Three First Nations designers from Queensland have been chosen to participate in The Iconic and First Nations Fashion and Design's inaugural Incubator program.
Announced in December 2022, the co-designed program offers First Nations designers real-world learning opportunities through mentorship, workshops, gathering, events, and tangible resources to set up commercially viable, sustainable business models.
Gunggandji designer Elverina Johnson of the label Pink Fish, Mt Isa designers Glenda, Juanita, Dale and Cheryl Mcculock of the label Myrrdah and Kuranda-based designer Briana Enoch of Jarawee have been selected to take part.
They will be supported by industry and cultural mentors such as curator of First Nations art at the National Gallery of Victoria, Shonae Hobson, and founder and director of Maara Collective, Julie Shaw.
Designer and founder behind label Pink Fish, Johnson is no stranger to the world of fashion.
She's created collections in collaboration with Taking Shape and debuted her designs at Australia Fashion Week in 2022.
However, Johnson said she wanted to take this opportunity to learn about the less glamorous side of fashion: the business side of things, in the hopes she could one day open her own store.
"You can do as many fashion shows as you want to showcase yourself," she said.
"But at some point, you have to be able to find other ways to keep going at a different level and I think this is what the FNFD x Iconic Incubator program offers.
"I felt that this would be a great opportunity for me to develop my craft a bit in design and just to get a bit more insight into the industry side of things in terms of marketing and production side of things, especially for mass production."
FNFD general manager and Wiradjuri woman Emma Griggs said as an organisation they were interested in creating long-term pathways for their First Nations fashion designers.
"Having seen the success of FNFD in Australian Fashion Week in 2021 and then closing in 2022 we wanted to not just inspire but also to equip our mob with the tools needed to be successful longer term, not just for one show," she said.
"The incubator program has given us the opportunity to reach out into rural and remote areas of Australia and to make the program more accessible.
"We all have parental responsibilities and other community commitments, so the beauty of this program and the education component that sits around it is very specific to the fashion industry."
The designers behind the selected three labels will participate in workshops, events and experiences developed by industry experts over the next seven months.
Industry experts and educators such as The Hanes group and Epson and members from the Indigenous creative community will provide ongoing feedback throughout their time in this program.
At the end of the program, designers will have the opportunity to take part in an eCommerce shoot and will be invited to sell their collections on The Iconic.
While the program hasn't begun yet, Johnson has already begun thinking about where she wants to go from here in terms of her designs and business.
"While I'm showcasing some of the different designs I'm taking note on what people are actually looking for and what they like," she said.
"I'm aiming for a younger demographic and more business-type styles.
"At the moment there's different concepts but at the end of the program I will have definites on what I want that to look like."
The designers will also be mentioned by industry experts such as The new designers will be mentored by celebrated industry greats including Pip Edwards (P.E. Nation), Johnny Schembri (By Johnny), and Laura Liles and Tristan Liles (Kinga Csilla).
