In 2025, the Country to Couture runway and the National Indigenous Fashion Awards (NIFA) return to Larrakia Country in Darwin with a landmark celebration of Indigenous creativity, culture, and fashion innovation. These dual events, organized by Indigenous Fashion Projects under the Darwin Aboriginal Art Fair (DAAF) Foundation, mark a decade of Indigenous fashion excellence. Together, they have brought over 120 collections and 1,000 original looks to national and international attention, while elevating the voices and visibility of more than 250 First Nations models.
This year’s Country to Couture will take place in early August and will feature two dynamic runway shows: “Threads of Country” and “Rising Colours: The BLAK Party.” Both are designed to showcase the vibrant intersection of traditional storytelling and contemporary style. Twenty-two collections will grace the stage, ranging from community-driven textile projects to bold streetwear and couture. For many designers, this platform is both a launching pad and a cultural statement, a place where heritage meets high fashion.
Since its inception, Country to Couture has been a unique space for creative collaboration. Artists, designers, and Aboriginal-owned art centres collaborate to transform prints, motifs, and techniques rooted in Country into wearable works of art. Each piece carries layers of meaning and narrative, whether it’s a garment printed with bush plum dreaming or a hand-embroidered dress echoing ancestral songlines. The result is a runway show like no other: vivid, symbolic, and powerfully grounded in place and community.
Complementing Country to Couture is the National Indigenous Fashion Awards, an annual ceremony that honors the breadth and depth of First Nations fashion design. The 2025 NIFA finalists, announced in late May, include 38 creators across seven categories: Textile Design, Traditional Adornment, Wearable Art, Fashion Design, Young Achiever, Community Collaboration, and Business Achievement. The range of work on display is as diverse as the communities represented, and the awards recognize not only individual talent but the importance of collective cultural expression.
Judging this year’s entries is a panel of prominent Indigenous and industry voices: Yatu Widders-Hunt, a communications expert and advocate for cultural storytelling; multidisciplinary artist and designer Lisa Waup; and Jessica Poynter of Country Road, one of the key industry sponsors. Their selections reflect not only aesthetic merit but cultural integrity, innovation, and commitment to community. Winners receive more than accolades, many are offered mentorships, networking opportunities, and professional development support that can catalyze long-term careers.
Institutional partners like RMIT, QIC, and Country Road have played a critical role in the evolution of these awards, ensuring that designers are supported not just on the runway but beyond it. Their involvement brings visibility and resources to creators who have historically been underrepresented in Australia’s mainstream fashion industry. For emerging designers, this institutional backing offers a vital bridge between cultural practice and commercial viability.
The 2025 NIFA awards ceremony is scheduled for August 6 at Darwin’s iconic Deckchair Cinema, a venue as unique as the event itself. Set beneath the stars and surrounded by tropical flora, the ceremony is both a celebration and a gathering place. The timing coincides with the broader Darwin Aboriginal Art Fair, which runs from August 7 to 10 and draws artists, collectors, and cultural leaders from across the continent.
Prominent voices from Australia’s creative and Indigenous communities have recognized the impact of these events. Among them is singer and actor Jessica Mauboy, who has praised Country to Couture and NIFA as empowering platforms that foster pride and opportunity. “These showcases are so important, not just for the designers, but for our communities,” she noted in a recent statement. “They help us see ourselves represented and celebrated.”
The importance of that representation cannot be overstated. Indigenous designers bring forward histories, philosophies, and aesthetics that have been passed down through generations. Their fashion is not just about fabric and cut; it’s about knowledge, identity, resistance, and future-making. Events like Country to Couture and NIFA create spaces where this cultural capital is honored, commercialized on Indigenous terms, and made accessible to a wider audience.
That wider audience is growing. Media coverage has expanded nationally and internationally, and the events are increasingly being featured in mainstream fashion outlets and cultural press. This attention is helping to reposition First Nations fashion within the global style narrative, not as a niche category, but as a vital and evolving part of the industry.
There’s also an economic impact. As more Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander designers establish their labels and gain visibility, they create employment opportunities, support local textile and art production, and strengthen community enterprise. These designers are proving that fashion can be a powerful tool for economic development and cultural sustainability.
Looking ahead, the future of Indigenous fashion in Australia is bright. With institutional support, public interest, and a new generation of designers entering the field, the industry is poised for growth. Yet that growth continues to be rooted in the values that Country to Couture and NIFA champion: respect for Country, collaboration, cultural authority, and creative innovation.
As the 2025 events approach, the excitement is palpable, not only for the collections and awards themselves, but for what they represent: a decade of resilience, style, and storytelling, and a future in which Indigenous fashion leads not only in design but in vision.
For those attending in Darwin or tuning in from afar, this year’s Country to Couture and NIFA are more than just runway shows and award nights, they are cultural milestones, collective celebrations, and visual testaments to the power of fashion as a form of Indigenous self-determination.