Adelaide Fashion Festival, which runs from October 19 to 23, has some of the nation’s top fashion designers along with several Indigenous artists.
Through textiles and design, the ancient culture of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islanders has hit the catwalk in Adelaide. Grace Lillian Lee’s intricate woven neckpieces drew inspiration from the traditional weaving techniques of her Torres Strait Islander heritage.
Elisa Jane Carmichael said her mother taught her to weave dilly bags, a skill passed down over centuries. “Dilly bags were really important for our people so I’ve adapted the techniques of dilly bags into clothing,” she said.
Ms Carmichael, a descendant of the Ngugi people from Quandamooka saltwater country in eastern Australia, previously was a painter and has chosen clothing as her latest canvas.
Fashion represents creative expression. For local designers in particular, when they come up with the concept of a garment to see it through the pattern-making stage, fabric selection and then final production, it is a dream fully realized, says show’s creator, Grace Lillian Lee
