There are moments each year that capture the attention of audiences across Australia.

A designer steps onto the Country to Couture runway. An artist is recognised at the National Indigenous Fashion Awards. A Pathways participant shares a collection shaped through months, sometimes years, of learning. A new partnership begins.

These are the moments people see.

What they don’t always see are the relationships that made them possible.

Indigenous Fashion Projects (IFP), an initiative of the Darwin Aboriginal Art Fair Foundation, supports the growth of the First Nations fashion and textile sector through Country to Couture, the National Indigenous Fashion Awards (NIFA), the Pathways Program, and Best Practice initiatives. Together, these programs create opportunities for First Nations designers, artists, Art Centres and communities to strengthen creative practice, build sustainable careers and share their work nationally and internationally.

But Indigenous Fashion Projects is about far more than programs.

It is about people.

Designers and artists. Elders and Knowledge Holders. Art Centres and communities. Models, mentors, educators, researchers, creative partners and volunteers. Alongside them is a small team whose role is to listen, connect people and help ideas grow into opportunities.

As I began speaking with members of our team while writing this article, a common thread quickly emerged.

Nobody spoke first about events.

Nobody spoke first about runways or awards.

Instead, they spoke about people. About listening. About trust. About the generosity of communities who continue to share their knowledge, and the responsibility that comes with walking alongside them.

Perhaps that’s the best way to understand Indigenous Fashion Projects.

The events may be what first capture our attention, but it is the relationships behind them that give this work its meaning.

1) Gapuwiyak youth wearing House of Darwin tops, Gapuwiyak Arts and Culture accessories and Elder wearing Clothing the Gaps top, Indigenous Fashion Projects, 2023, Photographer Claire Summers. 2) Jake Powers & Michelle Maynard, Country to Couture, 2025, Photo by Mae Ganambarr. 3) Indigenous Fashion Projects Runway, Australian Fashion Week, 2024, Photo by Suleiman Thomas. 4) Calli-Rose Woods backstage at Country to Couture, 2025, Photo by Mae Ganambarr. 5) Courtesy of Lauren Rogers

One of the greatest privileges of working in Indigenous Fashion Projects is the opportunity to learn.

Every designer, artist, Art Centre and community brings different ways of knowing, creating and caring for Country. There is no single pathway into fashion, no one definition of success, and no one story that represents the diversity of First Nations creativity. Our role is not to lead those stories, but to create space for them to be shared.

That spirit of learning was reflected in every conversation I had while writing this article.

For Indigenous Fashion Projects Manager, Michelle Maynard, success is measured differently. While runway shows, awards and industry recognition are important milestones, they are never the end goal. Her vision has always centred on creating opportunities that strengthen people, communities and culture, recognising that the true impact of this work often unfolds long after an event has finished.

Michelle speaks about success in terms of confidence gained, relationships formed, knowledge shared between generations and pathways that continue to grow long after someone has returned home. She believes Indigenous Fashion Projects has the potential to contribute not only to creative careers, but also to cultural continuity, Indigenous wealth creation and stronger futures for communities.

As she describes it, the impact of this work reaches “…far beyond a Western measurement system of success.”

Executive Director, Claire Summers reflects that working alongside First Nations creatives continues to deepen her understanding of Australia’s histories, cultures and the ongoing impacts of colonisation. As she says, “I am so inspired by the way Indigenous Fashion Projects creates powerful platforms for First Nations voices to be elevated and celebrated.”

Those reflections resonate deeply with me.

The more I listen, the more I realise that learning is never finished.

Perhaps that is what Indigenous Fashion Projects has taught me most.

1) Magnolia Maymuru, Wearing Bula’bula x Black Cat Couture, Country to Couture, 2025, Photo by Mae Ganambarr. 2) Jake Powers, Behind the scenes of Country to Couture, 2025, Photo by Marley Morgan. 3) Michelle Maynard, Indigenous Fashion Projects Manager, Behind the scenes, David Jones IFP Runway at Afterpay Australian Fashion Week, 2022, Photo by Dylan Buckee. 4) Jake & Cassie Backstage, Country to Couture, photo by Marley Morgan. 5) On Country with Gapuwiyak. 6) Michelle Maynard, Country to Couture, 2025, Photo by Mae Ganambarr. 

No two creative journeys are the same.

Some designers arrive with decades of experience, deeply grounded in community, culture and practice. Others are just beginning to find their voice. Some work independently, while others create alongside family, at Art Centres, or in community-based enterprises. Each brings their own aspirations, challenges and ambitions.

That diversity shapes the way Indigenous Fashion Projects works.

Through the Pathways Program, we walk alongside emerging First Nations designers as they build their businesses, strengthen their creative practice and develop connections across the industry. The National Indigenous Fashion Awards celebrate excellence across the sector, while Country to Couture provides a platform for designers to share their work with new audiences. Each program is different, but all are grounded in the same belief: relationships matter.

Working across these programs has transformed my own understanding of fashion.

