Latest news with #IndigenousFashion
CTV News
6 days ago
- Entertainment
- CTV News
10 Indigenous fashion designers' work showcased in Calgary
10 Indigenous fashion designers' work showcased in Calgary Southcentre Mall is celebrating National Indigenous History Month with an installation featuring Indigenous fashion designers.
ABC News
29-05-2025
- General
- ABC News
Modelling fashion and football passion
OK, shine the spotlight, pump up the music, let's hit the catwalk and meet some designers! Earlier this month, Australian Fashion Week was held in Sydney. It's an annual celebration of culture, clothing and the designers who create Australia's diverse range of fashion. It's also where Australian fashion designers get models to wear their clothes and show them off in front of big crowds. One of this year's featured designers is Wiradjuri woman Denni Francisco. She loves creating fashion that reflects her culture. She incorporates colours from country, such as gumtrees, into her clothing and says she does this to bring culture and country together. She was thrilled to have ten First Nations women wear her clothing in front of an excited crowd. 19-year-old First Nations model Shamaiah Sullivan is already up to her third year of walking down the runway. She became a model six years ago after watching an Australian drama on TV and feeling like there were no Indigenous people on the show. Shamaiah says that this year's Fashion Week featured more Indigenous designers and models than ever before, and that meant that people all around the world could learn about First Nations people, and their fashion. In the outback Queensland town of Mount Isa, a group of women get together each week to do just that. They've all moved to the area from another country, and they don't speak much English. But what they all do together is sew! Amina moved with her husband from Pakistan. When she arrived in Mount Isa, she didn't know any English, and that meant she found it hard to get a job. One day, Amina met a Pakistani friend in the street who invited her along to the sewing classes, where women also get to practice their English. That's right! These things take time, and eventually Amina grew in confidence to speak English. She managed to land a job at the town supermarket, she's had a baby, and she's got a lovely community to support her through it all. Animals can do many different jobs, but an assistance animal is one that gives support to people with a disability, so that they can be more independent and confident. In Australia, assistance animals are considered working animals, along with seeing and hearing dogs. In Tasmania, one assistance animal named Violet has made the news, because Violet is an alpaca. Violet is very important to her owner, Abbygail-Nigella. Together they've gone on cruises, to the airport, but recently Abbygail-Nigella took her assistance alpaca into a Tasmanian supermarket to pick up some groceries. They were both asked to leave the store, because the staff said that Violet is livestock, and livestock isn't allowed inside. Abbygail-Nigella made a complaint, and now a court will decide if the supermarket discriminated against them. Discrimination happens when someone is treated unfairly because of things like their age, gender, race or disability. Now, the Magistrates court of Tasmania will investigate whether the supermarket has discriminated against Abbygail-Nigella. She says that Violet has been trained as an assistance animal and goes everywhere with her. She even wants to take Violet onto a plane to Melbourne one day. Will it be possible? We'll have to wait and see how this story ends for Abbygail-Nigella and her furry assistance friend. Although both soccer and AFL involve getting a ball around a field, and scoring goals, they are very different games to play! Someone who knows this very well is Sarah Rowe. She plays soccer in the A-League with the Central Coast Mariners. In fact, her team just won the 2025 Women's championship! While her teammates might be celebrating their win with a relaxing holiday, Sarah hasn't taken any time off. Three days after her team's win, she started training with the Collingwood Magpies ahead of the AFL Women's pre-season. Busy, busy! Well the good news for Sarah is that her games will never clash! Sarah moved from Ireland to Australia just to play Aussie rules but realised that A-League's season fit neatly into the AFLW off-season. But there was plenty to learn about soccer and Sarah became a defender, even though she played as a winger, which is an attack position, in AFL. The Mariners coach believed in Sarah, and she was placed straight into the starting team. Sarah says football careers are short, so she wanted to get as much out of hers as possible. You're an inspiration, Sarah! Keep kicking goals! A few weeks ago, at about six in the morning, a great flash of light lit up the skies over Western Australia… it was a meteorite! Lots of people saw it blazing across the sky and some keen beans decided to hit the road to try and find the spot where the space rock had landed. One of the meteorite hunters was a local police officer named Marcus. Seven days after the meteorite hit earth, he hit the road, driving for two hours and scrambling through dense bush. Then, in the middle of a salt lake, he found a tennis-ball-sized plain-looking space rock! Marcus was quite impressed with his find, but many people think there's more to be discovered. When the meteorite came through the atmosphere, there were lots of bright flashes, and that usually happens when the rocks fragment, or split apart. So, if you're out on a walk in the south of Western Australia, keep your eyes peeled!
