Badu Art Centre artist Patimah Warria shows off the pink and black Sawurr dress. Photo: Supplied.
In a sea of fast fashion and even faster trend cycles, the Badu Art Centre is putting out clothes that tell a story – a story of life in the Torres Strait islands, of female artists and of feeling good in your body.
In support of First Nations fashion designers, the Badu Art Centre’s Bami Thaynamul (Rags to Riches) has received a $60,000 grant to expand production lines and fund vital equipment upgrades.
Badu Art Centre manager Harriet Gaffney said that at the core of Bami Thaynamul was the Sawurr dress, a size-inclusive frock with screen-printed artwork.
“We started our little fashion aspirations last year before CIAF (Cairns Indigenous Art Fair),” she said.
“We put together a little run of a one-size-fits-all frock, which we screen-printed on, and when we took everyone down to CIAF, we sold the last one off my back.”
She said although the dresses could be worn by anyone, they were created with bigger bodies in mind.
“We were thinking about our own market, like Torres Strait bodies, and the national average body now is size 14, so we were working with that in mind,” Ms Gaffney said.
“There’s plenty of clothes for skinny girls out there; we wanted to make some funky, functional gear that can be dressed up or down with bigger bodies, because it’s a unique market.
“The screen prints we’re using are telling unique stories to Badu, and it’s also really just understanding that women with bodies above a size 12, we like a nice frock as well, so we want to be able to produce them.”
Ms Gaffney said the funding would allow the business to continue setting up a textile studio, as well as partner with Publisher Textiles in Sydney to develop new screen-print designs and hone production techniques.
“One of the things we were really aware of, too, is that there’s not as many female artists who are known in the Torres Strait,” she said.
“There is this really cottage sort of industry of home sewers in the Torres Strait; women are already out there sewing tablecloths and dresses for their families and their islands, and we wanted to draw in some of those skills that are already in the local community and provide people with employment opportunities.”
Bami Thaynamul is one of eight fashion businesses in Queensland to share in the State Government’s $418,000 First Nations Fashion and Textiles Accelerator Fund.
Minister for Education and the Arts John-Paul Langbroek said Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander fashion and textiles was a growing industry within the state’s vibrant arts sector.
“We recognise the need for a thriving fashion and textile industry that is ready for the opportunities associated with the Brisbane 2032 Olympic and Paralympic Games, which will be an economic game-changer for artists and creative businesses,” he said.
Ms Gaffney said with the funding and new opportunities this year, they hoped to create a wider variety of pieces while staying true to their size-inclusive and Torres Strait-centric style.
“Our ultimate aim is to come up with a capsule collection, so there’ll be a couple of simple dresses, wide-legged trousers, a tunic top and that sort of stuff,” Ms Gaffney said.
“We’re really excited that they (the government) have faith in our ideas and our program that we’ve laid out, and we’re very much looking forward to getting on with it.”
