Homegrown Labels We Can’t Wait to See on the Country to Couture Runway
- Words by Emma Mulholland
Call us biased but we reckon the Country to Couture runway shows are one of the best bits of Darwin Aboriginal Art Fair. Not only do you get all the big names in Indigenous fashion, you also get 21 collections packed into two incredible shows. It’s a vibrant, exciting and unpretentious design showcase fuelled by stories of the world’s oldest living culture and creative techniques that have been honed over tens of thousands of years.
Darwin might not be one of the world’s fashion capitals, but the Top End has riches you won’t find in Milan. It’s all part of the annual art fair best known as DAAF, which brings thousands of gallerists and design lovers to Darwin Convention Centre on Larrakia Country. This year’s fair runs from 6 to 11 August and includes workshops for emerging designers, as well as panel discussions and artist talks.
Peppermint is not only a very enthusiastic sponsor of the event (ahem, a Premium Media Partner), we also happen to be a founding member of Indigenous Fashion Projects, the organisation that runs Country to Couture and helps emerging designers get a start in the industry.
And that’s about the only excuse we need to introduce you to the First Nations labels whose collections we’ll be eagerly awaiting from our front-row Country to Couture seats…
above NAGULA JARNDU below DATLARWA DESIGNS (BOTH PHOTOGRAPHED BY DYLAN BUCKEE)
GAMMIN THREADS
Founder Tahnee Edwards, a Yorta Yorta and Taungurung woman, knows how to have fun with fashion. You might know her label for its playful hoodies and tees, but Tahnee also releases more elaborate creations (see her Deadly Matriarchs bodycon dress, above). As Tahnee puts it: “Gammin Threads is a love letter to my culture and to blackfellas everywhere.” For Country to Couture, she’s collaborating with artist Jarra Karalinar Steel on a collection inspired by iilk (eels).
DATLARWA DESIGNS x MOYDRA DUWUN x AKIRA ISOGAWA
Specialising in resortwear, Datlarwa Designs x Moydra Duwun is a collaboration between Larrakia woman Chantelle Amos and her mother, Yvonne Odegaard, a Senior Larrakia Elder. Their work is set to get even more collaborative for Country to Couture, as the designers will be working with none other than fashion luminary Akira Isogawa. Called “Dungalaba”, the collection is inspired by the saltwater crocodile, Yvonne’s clan group totem. Expect story-filled prints and contemporary shapes with a Japanese influence.
MAGPIE GOOSE
We’re big fans of Magpie Goose and we can’t wait to see what founders Amanda Hayman (Wakka Wakka/Kalkadoon) and Troy Casey (Kamilaroi) have planned for their Country to Couture show. They’ll be featuring a collection designed with Ewyenper Atwatye Artists, a textile design group based in Mparntwe (Alice Springs) – expect natural fibres and designs that celebrate the quirks of bush life.
DELVENE COCKATOO-COLLINS
Creator of lovely hand-printed linen, artist and designer Delvene Cockatoo-Collins draws inspiration from her home on North Stradbroke Island in Quandamooka Country. She’ll be showing her much-lauded collection, “Dilly Bag and Mat Making”, an ode to the traditional crafts practised by her grandmother, Bethel.
NAGULA JARNDU
If you fancy your threads printed with stingrays and goannas, you’re going to like what you see from Nagula Jarndu, an art centre based on Yawuru Country (Broome). The group is heading to Darwin with a collection called “gujarra yangarrjin” (“two coming together”), which pays homage to the land we stand on when we commit to each other. Another thing to love? Nagula Jarndu produces its range in small, low-waste batches and turns off-cuts into neckpieces and earrings.
COUNTRY TO COUTURE WILL BE HELD ON 6 AUGUST 2024 AT DARWIN CONVENTION CENTRE ON LARRAKIA COUNTRY; TICKETS ARE AVAILABLE ONLINE. THE EVENT IS PART OF DARWIN ABORIGINAL ART FAIR, WHICH RUNS FROM 6 TO 11 AUGUST 2024. FOR MORE INFORMATION, GO TO DAAF.COM.AU.
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Look, I don’t want to make anyone panic but IT’S DECEMBER!!! If you’re planning to give homemade gifts, you’re going to have to act fast. …
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🌻 The Paddington 🌻
This is a much-loved staple, created for Issue 50 in 2021. We love seeing the #PeppermintPaddingtonTop continually popping up in our feeds!
How stunning is our model Elon MelaninGoddessEfon – she told us it was one of the first times she had been asked to come to a shoot with her natural hair. 🌻
We worked with South African patternmaker Sarah Steenkamp of @FrenchNavyNow_ to create this wardrobe essential – the perfect puff-sleeve blouse. Raglan sleeves make it the ultimate beginner sew, plus the gorgeous back buttons let you add your own personal twist.
