As Indigenous textiles and fashion explodes in popularity the Indigenous Fashion Project has developed a guide for best practice to help safeguard First Nations people and their interests.
This initiative seeks to reduce exploitation of Indigenous arts and is being run in collaboration with notable accessories brand Helen Kaminski, supported by Arts Law and IP Australia with funding coming from the Australian Council for the Arts.
As part of the process of developing the best practice for indigenous fashion, a set of guiding principles and practices will be built, with one of the first steps being a relationship with designers from Arnhem Land and Helen Kaminski.
Indigenous Fashions Projects manager Dave Giles-Kaye said there was an ever-growing demand in companies and brands wanting to collaborate with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander labels.
"By producing a set of industry standards, the initiative will fortify First Nations artists and designers against exploitation and will pave a way for the industry to grow and leverage the interest and demand from consumers," he said.
Gapuwiyak centre manager Trevor van Weeren said companies needed to understand how important storytelling was it is for Indigenous brands
"To truly collaborate with Indigenous artists, brands need to understand the depth of storytelling and cultural significance of works," he said.
"This is important cultural expression, not a commodity."
Helen Kaminski design head Pernille Sejer said the project was as learning opportunity.
"Sitting down with a range of fibre weaving and textile artisans was enlightening and
deepened our respect and understanding of this important form of storytelling in Indigenous communities," she said.
"we are looking forward to the continued journey and the wider knowledge that our team will gain, as well as the sharing of this understanding with the industry and consumer."
As part of the program IFP has released a learning module to explain what intellectual property and Indigenous cultural intellectual property is.
