A finalist for The National Designer Award x David Jones Runway at this year's Paypal Melbourne Fashion Festival (PMFF), LIANDRA captivated audiences with her vibrant, bold designs, inspired by the narrative of the Native Honey Bee of Arnhem Land.
For the first time in its history, the National Designer Award x David Jones, supported by Australia Post, featured ten Australian designers on a premium runway at Tuesday's show - celebrating their creativity and excellence displayed within the first eight years of their business.
Speaking to Style Up, founder and creative director of LIANDRA, Liandra Gaykamangu, shared that her nomination was a testament to the dedication behind her brand.
"We have been working so incredibly hard to be in this position and it is such a huge honour to be a finalist in the National Design Awards," she said.
"It is recognition and validation that we are doing something right and I am truly so honoured to be amongst industry peers that I admire too."
Based in the Northern Territory, LIANDRA stands firm as a trailblazer in the Australian fashion landscape, last year she was recognised for her talent with Marie Clare's Designer of the Year Award and participated in her first solo runway at Australian Fashion Week 2024 (AFW24).
Having established her brand in 2018, Gaykamangu is quickly carving out a name for herself in the Australian contemporary fashion landscape, as she proudly represents her community.
Committed to upholding cultural integrity, Gaykamangu aims to honour sacred Yolŋu stories by using fashion as a vessel to connect, ensuring every design is a thoughtful reflection of her culture, family and values.
"As a Yolngu woman I feel like to commercialise our stories for the sake of selling clothes isn't what I am trying to do," she said.
"My vision has been to use fashion as a vessel to connect people and whilst I lean into elements of my culture, family and our history I also look for universal threads that can tie people together."
Speaking on the collection she showcased at AFW24 and this year's PMFF, she shared the design process behind her vision and the designs she chose to feature.
"Whilst our Essence Collection was inspired by the native honey-bee, a culturally significant totem for my clan, I wanted to represent and share that perspective from a broader angle and use the concept of a "busy bee" as a bigger conversation and metaphor for how busy we tend to be in the modern world," said Gaykamangu.
Coming from a creative family, Gaykamangu is dedicated to sharing her vibrant Yolŋu culture to the rest of Australia and the world, while staying true to her values.
"I am fortunate to have many close family members who are incredible artists and my family and I have discussed collaborating, but I don't feel like that can happen until we make a plan together and deeply understand what we want to achieve and what stories we feel are appropriate to share," she said.
"It isn't just about selling clothing, it's about also keeping myself accountable and always maintaining cultural integrity and transparency."
More than being a fashion label, the brand goes beyond crafting high-quality swim and resort wear.
With sustainability embedded in its core, Gaykamangu explained how LIANDRA has given back to Country and community in more ways than one.
"We approach sustainability with a holistic approach," she shared.
"By this I mean that we care about our country, culture and community and are always looking for ways to create economic empowerment, reconciliation and self-determination.
"In the last six months alone we have created opportunities for 20 First Nations people from remote, regional and urban centres."
Gaykamangu shared she achieved this through meaningful mentorship and paid work opportunities across various projects and partnerships in the Top End.
Speaking on the brand's focus on caring for Country, she said: "Our packaging is all home-compostable, our mailer-bags are reusable and/or recyclable and we always look to use the most sustainable fabric we can source to bring our garments to life; such as our viscose satin-spandex fabric that also has a Forest Stewardship Certification."
Gaykamangu, who was once a teacher, left her old life behind to take a leap into an industry where she felt she could have a greater impact.
"I love education and that is why our brand is so heavily layered in learning and connection, but for me, I found teaching was too restrictive in what I needed to feel fulfilled personally," she said.
Imparting some wise words to those who may find themselves tossing up the idea of pursuing a livelihood within the creative space, Gaykamangu said: "I have many learnt lessons, but I think the most important is to invest in your social capital."
"Put yourself out there and network and surround yourself with people that you can tap into for guidance, support and mentorship... Don't just focus on your industry, look to network across other industries, inspirational leaders and complementary skillsets."
Encouraging budding designers and creatives to take the leap, she told Style Up: "Some of the best things to ever happen for my brand and myself have come from saying yes and figuring out the rest later."
Building on her achievements, LIANDRA has broadened its offerings to include a diverse range of resort wear.
The brand has also teamed up with Pared Eyewear to create a collection featuring frames adorned with a hand-drawn bee - a nod to the brand's Essence collection.
True to the LIANDRA aesthetic, the collaboration embraces bold, vibrant and colourful designs.
With some exciting things that are yet to be revealed - we can't wait to see what's next for LIANDRA.