"Fashion is a way for us to carry our culture back," KAFTA chairperson Agnes Pigram told a crowd of hundreds gathered on Broome's Town Beach jetty for the organisation's annual runway show on Sunday.
Sixty models from nine communities across WA's Kimberley region, dressed in vibrant garments by 14 local designers, listened backstage as Ms Pigram recounted the history, they were about to embody.
Kimberley Aboriginal Fashion Textiles and Art, known as KAFTA, is a Kimberley-led Aboriginal fashion and textiles organisation which supports local designers, artists, models, and creatives.
First established at the Broome Fringe Festival in 2022 and incorporated in 2025, KAFTA hosts a fashion fair, workshop program and annual runway showcasing Aboriginal fashion and textile design from across the Kimberley.
Ms Pigram, a proud Yawuru and Bardi woman acknowledged the significance of KAFTA's evolution as it reached its fifth year.
"KAFTA was born because our Broome/Kimberley talent was being drawn away from where it was needed most," Ms Pigram said.
"We refuse to accept that our people had to leave Country to find opportunity."
Among those given a platform through KAFTA was Jaru woman and debut designer, Romenica Long, whose garment, Desert Flowers, was inspired by the Country around her East Kimberley hometown of Halls Creek.
"I just love the way the desert dresses itself," Ms Long told National Indigenous Times.
"My design showcases where I grew up, and spent most of my childhood with my grandmother. I used to travel around everywhere with her, so it is also a reminder of my family connections."
Those family connections, and the wider sense of community carried across the Kimberley, were part of what drew proud Nyikina man Nelson Baker to the KAFTA runway.
"From the colours of the clothes, to the runway being on Town Beach's old jetty, with people coming from across the Kimberley to be here and share their different stories, it's what it's all about," Mr Baker said.
He recognised the significance of being part of a Kimberley community-led project.
"It's a beautiful thing to come back to and experience, it's something I've always wanted to be a part of," he said.
"I want to do anything I can to help the community and share the light on this space."
As the sun dropped over Broome's town jetty, the quiet of an ordinary beach afternoon gave way to applause.
Young girls from Fitzroy Crossing, Elders from Bidyadanga, men from the East Kimberley and families from across the region stepped onto the runway for one final walk.
They wore designs shaped by songlines, Country, and family history — turning the jetty for a few hours into a stage for Kimberley culture and contemporary Aboriginal fashion.
