“We Are Strong And We Are Not Going Anywhere”

Elaine George, model and First Nations Fashion + Design ambassador, gets real with us about representation and reconciliation.

This year’s theme ‘Get Up! Stand Up! Show Up!’ is a call to action for everyone to strive for systemic change and show continuous support for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people, Elders, and Communities.

Getting Up, Standing Up, and Showing Up can take many forms – from starting conversations that lead to positive impact to buying Blak products – but as emphasised on NAIDOC.org.au, “We must do it together. It must be a genuine commitment by all of us to Get Up! Stand Up! Show Up! and support and secure institutional, structural, collaborative, and cooperative reforms.”

We partnered with First Nations Fashion + Design (FNFD) to support change in the industry and highlight the importance of representation by giving First Nations creators and makers an ongoing platform to amplify their voices.

Ahead of the FNFD runway – a celebration of eight First Nations designers – that closed Afterpay Australia Fashion Week 2022, we spent some time with Elaine George, Arakwal and Bundjalung woman, FNFD ambassador and model.

Elaine made waves in the fashion industry in 1993 for being the first Indigenous model to feature on the cover of Vogue Australia. While the original plan was to work in child protective services, the surprise opportunity opened doors for her and she eventually took her modelling career overseas. Elaine says a lack of support and ignorance in the industry abroad however, led her back home. “I struggled a bit, not having any other First Nations people around me, so I went back to child protection and I’m still doing it today,” Elaine says. “Modelling in the early 90s was very different and I give praise to the models who made a career for themselves.”

Elaine George wearing AARLI suit designed in collaboration with Zhivago for First Nations Fashion + Design

So why, after almost 30 years, would she want to return to the runway? Elaine says it’s all to support the work of FNFD masterminds Grace Lillian Lee and Teagan Cowlishaw, “They’ve put so much effort into this organisation, and they really, truly want to represent First Nations people, from the designers to our artists, our dancers and the models on the catwalk…why didn't they have this 20 years ago? Maybe I would’ve stayed in the industry!”

There are no plans for Elaine’s fight for First Nations representation to pause just because Fashion Week has wrapped – the mother of two has recently joined Instagram and TikTok and has realised there are so many ways to be a role model, “I’m learning myself that I don’t have to be on the catwalk to have influence and I realise that being present at events and acknowledging what I’ve done in the past hopefully will go into the future for the next First Nations people.”

“First Nations new generations will always have the respect for their elders but it’s also me learning how to respect what they’re going through as well, and walking two worlds. We walk in our First Nations world and culture but we also have this beautiful digital world and modelling world where we have to bring both together.”

Reflecting on how the industry has changed and become more diverse since her first experience, Elaine believes there are still more changes that need to be made. “It’s great that FNFD is closing Fashion Week but we should be able to have our makeup artists, stylists etc. involved in other shows, not just FNFD. We have so much talent, we should be able to utilise those in other industries. And don’t wait another 12 months! We’re showcasing the whole of First Nations fashion and design so to anyone else out there: you may hire our makeup artists, you may get our photographer, and not just for Blak events.”

Backstage at First Nations Fashion + Design AAFW 2022

Elaine says representation and recognition of First Nations people needs to happen beyond the fashion industry: “There’s still a lot of Australians who don’t know First Nations people – we don’t even have a public holiday and we’re actually the only country in the world that doesn’t have one, yet we’re 65,000 years old… Recognise First Nations people and give us our own public holiday – that’s what I’d like to see, for my children and my grandchildren to be able to celebrate, so I’m going to keep pushing for our own public holiday.”

‘Get Up! Stand Up! Show Up!’ echoes the ‘Be Brave, Make Change’ theme for National Reconciliation Week (27th May - 3rd June) and for Elaine, these messages need to be heard and actioned by other organisations and businesses. “It’s not just about First Nations people being brave because we already are…Nothing's going to change if we are the ones that actually have to do it all the time…The world needs to know we are strong, we are the oldest living culture and we are not going anywhere.”