Wednesday 9 April 2025
London – 09:00 – 10:30 / Sri Jayawardenepura Kotte – 13:30 – 15:00 / Sydney – 18:00 – 19:30 / Wellington – 20:00 – 21:30

Indigenising Fashion and Entrepreneurship

Countering legacies of extraction, and appropriation of textile and craft designs, this webinar will focus on the commercial aspects of indigenising fashion and entrepreneurship, where designers are drawing inspiration for new work from deep cultural knowing, and creating platforms to promote the expertise of fellow makers.

About the panel

  • Lucy Simpson is a Sydney based Yuwaalaraay woman, and process-led designer / maker with roots in the North-West of New South Wales. who explores notions of time and place through materiality and visual narratives which record and communicate experience and story. Lucy established studio and textiles label Gaawaa Miyay in 2009 and has exhibited works and presented on cultural design locally and abroad, in a range of communities across the country, and at institutions, events and in galleries including, the Museum of Contemporary Art, the Australian Design Centre, the National Art School (Sydney), The London Design Festival and the Smithsonian Institution. Gaawaa Miyay has evolved to include textiles, accessories and homewares ranges; everyday objects with a story to share born of country and infused with the language and story of Yuwaalaraay ngurrambaa (family lands). More recently the studio practice has expanded to encompass First Nations representation and perspectives in non-Indigenous spaces through moments of exchange and transfer with a continuing theme of visual storytelling grounded in place / experience / ecological responsibility / relationships. https://www.gaawaamiyay.co/

  • Selyna Peiris (Attorney-at-Law) is a social entrepreneur and is Director-Business Development at Selyn, Sri Lanka's only fair trade handloom company and one of the country’s largest social enterprises. She is also Director at Selyn Foundation and co-creator of the #BleedGood Movement, a multi-stakeholder collaborative platform to end period poverty in Sri Lanka. As a policy specialist and proven development practitioner, she is also a Co-Founder and Partner at Positive Impact Consultancy and The Institute for Future Creations. She has previously worked for the Government of Sri Lanka and continues to sit in many high-level advisory committees for Government, international organizations, and private sector entities. Most recently, she has been appointed as an Independent Director of World Fair Trade Organisation. As a youth activist, she has spear-headed and worked along many movements working towards a racism free Sri Lanka and continues to be a strong advocate for equitable development especially for the women of Sri Lanka.

    Website: www.selyn.lk,  www.positiveimpact.lk

    Facebook & IG: @selynfairtrade; @selpeiris

  • Dr Diana Albarrán González is a designer, educator, researcher, craftivist, currently the Programme Director of the PhD in Design at Waipapa Taumata Rau | University of Auckland. Her research explores different ways of collaboration from decolonial, intersectional, and pluriversal perspectives, interested in collective well-being, Indigenous knowledge, crafts-design-arts, textiles, embodiment, and creativity. With over 20 years of international experience, she integrates a meaningful sense of cultural awareness and sensitivity in different contexts, bringing a diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) lens to design practice. She holds a PhD in Indigenous Development and Design, a Master’s degree in Design Management and a Bachelor’s in Industrial Design.https://profiles.auckland.ac.nz/d-albarran

About the hosts

  • Director and Strategist for IDIA

    Ko wai au? He uri tenei no Ngāti Manawa, Ngāti Tahu, Ngāti Whaoa

    I am an experienced service design, co design and community engagement practitioner who loves working with people to define and achieve their goals. I have over 15 years experience in leading design, leading organisations and their leaders and people through change.

    I have worked in the public sector, alongside NGOs, with community groups, iwi and hapu, I love leading collaborative sessions with a wide range of stakeholders, making sure all people feel seen, heard and safe to participate. One of my favourite things is talking with people about what is important to them, what makes their hearts sing, what they are passionate about and using these insights to create good sustainable change.

  • Dr. Johnson Witehira is a leading Māori innovator working across art, design, technology, and game development. As a Director of IDIA and PAKU, and a board member of the NZ Game Developers Association and The National Digital Forum, Johnson focuses on bringing Indigenous knowledge and creative thinking into contemporary design practices. His work spans multiple domains, from developing innovative AR experiences featuring atua Māori to revitalizing tribal narratives through community-driven projects in the Ruapehu district. A key aspect of his mahi is the indigenisation and decolonisation of design, ensuring that Māori perspectives, values, and tikanga are at the forefront of the creative process. In all his projects, Johnson is committed to ensuring that Māori stories continue to flourish in design and digital spaces.