Known for the its gorgeous garments and stunning backdrop, the Kimberley Aboriginal Fashion Textiles Art fashion runway (KAFTA) has wowed crowds yet again this year.

Taking place on June 1, this year the runway event further built on the growing interest and engagement in textile and fashion developments within WA and nationwide.

In response to calls from Kimberley art professionals and regional communities for locally-based creative and fashion industry pathways, KAFTA created a platform for local creatives to develop and present their fashion and textiles. KAFTA has and continues to inspire Kimberley textile printers, fashion makers and designers as well as creatives in performance and photography year after year.

In 2025 the KAFTA runway showcased the work of 23 designers - with five from the Fitzroy Valley.

One designer who was thrilled to showcase her designs on KAFTA runway was Bianca Nargoodah, who with the help of Marra Worra Worra Aboriginal Corporation - and their Community Development Program (CDP) - was able to head to Broome for the runway event.

While this was not her first time showcasing her designs on the KAFTA runway, the talented designer did debut her new 'Coming Together' collection.

"The collection was about coming together, coming together from five different language groups, so it's a shared space, and coming together into a shared space where you can talk and have a laugh and create," Nargoodah told Style Up.

"There's nothing here for young girls ages between 16 to 25, 30. And I've done KAFTA previously and I thought it would be good for the CDP participants and also the younger girls to feel good about themselves, so it wasn't just about the fashion and design, there was more personal development going into it."

When speaking on where she hopes to further grow and develop her collections and broader business goals, Nargoodah says that she is hoping to branch out into further communities.

"My next goal is going out to the communities, taking the fashion and design project out to communities so they can either look at it as a business revenue or further themselves, so whether it's designing garments or on the catwalk - so for the younger girls, just boosting their confidence and getting them looking beyond community life, beyond the small town," she said.

General manager of programs at Marra Worra Worra Aboriginal Corporation, Nicola Angell, shared how rewarding it was to see women from the community and Nargoodah be involved in a fashion event such as this - further propelling them into the fashion industry.

"It was a CDP project with Marra Worra Worra wanting to engage some of the young women in the community in the fashion industry, and then we had a partnership but we also wanted to involve some young women from our night place that were attending our night place," she said.

"It was just so beautiful to see the collection and the models. It was really beautiful to see the collection come into fruition and then be showcased at that beautiful location and that beautiful event that just gets bigger and better every year."

Angell also expressed how seeing model and community member Kieara Holloway walk the runway at KAFTA was rewarding to watch.

"We had one of our young women who comes to the night places regularly, Kieara Holloway and so she modelled for the first time. And just to see her smile and how proud she was of herself at the end of the night was just beautiful. It was everything. It was just an amazing experience for her."

Holloway said that whilst she was nervous when she arrived, once she hit the the runway she felt more confident.

"It was my first time at KAFTA so I was nervous. I got nervous when i saw the people, but once I walked I wanted to do it again," she said.

Angell said she would love to see Marra Worra Worra collaborate with KAFTA again in the future.

"It's the first time that Marra Worra Worra has had a collection and I'm sure it's the first of many. I'm sure that our involvement in KAFTA will grow," she said.

"I certainly hope that it will and just provide more opportunities for both young men and young women to be involved in the fashion industry. I just think it's such an exciting area."

Taking place as part of Broome Fringe Festival, KAFTA is completely Kimberley-run, engaging local businesses to provide equipment and event services.

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