Ihraa Swim to debut 'bold and fun' collection during Aus Fashion Week '23

Emma Ruben Published May 16, 2023 at 12.15pm (AWST)

fashion

Ihraa Swim on the Flying Solo New York Fashion Week runway. (Image: Rob Hookey)

"Very fun, very bold," were the first words Nat Dann used to describe her new collection for Ihraa Swim.

The Bardi, Nyul Nyul and Nyikina founder and designer behind Ihraa Swim said the label's newest collection is a fuse of Aboriginal and Australian culture.

For any avid followers of Dann's swimwear brand, they won't have to wait long to see the new collection.

It will go live on the Afterpay Australian Fashion Week stage during the David Jones Indigenous Fashion Projects runway on Wednesday, May 17.

For her new collection, Dann worked with a graphic designer to create a print and it's become the collection which has honed in on what Ihraa Swim is as a brand.

"It's about celebrating culture and merging it with Australian culture but really bringing out the fun aspects of that," she said.

"I just wanted it to be a really fun, bold print and I think that really represents Ihraa as a brand in general.

"Some of the silhouettes that I have used we've added more on to it, or taken bits out...it's similar but it's different.

"Ultimately it's the prints that are the focus and they really bring out these types of garments."

Ihraa Swim during Afterpay Australian Fashion Week '22. (Image: Ihraa Swim Facebook)

Dann has been working double time to put a collection together.

Alongside drawing up concepts, creating her own print and considering new shapes, Dann also works full time and raises her daughter.

Dann said it's a lot of "very, very early mornings" and "very, very late nights".

"I do have my nine to five, then I get home and my next priority of course is my daughter," she said.

"Once she's sorted and she's in bed then I can get stuck into the Ihraa Swim stuff.

"That goes on to very early hours and then I get a few hours sleep and then I wake up early again and get a bit more done."

Despite her busy life, Dann is all about the hustle.

She's working in the metaverse space with the Australian Fashion Council and fans of the brand may see Ihraa Swim stocked in some major retailers soon.

"In terms of the metaverse, that probably won't be seen until maybe early '24 or end of '23," she said.

"But I am working in that space with the Australian Fashion Council at the moment where they are trialing our technology for 3D sampling, to cut costs of production.

"And you can expect Ihraa to possibly be stocked in some large retailers."

Dann's new collection with Ihraa Swim will be launched during the David Jones Indigenous Fashion Projects runway on Wednesday, May 17.

AAFW concludes May 19.