Inspired by her Yirrganydji heritage and connection to Lockhart River, Musgrave Station, and Quandamooka Country, First Nations designer Nicole Enoch-Chatfield created her brand, Goompi's Girl, out of pure passion for culture and craft.
This week the talented designer debuted her garments on the Country to Couture runway, showcasing the brand's new Kanyarra collection.
This Kanyarra collection highlights strength and ongoing connection as Aboriginal women "on Country", focusing on cultural sustainability and upcycling denim to reduce textile waste.
The crocodile (Kanyarra) symbolizes returning home, safety, and roots. This collection reflects Nicole's creative expression, cultural identity, and journey of rebirth through incorporating cultural elements into sustainable textile art and storytelling.
"I have been a creative for most of my life but a designer/creative has been relatively new. I was fortunate to participate in CIAF virtual fashion performance in 2020 with Bana Bulmba and in July 2024 CIAF Country is Speaking: Light the Fire and then onto Cairns Fashion Week which delivered a traditional runaway experience," she said.
"In 2024 I applied online to the Indigenous Fashion Projects Country to Couture and was honoured to receive the phone call that my application was successful in 2025.
"The Country to Couture team were amazing before, during and after, sending through a schedule on what was needed at particular dates, as well as online chats keeping designers up to date. The support and the logistics during the day and leading to event was very professional, culturally safe and uplifting."
Chatfield shared how the collection tells a story of identity, strength, survival, and deep cultural memory.
"As a Yirrganydji woman, debuting at Country to Couture is more than fashion—it's a story of returning. A return to Country. A return to culture. A return to myself," she said.
"Kanyarra, tells a story of identity, strength, survival, and deep cultural memory. The crocodile, is a powerful and significant totem in our saltwater Country, that moves through these garments not just as a symbol, but as a guide.
"She glides silently through time, reminding me that no matter how far I roam, I can always return home, back to country, back to my birthplace, and a return to reconnecting to my elders and community. She's a metaphor for resilience and instinct. For going back to where it all began.
"Each piece is upcycled, breathing new life into what was once discarded. Just like our old stories, our old ways; they're not gone, just waiting to be re-awakened. Through my hands, these fabrics are transformed. They become the carriers of story."
Enoch-Chatfield said that greater opportunities for Indigenous creatives would be very rewarding to see.
"Maybe an overseas opportunity for First Nations designers (emerging and established) to showcase on a runway in London, Paris or New Zealand or Canada where a First Nations cultural exchange could occur (generate international or global collaborations intertwining of cultures through music, fashion and dance)," she said.
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