Kirrikin has marked 10 years by participating in a historic Fashion and Cultural Exchange in Chile, presenting a vibrant program of fashion shows alongside discussions centred on Indigenous Australian culture and business.
Proud Wonnarua woman and founder of Kirrikin, Amanda Healy, established the brand with authenticity in mind after noticing a lack of representation in the market for genuine Indigenous Australian products.
Now in Chile alongside a delegation, she is celebrating her business success in a highly competitive industry, overcoming obstacles that once threatened to stand in her way.
"We are celebrating our 10-year anniversary so it was important to me to show the development of our brand over the years, to showcase the broad range of beautiful First Nations art we use, and really just to acknowledge that we have survived in a really tough environment," Ms Healy told National Indigenous Times' Style Up.
"A lot has happened in the world in the last 10 years, and a number of things conspired against us as an industry and as a business, but we survived!
"To me it underlines the fact that we have a good strong product, that acts to remind people we (as First Nations people) are still here, not just surviving but thriving."
With the Australian Embassy in Chile reaching out some months ago, Ms Healy and the Kirrikin team leapt at the opportunity to take Indigenous Australian culture and fashion to South America.
Thrilled to see the collaboration come to fruition, Ms Healy spoke on the significance of the First Nations Fashion Show and Cultural Exchange.
"Chile is special though because of the direct interaction with the local Indigenous peoples," Ms Healy said.
Also a colonised nation, Chile consists of 11 surviving Indigenous groups with Ms Healy acknowledging the shared history between the South American nation and Australia.
With collaboration front of mind, the Kirrikin team were eager to work alongside local First Nations shoe and jewellery designers "to connect and inspire".
"We are working with a couple of local designers to ensure their products are seen on the stage for our shows," Ms Healy said.
Partnering with Mapuche jewellery designer Celeste Painepan and Mapuche shoe brand Zapatería Nain, Kirrikin delved into their archives to showcase their best designs over the past decade.
Aligning with a special holiday celebrated in Chile - the National Day of Indigenous Peoples - the three-day program delivered two fashion shows and opened dialogue through art, workshops and movies.
At the event's launch, Australian Ambassador to Chile, Andrew Martin told Style Up the importance of intercultural collaboration in celebrating 80 years of diplomatic relations between the two countries.
"Chile's got a strong history and a strong culture and a range of very diverse Indigenous groups and what we found is that there's so many similarities, interests, challenges and opportunities for these Indigenous groups to share with one another," Mr Martin said.
"I think the idea of an exchange like that we've had today is that we can see that there's so much that we can continue to learn and share with each other ... to see that collaboration and cooperation between these two First Nations cultures was fantastic."
Ms Healyh said as global markets continue to shift and evolve, forging meaningful international relationships has never been more important.
"I think it is great we are opening doors throughout the world with our Australian brand of soft diplomacy, it allows many businesses (not just Indigenous) to grow into previously untapped markets and economies," she said.
"Whilst there is a fair amount of global uncertainty at the moment, it will settle down, and we can return to business as usual, building our experience and brands throughout the world.
"Kirrikin has put in the hard yards to build the business, but now needs to look further afield to grow our business, and these exchanges are worth the effort for that reason."
Warrikal sponsored Style Up's attendance at the historic Indigenous cultural exchange.