The Melbourne fashion festival has been running for the past two weeks showcasing well-known brands and emerging artists. For first nations fashion designers getting a foot in the door in retail hasn't always been easy. But they say there are strides in the right direction.
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00:00 Makeup is being applied, hair finalised and looks prepped.
00:14 There's a hive of activity behind the scenes at Melbourne Fashion Festival.
00:19 They're getting ready for an all First Nations designer collection.
00:26 These designs are personal.
00:28 They tell stories of family, of country and traditions from their elders and designers
00:33 say they're meant to be shared.
00:36 Design is informed by moments with my mum, written words from my grandmother and also
00:42 our beautiful natural environment.
00:44 This is where the magic happens.
00:48 Tell me a little bit about what we're seeing here.
00:50 So what we're looking at is everyone getting their hair done because it's that celebration
00:56 and party vibe.
00:57 I think we've got a few slicks back mullets going on.
00:59 We're going to have some really colourful hair.
01:02 So you're working to boost the number of First Nations people behind the scenes like
01:07 here in the makeup department?
01:09 Yeah totally.
01:10 Part of the Melbourne Fashion Pathway program is that we recruit creatives into the festival
01:15 and offer them meaningful career opportunities as paid work.
01:19 With us we have Kehilia who's on makeup.
01:20 She's working with Avesha.
01:23 The opportunities also include photography and styling.
01:26 Grace found her passion pivoting from model to an executive assistant.
01:31 Having a space for Indigenous creatives is super important.
01:36 It's such an intense industry and some people aren't very forgiving and so to be a part
01:41 of something that creates those spaces is something that means a lot to me.
01:48 Wajah Noongar model and designer Nathan Maguire noticed an explosive shift from brands and
01:53 festivals wanting to include First Nations people after the Black Lives Matter movement
01:58 made headlines in 2020.
02:00 I've been working for 10 years now as a model and in my experience I was always the only
02:06 Aboriginal person in the room.
02:08 Sometimes it can be tokenistic but that's just about having the right people in the
02:13 festival giving a voice to First Nations people.
02:18 This is an amazing event for mob to get that recognition, so many Indigenous artists, so
02:26 yeah it's an amazing opportunity.
02:28 I feel very excited and very welcomed.
02:36 Rajuri designer Renee Henderson only graduated from fashion school last year but her first
02:41 collection has gone straight to a premium runway, seen by fashion writers and influencers.
02:47 I just want to enjoy Melbourne Fashion Festival, get my name out there.
02:52 The Quandamooka artist and designer Delveen Cockatoo-Collins encourages everyone to feel
02:57 comfortable wearing her designs.
02:59 Both Aboriginal and non-Aboriginal people are wearing them, both male and female, non-binary,
03:04 all different kinds of people are wearing my work and I feel like it does bring us together.
03:10 Unlike other fashion festivals, this one is not just for buyers or the rich and famous,
03:15 it's designed so that anyone can walk away with an outfit.
03:18 Turning heads on the fashion runway, a performance from Kamilaroi Samoan dance pop artist Bekah
03:23 Hatch to bring out the final looks for the show.
03:27 The festival ends tonight.
03:28 [no dialogue]