A new clothing range by Nullawarre artist Brett Clarke has been selected to appear on the Melbourne Fashion Week runway.
The Indigenous Runway Project will highlight both indigenous fashion designers and models.
“I’ve always been interested in getting some of my artwork onto garments,” Mr Clarke said.
A cash prize from an art exhibition early in 2018 provided the funding for Mr Clarke to start transferring his artworks to garments.
“It’s all old artwork that I have had in sketchbooks,” Mr Clarke said.
“Some of the artworks are pastel drawings, some are pen designs. Some are acrylic paintings, some are ochre paintings.”
Mr Clarke hopes that his new label, Tuurann Designs, will bring more indigenous clothing to the world’s attention.
“I hope to make everything from children’s clothing, to youth, to women and men, and everything else in between,” he said.
Currently the range includes men’s hoodies, T-shirts and shorts, women’s leggings, beach dresses and one-piece bikinis.
“My dream is to build bridges between cultures and educate people about the dreaming stories of this area,” Mr Clarke said.
All of the designs were inspired by indigenous south-west dreaming stories.
“The natural landscape, the volcanic hills, the sacred waterholes, if you look at the designs they all reflect the landscape of the Western District,” Mr Clarke said.
The Indigenous Runway Project will be held in National Gallery of Victoria’s Great Hall on September 2. Tickets are available from Melbourne Fashion Week.
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