News.com.au
17-05-2025
- Entertainment
- News.com.au
Model's pride after walking in ‘special' photo dress at AFW 2025
An Indigenous model has stolen the show on the closing night of Australian Fashion Week (AFW) after walking the runway in a revealing dress with a very unique design. Tynga Williams, Blaklist Next Gen Model from Wiradjuri, Gamilaroi and Noongar country, was one of the many talents seen strutting her stuff in the Jordan Gogos show on Friday. The Greek-Australian designer is known for creating garments that are made from recycled and repurposed textiles and fabrics and has been stunning Fashion Week audiences with his distinctive pieces for the past five years. While there were an array of showstoppers during the runway – which showcased Gogos' upcoming Resort 2026 collection – it was the dress worn by 25-year-old Williams that had the crowd talking. The flesh-flashing number was made out of prints of Gogos taken on an instax mini 41 camera, with each image looped together to form a midi-dress with a daring thigh split. Williams, the first transgender model signed to the first entirely Indigenous agency, gave onlookers a cheeky glimpse of skin across her legs, stomach, back and bottom, that could be seen between the gaps of each photograph. 'I felt absolutely amazing wearing the dress,' she told after the show. 'I was walking around backstage feeling my absolute best self, I felt so free and it was just so fun to present myself that way but I was also honestly really honoured to be able to wear my designers face. 'It's a really personal piece to wear and being able to represent Jordan (Gogos) in that way felt really special to me.' Photos of the First Nations model rocking Gogos' design quickly captured attention online, with many branding the outfit 'insane'. 'What a fire look,' one said on Instagram. 'Honestly, this outfit is unreal,' said another. As one declared: 'The booty is out and we're here for it.' Gogos said the collaboration was inspired by his love of the instant camera, which retails for $179, and is made by Fujifilm. 'Instax has always been more than just a camera to me – it's a time capsule, a way to hold onto these emotions and memories,' the designer said of the collaboration. 'That emotional thread is what made this partnership feel so natural. Just like my designs, instax celebrates individuality, storytelling, and the beauty of capturing life as it happens.' Williams said she wanted to do Gogos, who has a long-standing relationship to the Blaklist Agency, 'proud' – as well as her mentors, Aunty TJ (fashion designer Teagan Cowlishaw) and Aunty Elaine (established First Nations model Elaine George). 'I wanted Jordan to be proud of how I represented him in his collaboration with Instax and I wanted Aunty TJ and Aunty Elaine to be proud of the way I was upholding that relationship. 'I was really focused on the runway to make sure I was showcasing Jordan to be the best of my ability. 'After, I had a lot of friends in the audience whose responses have been completely unbelievable. They all were just in awe of the creation of the dress and the way I wore it and after those show I've had so many incredible reviews and reactions that just made me feel so good about myself.' The instax mini 41 is the latest iteration of Fujifilm's popular instant camera range which first hit the market back in 1998.
