Birrimbi Dulgu Bajal (Sea and Rainforest Dreaming) will feature work by 10 Queensland Indigenous designers showcased at CIAF on Friday 31 July.

Curator and fashion designer Grace Lilian Lee continues her work within Australian Indigenous communities to help translate art into fashion. Collaborating with Darnley Island in the Torres Straits and working along side communities in Darwin and Cairns to create a gateway and platform for Australian Indigenous design to be seen in a contemporary way.

Showcasing at CIAF for her third year, Grace discusses how her Indigenous creative work has evolved and developed over the years.

“It developed from 2010 when in my last year at university I took my grandmother back to her sisters unveiling of her tombstone on Thursday Island and my Grandma hadn’t been back for 57 years, so from that point reconnecting with family and seeing part of my lineage, I have really delved in to where my Grandmother is from and looking into it and being inspired by that part of me to create.”

“Since then I have created a collection at RMIT that was based on Torres Strait Islander weaving and printing and by telling my own story of reconnecting I have then created a collection and that’s how I became interested in showcasing.  I kept getting invited to different fashions shows to present my work because of the content and what I was doing, so I got invited to San Francisco to showcase in 2011.  I showcased in NZ Fashion Week and also I showcased in Melbourne Spring Fashion Week and also in Sydney.  Because I was focusing on having a label CIAF then approached me to see if I could put on a show and then that was my chance to do something a bit different and to showcase other designers.  I was able to showcase my own work but I was able to showcase other designers and mentor other designers with the experience that I’ve had,” said Grace.

The show is much more than just fashion said Grace.  “Having one overriding concept about what the purpose is, which is to empower young women and inspire people who are watching it and to see and appreciate and acknowledge the culture without it being diffused, so it is quite rich in texture colour and movement and we really focus on their stories they’re trying to tell,” she said.

“We are not just putting Indigenous models into a Westernised fashion show we are really trying to create our own cultural space and platform to share so utilizing Indigenous music, Indigenous models and everything as it is an Indigenous catwalk and fashion show,” she said.

In collaboration with author, dancer and choreographer Fiona Wirrer-George (Oochunyung), Grace comments that “Fiona has been really helpful as a mentor and cultural advisor.  I think we are definitely trying to create something really unique and special to share,” Grace said.

CIAF is about the participants having a platform to tell their story, express themselves and to inspire the audience, you just never know who is watching.

“Exactly and this year we have got Vogue coming [CIAF] so I think we are definitely being watched and I think it’s a really different way it’s a new way of dialogue of sharing and in a fashion context without it being a normal catwalk its very different and I highly recommend it,” said Grace.Birrimbi Dulgu Bajal (Sea and Rainforest Dreaming) 

8pm-10pm Friday 31 July- Cairns Cruise Liner Terminal - Terminal 2

For more information visit: ciaf.com.au