Quandamooka Artist Delvene Cockatoo-Collins Wins National Indigenous Fashion Award
Delvene Cockatoo-Collins, a Quandamooka artist known for using locally harvested materials, has been named fashion designer of the year at the seventh annual National Indigenous Fashion Awards (NIFAs). The awards ceremony took place Wednesday evening.
Core Practice Rooted in Tradition
Cockatoo-Collins emphasized the importance of sustainable practices in her work, stating, “Take only what you need.” This philosophy stems from a story passed down through the Nunukul, Ngugi, and Goenpul peoples of Minjerribah (North Stradbroke Island), originally published by her grandmother in 1974. The story warns against overconsumption, depicting two individuals who gather too much honey and are transformed into dugongs as a consequence.
“That story … is just as powerful now, especially in this time of overconsumption and fast fashion,” Cockatoo-Collins said during her acceptance speech. “We are the answer to that.”
Unique Creative Process on Country
Working from her studio on Minjerribah, Cockatoo-Collins creates her pieces by filing shells into adornments, hand-dyeing and screen-printing fabrics, and often exaggerating traditional mat-weaving techniques learned from her mother. Her sons assist in gathering and processing local plant fibres like tulipwood and cotton tree, ensuring limited production runs. She stated, “I know that what I’m doing at home on Country, I couldn’t do anywhere else.”
Recognizing Legacy and Kinship
The NIFAs celebrated seven makers across various categories, including fashion, traditional adornment, textile design, and business. Garments showcased at the event served as living records of kinship and memory.
Other Award Winners Highlight Cultural Significance
Lillardia Briggs-Houston, a Wiradjuri, Yorta Yorta, and Gangalu designer, won the textile design award with a piece featuring hand-turned silk dyed with river red gum collected from her daughter’s birthing tree. She emphasized the importance of First Nations fashion, stating, “There’s a huge legacy behind First Nations fashion that hasn’t been highlighted for a long time.”
Lucy Simpson, a Yuwaalaraay designer, received the wearable art award for a necklace crafted from glass river-mussel shells, inspired by the loss she felt witnessing the drought-stricken Murray-Darling River in 2009. Simpson expressed her commitment to giving back to the environment, stating, “As a freshwater woman, I have no right to say I belong to a place unless I’m giving back. The idea is to create something beautiful.”