Pattern via the link in bio! 🪡
Photos: @KelleySheenan
Fabric: @Spoonflower
Model: MelaninGoddessEfon
“In the 1940’s, Norwegians made and wore red pointed hats with a tassel as a form of visual protest against Nazi occupation of their country. Within two years, the Nazis made these protest hats illegal and punishable by law to wear, make, or distribute. As purveyors of traditional craft, we felt it appropriate to revisit this design.”
Crafters have often been at the heart of many protest movements, often serving as a powerful means of political expression. @NeedleAndSkein, a yarn store in Minnesota, are helping to mobilise the craftivists of the world with a ‘Melt The Ice’ knitting pattern created by @Yarn_Cult (with a crochet pattern too), as a way of peaceful protest.
The proceeds from the $5 pattern will go to local immigrant aid organisations – or you can donate without buying the pattern.
Raise those needles, folks – art and craft can change the world. 🧶
Link in bio for the pattern.
Images: @Gather_Fiber @NeedleAndSkein @a2ina2 @KyraGiggles Sandi.204 @WhatTracyMakes AllieKnitsAway Auntabwi2
#MeltTheIce #Craftivism #Knitting #CraftForChange
TWO WEEKS TO GO! 🤩
"The most important shift is moving from volume-led buying to value-led curation – choosing fewer, better products with strong ethics, considered production and meaningful stories. Retailers have real influence here: what you buy signals what you stand for. At Life Instyle, this means using the event to discover and invest in small-scale, planet-considerate brands that align with your values and your customer’s conscience. Consumers don’t need more things; they need better things, and retailers play a key role in selecting, contextualising, and championing why those products matter."
Only two more weeks until @Life_Instyle – Australia`s leading boutique retail trade show. If you own a store, don`t miss this event! Connect with designers, source exquisite – and mindful – products, and see firsthand why this is Australia’s go-to trade show for creatives and retailers alike. And it`s free! ✨️
Life Instyle – Sydney/Eora Country
14-17 February 2026
ICC, Darling Harbour
Photos: @Samsette
#LifeInstyle #SustainableShopping #SustainableShop #RetailTradeEvent
Calling all sewists! 📞
Have you made the Peppermint Waratah Wrap Dress yet? Call *1800 I NEED THIS NOW to get making!
This gorgeous green number was modelled (and made) by the fabulous Lisa of @Tricky.Pockets 🙌🏼
If you need a nudge, @ePrintOnline are offering Peppermint sewists a huge 🌟 30% off ALL A0 printing 🌟 when you purchase the Special Release Waratah Wrap Dress pattern – how generous is that?!
Head to the link in bio now 📞
*Not a real number in case that wasn`t clear 😂
#PeppermintWaratahWrapDress #PeppermintPatterns #SewingPattern #WrapDress #WrapDressPattern
8 Things to Know About January 26 - from @ClothingTheGaps:
Before you celebrate, take the time to learn the truth. January 26 is not a day of unity it’s a Day of Mourning and Survival for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples.
It marks the beginning of invasion, dispossession, and ongoing colonial violence. It’s time for truth-telling, not whitewashed history.
Stand in solidarity. Learn. Reflect. Act.
✊🏽 Blog written by Yorta Yorta woman Taneshia Atkinson.
🔗 Link in bio of @ClothingTheGaps to read the full blog
#ChangeTheDate #InvasionDay #SurvivalDay #AlwaysWasAlwaysWillBe #ClothingTheGaps
As the world careens towards AI seeping into our feeds, finds and even friend-zones, it`s becoming increasingly hard to ignore.
We just wanted to say that here at Peppermint, we are choosing to not print or publish AI-generated art, photos, words, videos or content.
Merriam-Webster’s human editors chose `slop` as the 2025 Word of the Year – they define it as “digital content of low quality that is produced usually in quantity by means of artificial intelligence.” The problem is, as AI increases in quality, it`s becoming more and more difficult to ascertain what`s real and what`s not.
Let`s be clear here, AI absolutely has its place in science, in climate modelling, in medical breakthroughs, in many places... but not in replacing the work of artists, writers and creatives.
Can we guarantee that everything we publish is AI-free? Honestly, not really. We know we are not using it to create content, but we are also relying on the artists, makers and contributors we work with, as well as our advertisers, to supply imagery, artwork or words created by humans. AI features are also creeping into programs and apps too, making it difficult to navigate. But we will do our best to avoid it and make a stand for the artists and creatives who have had their work stolen and used to train AI machines, and those who are now losing work as they are replaced by this energy-sapping, environment-destroying magic wand.
Could using it help our productivity and bottom line? Sure. And as a small business in a difficult landscape, that`s a hard one to turn down. We know other publishers who use AI to write stories, create recipes, produce photo shoots... but this one is important to us.
`Touch grass` was also a Merriam-Webster Word of the Year. We`ll happily stick with that as a theme, thanks very much. 🌿
