Local designer and Gooreng Gooreng woman Julie Appo will join forces with Melbourne's fashion guru Linda Jackson AO to bring her “wearable art” on to the Moncrieff runway in Strut: First Nations Fashion.
The creative collaboration between the designers will be held at the Moncrieff Entertainment Centre on Saturday 4 February and will feature local models showcasing a mix of Julie's hand-painted and plain garments which have been inspired by the Burnett River rocks.
Julie has multiple degrees in fashion and visual arts as well as a passion for flow fashion over fast fashion.
She quickly made a name for herself across Australia after she established her own small business in Bundaberg called Best Dressed Art.
Linda Jackson has been a pioneering figure in fashion design since the early 1970s.
She is known for bold silhouettes and prints drawn from the Australian landscape, her spirituality, as well as rich collaborations with other artists.
Linda's successful label, Bush Couture, has seen her working closely with Indigenous communities on textile designs, in particular Utopia Station in the Northern Territory and Daintree Rainforest Queensland.
Julie said having an opportunity to work alongside Linda was a dream come true.
“Linda has been a very high-profile instigator of the fashion industry and she is my mentor,” she said.
“I wanted to take a new direction with my fashion and Linda has been guiding me.
“I do a lot of digital art but Linda has really encouraged me to paint directly on to the garments – she is encouraging me to be an artist as well as a fashion designer.”
Strut: First Nations Fashion Show to feature dozens of Julie's garments
The fashion show, Strut: First Nations Fashion, will feature up to 40 of Julie's garments, some of which will be hand painted.
“It will probably be the first time that Bundaberg has seen me working in this sort of genre,” Julie said.
“The art will be based on my interpretation of the Burnett rock imagery.
“I am Gooreng Gooreng and the rocks are in my traditional area.”
Tickets are available for Strut: First Nations Fashion and can be purchased here.
The Strut: First Nations Fashion show will begin at 6 pm at the Moncrieff Entertainment Centre on Saturday 4 February.
