous fashion designers, photographers, stylists and hair and make-up artists?
Now, the property industry is getting behind some bold initiatives to nurture more First Nations talent and provide them with opportunities within the mainstream fashion industry via the upcoming PayPal Melbourne Fashion Festival.
“We are very excited to be involved in the First Nations Program at this year’s fashion festival,” said Ruth Wilson, principal of clients and communications at architecture and design studio Architectus, part of a consortium supporting the venture. “We wanted a way of acknowledging the role our industries play in meaningfully advancing reconciliation.
“We’re doing the interiors of the pop-up pavilion, which will showcase the indigenous fashion and designers who will be part of the festival, and we’ve worked with those nine designers to come up with a really dense and rich design.”
Bringing property companies in to support Indigenous fashion talent was the brainchild of property and construction advisory firm Slattery, seeing it as a way for many in the industry to bring to life their Reconciliation Action Plans.
The consortium, also made up of Brookfield Properties and MPA, is supplying pro bono design advice and helping create the First Nations fashion pavilion in Federation Square. It’s also giving a $10,000 bursary to the MOB In Fashion employment pathways program, headed by proud Whadjuk/Ballardong/Yuet Noongar man Nathan McGuire, one of the most in-demand male models in the country.
He’d always felt strongly about the dearth of Indigenous people working behind the scenes in the fashion industry. “Then I was approached by the Melbourne Fashion Festival, and I saw the opportunity to create roles for First Nations people at the festival,” he said. “So, we advertised, and had a couple of very experienced applicants who could fill roles immediately.
“Others came through who were just coming out of training in fashion or from university with some experience. We could offer them roles too, while others who just loved fashion, we offered them volunteer positions to give them a meaningful work experience and career opportunity.”
As a result, this year’s festival, running from March 3 to 12, will have a much more First Nations flavour than ever before, with those new workers off-camera, as well as the first Indigenous runway show for 11 years to be held on March 11. There is also a pavilion housing an exhibition of First Nations fashion.
Slattery managing director Sarah Slattery said, “We’re delighted to be partnering with our Consortium peers, who are each committed to exceeding the state government’s 1 per cent employment target for Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander employees and supporting First Nations employment pathways across various industries.”
It’s also being seen as a thoroughly worthwhile venture by Brookfield Properties project director Will Green. “Our Reconciliation Action Program is a really important milestone for us as a business in Australia and, as a developer and owner of real estate, it’s important we recognise our connections with Indigenous cultures,” he said.
“It can be a challenge in real estate to connect with the Indigenous community, but this was a great opportunity to bring it centre-stage. We provided a donation to the cost of setting up the pavilion and to Nathan’s bursary, as we want to elevate local creatives.”
As a result, the design for the pavilion is slowly coming to life, with interiors that will be heavily textural, coloured and patterned to create an immersive First Nations experience for all its visitors.
“It won’t be that typical ochre red you see so often; it’s much broader than that and richer, with extremely contemporary works,” said Ms Wilson. “We’re so excited to be working with Nathan too, a young Aboriginal man who’s already had a stellar career as a fashion model and now in design.”
As for Mr McGuire, he’s also pleased at the support and eager to create lasting opportunities for all the First Nations people now involved. The experience and the networking possibilities will be extremely valuable for everyone involved.
“And there’s a real demand for First Nations fashion, and now we’re getting the space for it,” he said.
“The runway for the First Nations show will all be shoppable collections, not just for the runway. So, you can buy these amazing designs from the businesses producing them. The exhibition will showcase our designers too, as well as having an incubation program, and they will be sharing their designs and their stories.”
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