indigenous fashion hits the
world stage
Aboriginal Fashion Designer Colleen Tighe Johnson’s career is taking off after opening PLITZS New York City Fashion Week in February this year with her home-grown Gomeroi fashion label Buluuy Mirii (Black Stars).
Colleen’s designs and creative process uniquely places Aboriginal cultural story within high-end fashion at the international level.
“New York was an opportunity to put Gomeroi cultural stories, music, art and design on an international runway, and I was going with pride, I was so proud to be able to share the stories of my Gomeroi ancestor’s son a world stage,” Colleen says.
The Tamworth-based Aboriginal educator is now welcoming invitations from all over the world, with upcoming offers for Colleen to showcase on runways in New York and Canada in September this year, before taking her designs to Paris Fashion Week in 2018 and dressing the stars on the red carpet as part of the 2018 Cannes Film Festival.
“I’m so grateful to be invited back to PLITZS Fall runway in New York and to work in collaboration with other First Nation designers from around the world,” Colleen said. The Indigenous Runway Project is a significant opportunity for First Nations designers and models across the world to showcase their talent and culture and meet industry experts, insiders and build new international connections and networks.
“A number of joint opportunities to create exchange programs for the young Indigenous models we are working with are being discussed now, and it just takes our passion and what we can give back to our communities through fashion, to the next level.”
As part of her fashion design practice, Colleen has run a development program called Miyay Mirrii (Girl Stars) for Aboriginal young people for the last 15 years. The program teaches deportment, life skills, and introduces them to the runway. A number of recent Tamworth participants, including Zarayn Knight, Keely Cain and Shona Smith have recently won a number of categories in the Aboriginal model search. With Keely winning a local category, and Zarayn going on to represent NSW. These successes demonstrating the success of the program already in this arena.
Through other international opportunities she has been able to take some of her young Aboriginal models from Moree and Tamworth to Melbourne and Alice Springs fashion events in the past, and was thrilled to take a Tamworth model, Zarayn Knight, to New York with her this year.
Buluuy Mirrii also provided opportunities to local Indigenous artist to have their artwork showcased on the world stage of fashion. “I work with local artists to design Gomeroi artwork that hold cultural significance in the stories and places and themes that are depicted. This artwork is then printed onto luxury fabrics that I use to design the fashion that is showcased in the show,” Colleen explains.
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