Encouraging the creation of traditional cultural regalia, the Traditional Adornment Award considers the quality of construction, expression of living culture and preservation of Indigenous culture.

Master weavers from Gapuwiyak Culture & Arts were selected for a collection of refashioned, upcycled silk, linen and cotton garments that found their roots in the 1930s. Inspired by the first Yolngu fashion depicted in Donald Thompson’s recent repatriated 1930s photographs, the artists revived traditional practices depicted in the photos and timelessly integrated these as contemporary fashion to produce pieces featuring colours from Country, including from berries, roots and leaves traditionally used to colour the fibre art that Yolngu artists are renowned for.

As part of the collection that secured Gapuwiyak Culture & Arts the Traditional Adornment Award, judges also recognised the artists for their collaboration with Darwin artist and designer Aly de Groot. Working with Aly, the artists took the inspiration from the Donald Thompson photographs into a collaborative workshop to finalise 10 looks that were presented to resounding applause at Country to Couture and Melbourne Fashion Week last year. Bringing designers young and old together, the collection celebrated collaboration and drove economic benefit for the artists’ community.

For the past 15 years Rowena has been producing hand printed textiles that tell the stories of her Kija ancestry and reflect her connection to Country – specifically the Landsdowne Ranges in East Kimberley.

Consulting with her Elders to ensure her work is always culturally accurate, Rowena reflects the ochre, pindan earth, rocky riverbeds and plant and animal life of the Country in her work.

In recent years she has diversified from traditional lino blocks, now incorporating recycled Styrofoam boxes to create printing blocks, carving and burning into the Styrofoam to add linework and texture to her work.

Recognising a designer for the creation of a single item that demonstrates excellence in design, craft, cultural and artistic expression, Yarrenyty Arltere Artists’ Rhonda Sharpe was selected for her large and abundant dillybag inspired by her great grandmother Old Laddie. Harnessing age-old techniques, Rhonda turned to bush dyed blanket and sheepskin from a discarded artwork to create her piece, with the dillybag’s handle crafted from bush dyed silk stitched with cotton. Stunning emu feathers were shared by another artist who hunted them on Country – just like Old Laddie would generously share the food she would collect in her own dillybag.

Lillardia has built her label from a small rural community in south-west NSW since 2019 where she works exclusively on Country. Studying fashion at TAFE she was taught by her trained Wiradjuri grandmother from a young age and carries out all of her own pattern drafting, grading, sampling and textile production. She was a nominee for the inaugural 2021 ‘Indigenous designer of the year’ at the Australian Fashion Laureate, dual nominee at the National Indigenous Fashion Awards for three consecutive years and in 2022 won the ‘Wearable art’ category. With her win, Lillardia accesses a 12-month business mentorship with Country Road.

Celebrating the commercial and creative success in textiles and fashion, this year’s Business Achievement Award goes to Ikuntji Artists, who are amongst the first Art Centres in the Western Desert to release its own textile collection, which now adorn various fashion and garment ranges, accessories and textiles. Through continued strategic collaborations, partnerships and projects, Ikuntji designs have been featured on the cover of Vogue and at London Pacific Fashion Week, with the artists releasing their own book Ikuntji Textiles. Telling stories in bright colours and forms, building layers, purposeful brushstrokes and mazes of linework, Ikuntji artists celebrate ceremony, country and culture in their designs and have amassed fans around the world.