Akin Collection : curation of a collaboration between Indigenous artists and fashion designers to create a retail-ready luxury fashion label

The AKIN Collection was devised to establish an innovative, equitable model for collaboration between Indigenous artists and emerging fashion designers. This practice-based research was led by C. Macnee, J. Morley and K. McMahon, managed by QUT- CEA in consultation with KickArts and funded by an Arts Queensland grant. It responds to problems stemming from a history of Indigenous artists in Australia being treated unethically; by misappropriation and misrepresentation of their work, inequity of payment for their creativity and little acknowledgement of their cultural contribution to collaborative fashion product. The project offers new knowledge in design practice and management; with the creation of an equitable, cross-cultural, collaborative model for Indigenous artists and emerging fashion designers. Key innovations include extending the commercialisation of Indigenous art and an ethical legal framework for emerging designers to use Indigenous art in their designs. AKIN has contributed to a broader conversation about 'Australian' design that has transferability across the global fashion industry. Jennifer Craik presented AKIN as a case study at the Second International Non-Western Fashion Conference at London College of Fashion in 2013 and is expanding this into a book, Australian Indigenous Inspirations in Contemporary Fashion: Scratching the Surface or Channelling the Country. AKIN was showcased/exhibited locally, nationally and internationally with accompanying key note speeches and presentations to community, industry and government stakeholders. The collection was selected to parade at the 2013 Cairns Indigenous Arts Festival National UplaUfla Textile Forum, the inaugural National Indigenous Fashion Week 2014 in Sydney, the 2014 NAIDOC Luncheon in Canberra (one of only three), the 2012 QUT Graduate Fashion Parade and by Australian Government invitation (and funding) to Jakarta as part of the Australian Embassy's Arts and Cultural Program Indonesia 2014.