Before joining Indigenous Fashion Projects, I saw fashion through the lens of the finished garment. Today, I see the stories held within textiles, weaving, natural fibres, traditional adornment and the enduring relationships people hold with Country. The more time I spend listening to designers and artists, the more I understand fashion as a way of sharing culture, ecological knowledge and connection across generations.

For Special Projects and Research Development Lead Belinda Cook, this reflects something much bigger than fashion itself. Drawing on decades of experience working alongside First Nations communities and Art Centres, Belinda believes the sector’s strength lies in its relationships, where artists, designers and communities continue to learn from one another while honouring cultural authority and creating opportunities together.

As Belinda says, “We must always keep community at the heart of what we do.”

That simple idea captures the way Indigenous Fashion Projects continues to evolve. Rather than asking communities to fit our programs, we believe our programs should continue to grow alongside the communities they are designed to support.

1) Belinda Cook & Volunteers Backstage, Country to Couture, photo by Marley Morgan. 2) Models backstage at Country to Couture, 2025, Photo by Mae Ganambarr. 3) Models with artists from Jilamara Arts and Crafts Association x Tiwi Artists, NIFA, 2025, Photo by Marley Morgan. 4) Saturday, Darwin Aboriginal Art Fair, 2024, Photo by Dylan Buckee. 5) Sammy Perry, Darwin Aboriginal Art Fair, 2024, Photo by Leicolhn McKellar

Relationships sit at the heart of everything Indigenous Fashion Projects does.

Whether working with designers, Art Centres, universities, industry, government or philanthropic partners, every relationship begins in the same place: listening. The strongest collaborations aren’t built simply to deliver a project. They are built on trust, shared purpose and a willingness to learn from one another.

Head of Strategic Partnerships Eloise Bishop believes these relationships are strongest when everyone comes to the table with openness and curiosity. As she puts it, meaningful partnerships are about “…learning from and growing with each other.”

Those partnerships create opportunities that reach far beyond funding. They open pathways for education, research, mentoring and cultural exchange, while encouraging a broader understanding of First Nations leadership, creativity and knowledge systems.

Event Manager, Reahn Hayman, has witnessed that growth firsthand. From supporting the evolution of the Pathways Program to seeing First Nations designers and models represent Australia in Osaka, Japan in 2025, she is excited by the opportunities ahead. For Reahn, the future of Indigenous Fashion Projects lies not only in continuing to grow nationally, but in sharing First Nations creativity with the world on an international stage.

That same spirit exists within the Indigenous Fashion Projects team.

For Director of Events and Operations Samantha Perry, working alongside designers, artists and communities rekindled a creative part of herself she thought she had lost. It also reinforced the idea that the most meaningful outcomes are often the ones that continue quietly long after an event has finished. Reflecting on her journey, she says, “The part of me I thought I had lost forever was brought back to life.”

Over more than a decade with Indigenous Fashion Projects, Sammy has come to see the work as something much bigger than fashion. It is about creating spaces where culture, creativity and community come together, while helping build confidence, careers and opportunities that continue long after an event is over. She speaks about leading with kindness, sharing knowledge and paying forward the opportunities she has received throughout her own career. Working alongside remote Art Centres and communities has taught her the importance of listening first, respecting culture and recognising that creativity can be a powerful vehicle for connection, empowerment and lasting change.

Visual storytelling plays an equally important role. Through design, photography and digital communications, Graphic Designer and Photographer Dylan Buckee helps document the moments that might otherwise be forgotten. A conversation backstage. A proud smile after a runway debut. The quiet confidence of a designer seeing their work celebrated. Together, these become part of the growing story of First Nations fashion.

Like the collections themselves, Indigenous Fashion Projects is shaped by many hands. Every conversation, partnership and shared experience contributes to something far greater than any one person or organisation could achieve alone.

1) Country to Couture, 2025, Photo by Benjamin Warlngundu Ellis. 3) Backstage, Country to Couture, 2025, Photo by Marley Morgan. 4) Magpie Goose, Backstage at Country to Couture, 2025, photo by Marley Morgan. 5) Lauren Rogers with Megan Waters, NIFA, 2025

As I reflected on these yarns with my colleagues, I realised that although each person had shared a different story, they had all arrived at the same place.

Relationships.

Relationships built on trust, generosity and respect. Relationships that begin with listening, grow through shared experience and continue long after the work itself is done. They connect people, communities, culture and Country in ways that cannot always be seen, but are always felt.

Perhaps that is the true work of Indigenous Fashion Projects.

To create space for First Nations voices to lead. To listen with intention. To walk alongside rather than ahead. To nurture opportunities that continue to grow through the people and communities they belong to.

Some legacies are measured in milestones. Others are carried quietly through people, relationships and shared knowledge, unfolding across generations in ways we may never fully see.

It is a privilege to be part of that journey.

Behind the Scenes, Country to Couture, 2023, Photo by Michael Jalaru Torres