Six Western Australian Indigenous-owned businesses have been offered the opportunity to showcase their styles and products in retail spaces at Karrinyup Shopping Centre.
This is the second year in which Karrinyup has workshopped this initiative, which spotlights First Nations businesses during NAIDOC Week.
From Sunday, July 5 to Sunday, July 12, the six brands – covering fashion, homewares, body care, sleepwear and accessories – will sell their products in specially styled retail spaces across the centre.
Among them is LaJala The Label, the Boorloo-based sleepwear brand returning to Karrinyup for its second year.
“Being a part of this activation for the second year running gives our brand and our culture a space to be seen and celebrated,” brand founder Tessa Browne said.
“Every piece we create tells a story of Noongar Boodja, and being able to share that with the wider community during NAIDOC Week is something really special.”
The line-up also features luxury fashion label Kirrikin, founded by proud Wonnarua woman Amanda Healy, whose digitally printed silk and cashmere pieces carry the work of Aboriginal artists globally; Deadly Denim, the upcycled denim label by proud Nyungar Yorga woman Rebecca Rickard, which reimagines recycled jackets as wearable art; Kaarli, the Aboriginal-owned socks, ties and bucket hats label born from a family of boomerang-makers; body and home care brand Jalbi Australia; and Kamia, a contemporary homewares and accessories label by proud Erubam Le woman of Erub, Shannon.
Across the week, a series of paintings by Aboriginal artist Joan Margaret Martin (nee Lewis) will be projected onto Karrinyup’s West Deck façade. These are works traditionally painted in earth tones, telling stories of creation, birth, marriage and connection to land.
The projection marks the legacy of a well-known Wadjuk artist and the enduring connection between family, culture and Country.
Martin’s grandson, established Wadjuk artist and cultural advisor Justin Martin, from Boorloo Boodja, shares that same connection in his own work. This includes an original piece created for Karrinyup as part of the centre's 2022 redevelopment.
"We are honoured to hold space for these remarkable First Nations businesses and to put a spotlight on the Indigenous leaders shaping fashion, art and culture in Western Australia," said Karrinyup general manager Trudy Cook said.
"It is a meaningful opportunity for our community to connect with and immerse themselves in the vitality, richness and diversity of First Nations cultures.”