IT’S NOT JUST FASHION – IT’S STORY, COUNTRY AND RESPONSIBILITY

For designer Lucy Simpson, fashion is about responsibility, not trend. “Yeah, I think for me I didn’t really think of it in the terms of jewellery or fashion, adornment, wearable,” she says.

“It was about this thing that you could have that wasn’t an extension of yourself and an embodiment of country.”

Lucy’s work began in jewellery, drawing from her Sydney-based upbringing away from country, taught by her aunties to find meaning in materials and process.

What began as adornment has become a method of carrying story, memory, and accountability.

Her practice reflects the values of care, reciprocity, and sustainability.

She sees Indigenous fashion as something distinct from the Western definition.

It’s about survival, balance, and minimal impact.

“For me, jewellery was the conduit to understanding ways of moving my hands like my grandmother,” she says.

“It wasn’t just about the thing we wear around our necks.”

Each design choice is deliberate, down to the smallest detail, and always connected to a responsibility to people and place.

This thinking shows up in her recent work, which responds to environmental damage in Arnhem Land and freshwater systems across the continent.

One look in her range references fisherwomen – figures that connect Lucy, a freshwater woman, with saltwater collaborator Maytili.

It includes remanufactured materials and tools not only for fishing, but for caring for Country.

“We’re kitted up to enter into a conversation where we need to solve some of these problems,”

Lucy recently showed work at Expo in Osaka, building on experiences at Darwin Aboriginal Art Fair.

She says that space gave her a rare chance to speak for herself and connect with others across communities.

The highlight of her work so far? Being asked to design for the new Walgett River Rangers. “It’s the first time we’ve had First Nations Rangers on our country,” she expresses.

“If I can give back not only to my mob but to that river that I belong to, my job is done.”