At the pointy end of MFF’s sprawling fashion programme, one of its best-till-last most-anticipated runways swings the proverbial spotlight onto our expanding crop of First Nations designers. Here, just for you, VoxFrock photographer/mentor Tilly Parsons and fresh-shucked rookie Paris Williment reported en crew from the fierce Back in Blak runway curated by Mob in Fashion. Scroll down to meet Paris and Tilly and click back here and here for more MFF updates from the VoxFrock Rookie Crew of emerging fashion journalists and photographers.
Photos: Tilly Parsons Words: Paris Williment
The Back in Blak runway was less a showcase of garments than a bold, beautiful affirmation. Ten First Nations designers stood at the intersection of what was; the rich history, stories and connection to land propagated by their ancestry over thousands of years; and what will be. And, to the pleasure of tonight’s audience, the raw immediacy of contemporary design and the unyielding currents of First Nations culture was delightfully balanced. This is no small feat, and the secret to such a triumphant success hung in the air- love was all around.
The show was opened by honey-voiced singer Jada Weazel, leading in Corin Corcoran’s splendour; nature’s beauty communicated in cloth, contrasted with the crown of thorns featured in Jesus’s crucifixion reworked in barbed wire. (I’ve got a 400 words limit to write this, which could easily be spent loving on Corcoran: that crown spoke tenfold, and was my favourite piece of the night.)
There is nothing more delicious than womenswear that lets the body talk, and such a concept is perfected by Migandjan designer Banbu. Banbu’s sequinned baby-blue floor-length gown has, for all the right reasons, burned itself to the back of my eyelids. In fact, most of the show highlighted the “divine feminine”; flowing garments of linen and silk, printed and painted with original art by designers Yapa Mali and Miimi & Jiinda, hung with a beautiful effortlessness, a result of masterful construction.
No artist showed their mastery of garment construction like Lychee Alkira, who somehow struck a deadly harmony between quilting and neon drawstring detailing.
Swimwear was also a staple across many brands, with Gali Swimwear’s budgie smugglers so flattering one must question their own objectivity as a reporter. In menswear, matching sets by Take Pride Movement, Kaninda and By Josh Deane made a vibrant case for nationalism- necessarily and wittily reinvented for the Aussie OGs.
But of all the incredible pieces shown tonight, Delvene Cockatoo-Collins epitomised the spirit of the show. The imagery evoked by her work immediately struck me with a sense of familiarity: “I know this palette, I know these patterns…” As it turns out, Cockatoo-Collins hails from Minjerribah (North Stradbroke Island), where I spent summer as a child. This instinctual familiarity reaffirms to me something obvious and deeply important- if the stories, lore and knowledge of our First Nations people can be conveyed, with nuance and specificity, just through garments, how can we question who this land has always belonged to?
Indigenous art is the art of Australia, of our natural world and its keepers past, present and emerging. Based on tonight’s showcase, I imagine the past and present are just as excited for those emerging as I am. Always was, always will be; the serve of the century.
Meet the VoxFrockers
Paris Williment, journalist
Paris is a professional makeup artist, mother and also describes themself as “a grifter with a fascination as to how beauty serves the individual and the unique interpretations by the eyes of its beholder”. Born and raised in Queensland with a decade of theatre, vintage furs and a MAC Pro Membership up their sleeve, Paris hopes “they might finally write about it”. We hope so too. This is Paris’s first tour on the VoxFrock Rookie Crew.
Tilly Parsons, photographer/crew mentor
