Fashion month is about to kick off again, with all eyes on New York, London, Milan and Paris. But the obsession with the so-called fashion capitals has long seemed out of touch. Yes, that's where the money is (well, Paris is anyway), but in our globalised world, there are many more fashion capitals that should not be overlooked. There are fashion weeks all over the place, all year round. But while Lagos, Melbourne, Berlin and Copenhagen deserve their place in the fashion spotlight, what happens when you're well off the beaten fashion track?

East Arnhem Land, for example...

These days, rising Australian fashion star Liandra Gaykamangu calls Darwin home, but that's the big smoke compared to where she grew up in Milingimbi (Yurruwi) in the Crocodile Islands - albeit with a sojourn to the Wollongong surf coast. Now her print-led namesake brand is making waves in fancy places. This mum of three used to be a high school teacher and her fashion-forward design is winning her prizes.

A beautiful, far-reaching conversation the covers a lot of ground, from creative life in Australia's remote north, caring for County, and tuning into nature (what are the frogs telling you?) to mentoring nex gen Indigenous entrepreneurs, and what it takes to break through when you're outside of circles of power.

ABOUT LIANDRA

Liandra Gaykamangu, a Yolngu woman from East Arnhem Land, is the Founder and Creative Director of Liandra - an eco-conscious lifestyle brand that combines fashion with contemporary Aboriginal art and culture.

A former high school teacher, she is an Executive Director of Enterprise Learning Projects, an Aboriginal controlled not-for-profit organisation supporting remote Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander entrepreneurs to develop and grow their businesses, as she works hard to give back to her community and share her business knowledge with other remote Indigenous entrepreneurs.

Liandra is also a Director on the Board of First Australians Capital (FAC). FAC is a First-Nations led organisation that harnesses the cultural, creative and economic strengths of First Nations Australians by providing a range of resources to Indigenous businesses, including professional business support and services, networking and access to financial capital.

NOTES

In the northeast corner of Australia’s Northern Territory, ARNHEM LAND is spectacularly beautiful region with by rocky escarpments, gorges, rivers and waterfalls. Thje the YOLNGU people are the traditional owners.

MILLINGIMBI is a Yolŋu community of approximately 1400 people located in the Crocodile Islands, 200 kilometres west of Nhulunbuy, approximately a one hour flight from Darwin.  

“Yes we have lots of crocodiles in the rivers systems, ”

Clare mentions the controversy around croc culls. Liandra notes historic over-hunting in the 1970s and ‘80s, and the uses for their skin. Read about that here. In April the NT govt announced a substantial increase to its annual croc removal quota, although they say “the figure of 1,200 crocodiles per year stops well short of a widespread cull of the species.” More here.

FIRST NATIONS WISDOM “Our whole philosophy is based harmony, we we’re not overconsuming or over-using anything.” As she notes, there’s often a missed opportunity in land and care management in Australia to tap into that.

BEES ARE WONDERFUL As Liandra says, globally, they are vital for the health of our ecosystems and we should all appreciate bees as pollinators, but she also has a personal connection to the native Aussie HONEY BEE.

The opening soundtrack to her Australian Fashion Week Resort ‘25 show, sung in Yolngu matha (language) by three of the designer’s bapa (dad’s brothers), tells the story of guku. This songline holds special meaning for Liandra as a proud Gupupuyngu (clan group) woman, from East Arnhem Land (Northern Territory).

Guku is culturally significant for Liandra’s clan group and an integral part of how the Gupupuyngu people represent themselves and engage with the world around them. The track, followed by the sounds of the natural landscape and featuring the calls of the black cockatoo, formed a transitional piece signifying the dawn, a night’s end, and the new era, heralded by the sun as it arises…

FRUITS OF THE SEA collection.

More here.

MAYPAL “WHEN THE Yolngu of north-eastern Arnhem Land look to the sea, they know the season from the direction and feel of the wind. One thing the wind communicates, they say, is when certain maypal are plump and ready to be gathered… The term maypal covers many marine and some terrestrial creatures that have sustained generations of Yolngu for millennia. In one sense it means shellfish. But maypal include foods non-Indigenous Australians might not consider to be in that category, such as land snails, marine worms and insect larvae, including witchetty grubs. Maypal are fundamental to Yolngu culture. They are tasty and easy to harvest; just go down to the beach or among the mangroves. And they sustain coastal people not only physically, but also spiritually and emotionally.” Via Australian Geographic - read thr rest here.

TARLISA GAYKAMANGU “A collected exterior is already something of a trademark for Tarlisa. On this day, The bilingual model—who speaks English and Djambarrpuyngu; one of the many languages of East Arnhem Land—is a fold of never-ending legs in skinny jeans with a tumble of black hair…” read the rest on Vogue.

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