Indigenous Fashion Projects unveils Country to Couture line-up
Country to Couture has unveiled its 2026 designer line-up, confirming a two-day, outdoor showcase in Darwin’s Top End this August and marking the program’s 11th year.
Presented in partnership with Indigenous Fashion Projects, organisers describe the runway as the country’s largest showcase of First Nations fashion.
Key Points
- Country to Couture 2026 line-up revealed on Tuesday in partnership with IFP
- Event returns to the Top End this August for its 11th year
- Organisers call it the country’s largest First Nations fashion showcase
- Program expands to a two-day schedule, its largest presentation yet
- Runway moves outdoors against the Darwin landscape for destination experience
- Line-up spans remote art centres, independent designers, collaborations
- Claire Summers lauds a decade that “redefine[s] Australian fashion”
Presented in partnership with Indigenous Fashion Projects, the highly anticipated event will see the return of the runways to the Top End across a two-day showcase, marking its largest presentation yet.
The event will also move outdoors, set against the Darwin landscape, offering a destination runway experience. From remote community Art Centres and artists, to independent designers and community collaborations, this year’s lineup showcases emerging and established creatives.
2026 Line-up
The Country to Couture 2026 line up includes:
- Babbarra Women’s Centre – NT
- Anindilyakwa Arts x Anna Reynolds – NT
- Arts Northern Rivers | Bundjalung | RADO Regional Arts Development Organisation – NSW
- Badu Art Centre (Badhulgaw Kuthinaw Mudh) – QLD
- Jina-Jina (Yinjaa-Barni Art) – WA
- Kuku Bulkaway Arts – QLD
- Marnin Studio – WA
- Nagula Jarndu – WA
- Noongar Arts Fashion – Bunbury Regional Art Gallery – WA
- Waringarri Aboriginal Arts – WA
- Yarrenyty Arltere – NT
- Bobbi Lockyer x Skye Lockyer x Mali Isabel – NT
- Corella & Crow – NT
- Lucas Schober – NT
- LULUJARU – WA
- Marayn Designs – NSW
- Nicole Chatfield – QLD
- MumRed – VIC
- Off The Plantation – VIC
- Sea Garden Collection – QLD
- Jaymee-Lee Chaquebor – WA
- Ngaire Pakai – NSW
Cultural Foundations
The 2026 line-up brings First Nations textiles, fashion and art together in a vibrant runway showcase, celebrating contemporary design rooted in over 60,000 years of culture.
The Darwin Aboriginal Art Fair Foundation’s executive director, Claire Summers, reflected on last year’s 10th anniversary showcase to frame the program’s trajectory. Speaking after the 2024 event, Summers emphasised how the runway has championed design grounded in cultural practice and innovation.
Ms Summers also highlighted the program’s decade-spanning influence, situating Country to Couture as a focal point for creative leadership within First Nations fashion.
Her remarks underscored the way designers and artists draw on deep cultural knowledge to advance contemporary aesthetics.
