Simone Arnol has been crowned the 2024 Fashion Designer Award winner at the National Indigenous Fashion Awards.

Presented by Country Road since 2020, the Fashion Designer Award recognises an individual designer of original fashion apparel who has excelled both creatively and commercially. The award considers excellence in fashion design, styling and product quality and originality in addition to commercial capability, cultural expression and storytelling, along with environmental and social contribution.

Receiving a 12-month business mentorship with Country Road, Arnol is able to complete this in-person and online, with Country Road supporting travel expenses up to $5,000.

The program is tailored to the needs and focus areas defined by the mentee, covering areas such as marketing, product development, sales and finance and sustainability, supporting Arnol to further build her career.

Previous renowned winners including Julie Shaw of MAARA Collective, Denni Francisco of Ngali and Lillardia Briggs-Houston.

Arnol said she was thrilled to take home the award.

"It is a great privilege to receive this prestigious award, and I am so thankful to be recognised by this year's judges. As part of the Fashion Designer Award, I can't wait to start my 12-month mentorship with Country Road and it is an honour to have the opportunity to work, learn and collaborate with them," she said.

Inspired by the many Elders and other Traditional Owners that have been a part of her life through her career in law and Native Title, Arnol continues to expand her horizons as an artist, experimenting on different mediums with each piece keeping within cultural and mainstream sustainability practices.

"This award means a lot to me I have been in the fashion industry until 2016 and I have not yet been able to directly, showcase my works in a key metropolitan runway so hopefully winning this award will provide this opportunity," she said.

"I always say Black has always been green and that goes back to our old people, they have been caring for our country for over 65 thousand years and I use re-purposed materials in my designs and traditional die. So, if I can carry that same message through fashion, and inspire other people to do so I would love to get that message across."

Country Road Brand Sustainability Manager, Fabia Pryor, shared that the company was incredibly excited to be a part of the NIFA and Country to Couture for the fifth year running.

"We feel honoured to be a part of both the NIFA and Country to Couture for what is set to be their biggest year yet! The showcase presents incredible opportunities to celebrate and learn from First Nations artists and designers and we look forward to connecting with the Fashion Designer award winner as we welcome them on a 12-month industry mentorship," she said.

Initially launched in 2020, NIFA is proudly presented by Indigenous Fashion Projects (IFP) and supported by the Northern Territory Government through Northern Territory Major Events Company. Each award category is proudly supported by industry partners: Canberra Centre, Eastland, QIC, Helen Kaminski, RMIT and Country Road.

"I am most looking forward towards the mentorship with Country Road, working with them around conceptual design and also bringing that to life and that process, also elevating that conceptual design, bringing it to that next level," said Arnol.

With both past and present collections combining modern designs with powerful narratives, Arnol's ability to convey true messages of her history and her people through her craft is what NIFA judges noticed and celebrated.

Having been showcasing at Cairns Indigenous Art Fair's Fashion Performance for the last 5 years and co-curated this premier event for the past three years as well as being the first Indigenous Designer at The Australian Eco Fashion Week in Perth, 2017, Arnol is constantly expanding her field of work and the projects she does choose to engage in.

"I believe the Indigenous Fashion is getting better every year and it is so exciting to see it makes my heart so full. I cant wait to see what the Indigenous fashion world will look like," she told National Indigenous Times.

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