Celebrated for her beautiful designs, strong stance on female empowerment and advocacy for First Nations peoples, this week talented designer and creative Samala Thakialee Cronin returned to the Country to Couture runway to showcase MumRed's latest collection, Flow State.

Speaking with Cronin this week, the talented creative shared how rewarding the last few months have been and how great it is to be back on the Country to Couture runway alongside fellow First Nations designers.

"The last eight months have really been about giving birth to Flow State," Cronin told Style Up.

"I was fortunate to receive funding through the Flourish First Nations Fashion and Textile Fund to produce my first commercial collection, and it has been an incredibly full and transformative creative period.

"Building Flow State has required so much of me — creatively, physically and spiritually. It has been a hectic eight months of designing, making, refining and bringing the collection into the world.

"To then showcase selected pieces from the collection on the Country to Couture runway with Indigenous Fashion Projects was a really special moment.

"After pouring so much time, energy and intention into the work, seeing it come alive on the runway felt like a beautiful culmination of the journey so far."

Cronin expressed the extent to which the popular fashion event has well and truly changed her life and the success of her business.

"Returning to Country to Couture this year was incredibly special," she said.

"It felt like coming back to a space that has played such an important role in my journey as a designer, but also returning with a deeper understanding of my practice, my purpose and where MumRed is growing.

"This year was particularly powerful because it brought together the largest gathering of First Nations fashion designers, creatives, models, production teams, hair and makeup artists, and choreographers that we have seen.

"To be part of an all-Blak production of that scale was such an honour. witnessing so many First Nations people leading every part of the creative process and bringing our collective vision to life was historic. Unprecedented.

"Being on Larrakia Country, watched over by the 140-year-old boab tree as we activated that space, felt deeply significant. There was so much creative energy, culture, connection and pride across both showcases. It was absolutely magic."

When explaining the meaning behind Flow State, Cronin shared how the name references the many cycles we go through as women.

"Flow State is an exploration of our sacred cycles and the many cycles we move through in our everyday lives," she said.

"As women, our bodies are constantly moving through rhythms and transitions that influence how we feel, how we move, how we connect and even what we choose to wear.

"For me, the menstrual cycle is not something separate from our lives or something that should be hidden.

"It is a natural rhythm that informs our energy, emotions, creativity and relationship with our bodies.

"Flow State asks us to honour those changes rather than resist them."

Fusing several different elements together, Cronin has designed a carefully curated symbolic collection.

"The collection moves through softness and strength, fluidity and structure, vulnerability and power," she said.

"Each piece reflects the way our bodies and identities are always shifting.

"The silhouettes are designed to hold and celebrate the body through those different states, creating space for women to feel connected to themselves rather than disconnected from the natural cycles they move through."

The designer said Flow State is "at its heart... about body sovereignty, sacred femininity and learning to move with ourselves instead of against ourselves".

"This collection really pushed the limits for me - creatively, physically and emotionally. I underwent three surgeries last year, and much of the intense, intricate hand-beading was completed while I was recovering," she said.

"The nature of my healing process forced me to slow down.

"Rather than seeing that as something that took me away from the collection, it became deeply connected to the work.

"As my body healed, I was able to spend time listening to it and reflecting on the relationship between healing, rest, femininity and the cycles we move through. In many ways, Flow Statewas created alongside my own healing journey."

Featuring an array or unique textural and aesthetic elements, Cronin spoke to how she combined these elements to produce Flow State.

"I incorporated traditional resources from Country and techniques that were taught to me by my Mimi and Nana, bringing those cultural practices into conversation with an ethereal array of luxurious fabrics," she said.

"The collection combines intricate handwork, texture and traditional materials with figure-forming silhouettes that honour and celebrate the female body.

"The process required patience and surrender. I had to trust the rhythm of my body and allow the collection to unfold in its own time. That experience became part of the spirit of Flow State itself."

Set to have a busy few months, Cronin has not one but several exciting projects underway.

"There are some really exciting things happening for MumRed," she said.

"I'm honoured to have been nominated for the Global Women of Influence Awards, as well as two National Indigenous Fashion Awards - for Wearable Art and Fashion Designer.

"I've also been nominated again for the Telstra Best of Business Awards, which is incredibly meaningful recognition for the work I've been building through MumRed."

Cronin described Country to Couture as "a catalyst moment for this year".

"So much of my energy, spirit, time and resources have been focused on bringing Flow State to life and producing the collection for the Indigenous Fashion Projects showcase," she said.

"It has been a huge creative undertaking, and I'm proud of what has come from that journey.

"I'd love to say I'll be slowing down for the rest of the year... but I'm not sure that's going to happen.

"MumRed is continuing to grow, and I'm excited to keep expanding the brand and staying true to my ethos of storytelling and body sovereignty that sits at the heart of everything I create.

"But ... I can say this - keep an eye out on the red carpets at the Logies and the ARIAs for MumRed"

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