Stories Carried Through

Can you tell us about your creative practice?

I’m a Quandamooka artist from Minjerribah, living and working in Goompi. Textiles have become the primary way I share stories of Country, family and culture.

Every garment begins with a story; often an oral history, written account, family cultural object or knowledge carried through generations. Through textile design, I create wearable works that invite people to carry those stories with them.

How did your journey into fashion begin?

My practice evolved from creating textile artworks and hand-printing fabrics and homewares. I began making garments for myself and family before people started asking to purchase them.

This eventually led to presenting collections with mob in fashion at Melbourne Fashion Festival and the Cairns Indigenous Art Fair runway in 2022. Throughout that journey, my focus has remained the same: creating garments that carry stories of Country and family.

How have Country and family shaped your work?

Everything begins with Country and family.

The stories I share have been entrusted to me through generations of Quandamooka women. My mother, grandmother and great-grandmother shaped the way I see the world and my responsibility to continue these stories with care and integrity.

Many of my patterns come from historical family objects, including Gulay, or dilly bags, mats and woven forms. Every collection carries a narrative rather than simply a visual pattern.

Is there a collection that feels especially significant?

Dilly Bag and Mat Making is deeply meaningful because it draws from my grandmother’s handwritten words, Gulay patterns made by her grandmother and the mat-making traditions of my mother.

Some of my great-grandmother Nuningha’s finely woven dilly bags are more than 110 years old. Their craftsmanship continues to inspire my practice, creating a conversation across generations through cloth.

What inspires your new work?

My current collection, Take Only What You Need, is inspired by a story my grandmother published in 1974 about taking only what you need from Country.

Its lessons about responsibility, reciprocity and caring for Country feel even more relevant today.

What does receiving the National Indigenous Fashion Award mean to you?

Receiving the award is deeply humbling. My practice has developed quietly over many years through persistence, curiosity and a commitment to cultural storytelling.

It also acknowledges First Nations fashion as a powerful art form that carries culture, history and contemporary Indigenous voices onto national and international stages.

What are you hoping to gain from the Country Road mentorship?

I’m looking forward to learning more about product development, retail strategy and production partnerships while sharing the perspectives I bring as an independent First Nations designer.

I want to scale thoughtfully while supporting local manufacturing and preserving the cultural integrity of every collection. A meaningful outcome would be stronger business knowledge, lasting relationships and greater confidence in taking my work to broader audiences.

What are you excited to explore next?

I’ll soon take Take Only What You Need to a new international audience alongside other First Nations designers.

Looking ahead, I want to create collections that move between gallery and fashion contexts while continuing to tell my family’s stories in ways that honour where they come from.

What do you hope people take away from your work?

I hope people gain a deeper appreciation for the stories held within Country and the strength of First Nations knowledge across generations.

When someone feels connected to a garment’s story, or pauses to think differently about our relationship with Country, then the work has done what it was intended to do.

Explore Delvene’s collection here