After the success of the Kimberley Aboriginal Fashion Textiles Art Program for 2024, StyleUp spoke with Program Coordinator Belinda Cook, discussing the growth of the event and where she would like to see it expand moving forward.

Created as a Broome Fringe Festival event in 2022, in 2024 the return of the Kimberley Aboriginal Fashion Textiles Art (KAFTA) held on June 2 in Broome saw the event take place alongside an industry workshop program and a fashion pop-up.

Since its launch, KAFTA has grown to become a much-needed platform for Kimberley designers, artists, and young people to develop and present their fashion and textiles to a regional audience.

Recognised as being one Broome's most popular fashion events, welcoming designers and creatives from across the Kimberly region, Cook shares that KAFTA's presence and popularity has continued to grow. With each year welcoming new creatives, designers and team members.

"It's such a privilege to work alongside so many innovative and impressive creative leaders of the Kimberley. It's a growing team of creatives, led by a team of; Michael Torres, founder of BlakLens and a new Kimberley Media Hub; Eunice Yu manager of Nagula Jarndu and significant Yawuru cultural and business leader who ensures we are building transparent and culturally safe spaces as we grow to support the aspirations of Kimberley people in textiles and fashion," she said.

Cook said the creatives involved in the 2024 fashion parade and pop-up were carefully selected, each specialising in their own creative niche.

"Tara Gower, previously with Bangarra, who has established Indigenous dance group Burrb Wanggarragu Nurlu to bring the performative element to the runway; Kartika Christophers, our model and stage manager has ensured models return each year and young people who arrive from community walk with confidence and pride, her many years of experience training the Kimberley Girl program and in event production have been critical to our success," she said.

"Our community-based co-ordinators - Aggie Pigram (Bardi region), Bianca Nargoodah (Fitzroy Crossing) and Bianca Long (East Kimberley) support their communities and workshop facilitation on the ground and that has seen the significant increase in participation this year, as well as leading with their own respective collections.

"It's the collaborative approach we are taking that is growing KAFTA and it's getting better every year, that's what I really love. Working with so many talented and committed people, it keeps you invested. We are growing together, everyone is so committed, it's really inspiring."

When discussing the involvement and level of dedication from this year's cohort of designers, Cook notes she has been continually inspired by the designer's eagerness to grow their business and truly use the event for both its runway and networking opportunities.

"I'm really inspired by the agency taken by our designers to grow their own businesses, everyone takes it very seriously and works together to support one another," she said.

Looking ahead, Cook said she is looking forward to seeing KAFTA grow in both size and popularity but also aiming to ensure that the vision for KAFTA remains community-driven.

"We want to take the time to bring everyone back together to map the coming years, its rolled and grown so quickly in just three years and it's important that the vision for KAFTA is community driven. In the last days at our business fashion forum, designers and artists expressed a hope for KAFTA to be incorporated and continue to work with Kimberley community-based creatives, to grow this industry," she told StyleUp.

"We aim to continue to steadily build a sustainable program that can support designers and artists to develop their skills and capacity, to see established and successful businesses based here in the Kimberley region.

"The industry needs to grow here, Kimberley youth need positive creative pathways that complement the incredible Indigenous-led visual and performing arts industries. We want to see industry expertise come to us, and we want Kimberley mob to be recognised nationally for their innovation and leadership in this space."

Aside from the event's growth, Cook is also eager to see an increase in the level of funding and resources designated to the Indigenous fashion and creative sector.

"We feel that KAFTA presents a new model that could be replicated by other regions with their own cultural and creative leaders, building up real pathways for people within their communities and strengthening the Indigenous Fashion Sector," she said.

"I hope that there is an injection of funding and resources into this sector for training, infrastructure and events, that is what will cement this growing industry. It's such a brilliant space and I'm grateful to be part of the journey with the KAFTA team."

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