Each year, during the peak of Darwin’s dry season, designers, artists and creatives from across the country gather on Larrakia Country for the National Indigenous Fashion Awards (NIFA).
Held at the city’s Deckchair Cinema overlooking Darwin Harbour, the annual ceremony celebrates the outstanding talent within the First Nations fashion industry.
Presented by Indigenous Fashion Projects (IFP), an initiative of the Darwin Aboriginal Art Fair Foundation (DAAF), the awards recognise excellence across seven categories, including fashion design, textiles, wearable art, emerging talent, traditional adornment, community collaboration and business achievement.
Now in its seventh year, NIFA continues to champion the creativity and innovation of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander designers, while connecting the international fashion community with the world’s oldest living cultures.
Here are the winners:
Textile Design Award: Lillardia Briggs-Houston
Since launching her label in 2019, Wiradjuri, Gangulu and Yorta Yorta designer Lillardia Briggs-Houston has emerged as a leading voice in First Nations fashion.
After being taught to sew by her grandmother, Lillardia studied fashion at TAFE before launching her label in 2019. She produces all her textiles, works and garments herself, which are all deeply rooted in Country, culture and sustainability.
Community Collaboration Award: Bábbarra Women’s Centre x Tharangini Studio
Founded in 1987 as a women’s safe house, refuge and crèche, Bábbarra Women’s Centre has grown into one of Australia’s leading Indigenous textile studios. Its award-winning collaboration with India’s women-led Tharangini Studio began after a 2023 arts tour, where the two organisations bonded over their shared commitment to preserving cultural knowledge through textile arts.
Together, they have revived decades-old Bábbarra lino prints by transforming them into hand-carved woodblocks, ensuring these important designs can be preserved for future generations.
Traditional Adornment Award: Michelle Pulatuwayu Woody Minnapinni
Tiwi artist Michelle Pulatuwayu Woody Minnapinni is known for her distinctive jilamara designs, which express Tiwi creation stories and representations of Country.
Using natural pigments she gathers and prepares by hand she paints contemporary representations of her homeland. In addition to her painting, she also weaves traditional woven ceremonial adornments.
Cecilia Cubillo Young Achiever Award: Jake Powers
At just 19, model and creative Jake Powers is already making his mark in the fashion industry. Based in Broome, he’s walked the runway at Country to Couture last year, mentors aspiring models and is working towards launching his own clothing label. Watch this space!
Wearable Art Award: Lucy Simpson
Yuwaalaraay designer and artist Lucy Simpson is the founder of Gaawaa Miyay, a design studio renowned for its contemporary textiles, objects and public art. Inspired by Country, relationships and notions of continuity and exchange, her work transforms cultural knowledge into striking contemporary design across fashion, interiors and art.
Fashion Designer Award: Delvene Cockatoo-Collin
Quandamooka artist and designer Delvene Cockatoo-Collins creates contemporary fashion, textiles and public art inspired by the stories and cultural traditions of her family on Minjerribah (North Stradbroke Island). Her work celebrates generations of knowledge passed down through the women in her family.
Business Achievement Award: Kimberley Aboriginal Fashion Textiles Art (KAFTA)
KAFTA (Kimberley Aboriginal Fashion Textiles Art) is a not-for-profit organisation using fashion and textiles to celebrate culture, create economic opportunities and champion Indigenous designers across the Kimberley and beyond.
Each year, KAFTA hosts a runway in Broome welcoming designers and creatives from across the Kimberley region as well as a Gala event and pop-Up Fashion Fair, where attendees can buy directly from the designers and creatives.
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