CBC
12-05-2025
- Business
- CBC
Fort Qu'Appelle craft store helps Saulteaux designer get his creative groove back
With more First Nations, Inuit and Métis people wanting to showcase their cultures through fashion, local arts and crafts stores are playing an important role, sometimes even directly supporting artists. Manager Richard Desnomie's mom Marla opened Becky's Place in Fort Qu'Appelle, Sask., about 75 kilometres northeast of Regina, in 2018. Her goal was to provide a place to go for beadwork, ribbon skirt and powwow dance regalia supplies that was Indigenous-owned and local, rather than going to the city or ordering online. "They're proud to be Indigenous and they want to show it off in fashion," said Desnomie, who is from Peepeekisis Cree Nation. Desnomie took the store over in 2024, when his mom died suddenly from cancer. He said his mom was worried in the first year of opening if the store was going to make it, but today they can't seem to keep up with orders and materials coming in for customers. "People come to us because they feel more comfortable," said Desnomie. Aspiring Saulteaux designer Garth Asham, from Pasqua First Nation, works at the store. He went to school for fashion design in Vancouver and had some of his designs on the runway at London Fashion Week in 2019. When the pandemic hit, it put a damper on his creativity. "It took my inspiration and motivation away; I stopped designing," said Asham. He decided to return home in 2021 and get back in his creative groove by being around his culture and community. He decided to apply at Becky's Place. "They really push me to be creative, whether it's something that can be displayed at a future collection or sold here at the store," said Asham. Asham's older sister Emily Cyr, who is the front store manager, said now Garth gets the opportunity to pull out the sewing machine and make skirts while he is at the store, where she and the store manager encourage him to create. "It's opened the door for him a lot," said Cyr. "He gets to figure out what he wants to make right away once it's in his mind." Asham likes to work with gowns for weddings, proms and gala events. He says when he was younger he would create little rag dolls to give as gifts to people and then challenged himself to make dresses for the dolls of his little nieces. "That's where my fixation on gowns came from," said Asham. Asham loves to work with any medium he can get his hands on, like silk charmeuse, beads, or paints to add designs. "I like to have meaning behind each of my dresses, like bees for save the bees, MMIW for missing and murdered Indigenous women," he said. Cyr learned the skill of sewing from her brother. "There is a difference in his fashion and mine — I like making ribbon skirts and ribbon, and he likes to work with dresses," said Cyr. Together they teach youth sewing skills and how to make ribbon skirts in the evenings at the store.
CBC
12-05-2025
- Entertainment
- CBC
Fort Qu'Appelle craft store helps Cree designer get his creative groove back
Garth Asham works and creates at Becky's Place With more First Nations, Inuit and Métis people wanting to showcase their cultures through fashion, local arts and crafts stores are playing an important role, sometimes even directly supporting artists. Manager Richard Desnomie's mom Maria opened Becky's Place in Fort Qu'Appelle, Sask., about 75 kilometres northeast of Regina, in 2018. Her goal was to provide a place to go for beadwork, ribbon skirt and powwow dance regalia supplies that was Indigenous-owned and local, rather than going to the city or ordering online. "They're proud to be Indigenous and they want to show it off in fashion," said Desnomie, who is from Peepeekisis Cree Nation. Desnomie took the store over in 2024, when his mom died suddenly from cancer. He said his mom was worried in the first year of opening if the store was going to make it, but today they can't seem to keep up with orders and materials coming in for customers. "People come to us because they feel more comfortable," said Desnomie. Aspiring Cree designer Garth Asham, from Pasqua First Nation, works at the store. He went to school for fashion design in Vancouver and had some of his designs on the runway at London Fashion Week in 2019. When the pandemic hit, it put a damper on his creativity. "It took my inspiration and motivation away; I stopped designing," said Asham. He decided to return home in 2021 and get back in his creative groove by being around his culture and community. He decided to apply at Becky's Place. "They really push me to be creative, whether it's something that can be displayed at a future collection or sold here at the store," said Asham. Asham's older sister Emily Cyr, who is the front store manager, said now Garth gets the opportunity to pull out the sewing machine and make skirts while he is at the store, where she and the store manager encourage him to create. "It's opened the door for him a lot," said Cyr. "He gets to figure out what he wants to make right away once it's in his mind." Asham likes to work with gowns for weddings, proms and gala events. He says when he was younger he would create little rag dolls to give as gifts to people and then challenged himself to make dresses for the dolls of his little cousins. "That's where my fixation on gowns came from," said Asham. Asham loves to work with any medium he can get his hands on, like silk charmeuse, beads, or paints to add designs. "I like to have meaning behind each of my dresses, like bees for save the bees, MMIW for missing and murdered Indigenous women," he said. Cyr learned the skill of sewing from her brother. "There is a difference in his fashion and mine — I like making ribbon skirts and ribbon, and he likes to work with dresses," said Cyr. Together they teach youth sewing skills and how to make ribbon skirts in the evenings at the store. Desnomie said the store also supports other Indigenous designers, having currently sponsored Chelsea Nokusis from Chelsea's Cree-ations to go to Paris and New York for fashion shows.
