Peggy Griffiths - winner of the Wearable Art Award 2020

FISH - Foundation for Indigenous Sustainable Health congratulates Peggy Griffiths, who was awarded the Cultural Adornment and Wearable Art Award at the first National Indigenous Fashion Awards (NIFA). Peggy is a Miriwoong artist from Kununurra whose Legacy Dress secured her success in the wearable art category for both its creative flair and deep cultural meaning.
“Cultural adornment and wearable art showcases thousands of years of Aboriginal culture, ceremony and song, that has been documented in many forms of creative expression, whether it be on bodies, the sand, bark, or weaving, for example,” says Deputy Treaty Commissioner for the Northern Territory and NIFA 2020 judge Ursula Raymond. “If people truly engage with wearable art they can actually further their knowledge about the rich stories behind the piece and what they mean.”
As wearable art. Peggy's Legacy Dress represents the ancient practice of body design and ceremony, with each layer of the dress depicting a different aspect of her history and her Country. Peggy was also highly praised for her strong leadership and position as a mentor within her community.
Peggy's submission was a legacy design that passes on deep cultural knowledge. The collaborative piece depicted the bush cucumber, consisting of 10 layers of printed linen designed by her grand-daughters, and hand-painted by Peggy herself. She said her everyday life influences a lot of her work. When her children are with her, they go hunting for bush food.
Peggy's daughter Jan, one of the contributing designers, said the piece contains knowledge. "It's stories from my old people. So each of the layers represents each artists story that we would normally do on canvas, or as a children's story."
"We are always doing on the paper, but then I started to think we could do the pieces together and make it like a dress," said Ms Griffith. "Make sure we keep our culture strong, you know. I'm so proud of all the artists."
The NIFA prizes celebrate the vibrancy and originality of Indigenous designers and artists within the fashion industry, showcasing their unique approaches to interweaving contemporary design and traditional culture. With a combined prize value of $60,000, NIFA is an excellent platform to develop opportunities for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander designers, and in turn promoting diversity and innovation within the Australian fashion community.