An Interview with Liandra Swim: By Designer Liandra Gaykamangu

Liandra Swim fuses Aboriginal Australian Culture with on-trend premium designer swimwear. Our swimwear includes seamless designs and striking prints. All our bikini’s are sold separately, to allow you to mix-n-match styles, prints and sizes. Our signature prints are inspired by our Aboriginal Australian culture. Our dream is to give you the opportunity to exhibit a slice of culture, that has been tens-of-thousands of years in the making! Each collection we launch represents a unique story, with each of the prints delving deeper into that narrative. The stories and prints we create are inspired by our livid-experience and individual journey. Our prints are also a contemporary representation of our culture and how we identify with our heritage. Our Community Collection prints have been hand-drawn and are inspired by the landscape of location of Milingimbi, in North-East Arnhem Land (NT). — Liandra Gaykamangu Original Magazine: First of all, congratulations on your catwalk during Australian Fashion Week! It was a momentous moment and movement for everyone involved. How was this experience for you? Liandra Gaykamangu: Thank you so much! I absolutely loved being at AAFW and having the opportunity to showcase Liandra Swim on the Indigesnous Fashion Projects x David Jones runway. It was such a special moment and it was such an honour to be there. O.M: What inspires the designs of your swimwear collection? Do you try to depict the importance of your community and their stories through your designs? (We love the mix and match inclusivity to your collections!) L.G: My designs are inspired a lot with how I am feeling and what is happening around me. It sometimes plays into deeper social conversations or will come from being inspired by the landscape around me. For example, my most recent collection is called the Community Collection and is a contemporary representation of my remote community in North-East Arnhem Land (Northern Territory). The prints are hand-drawn by me and I took a lot of inspiration from the landscape and environment around me. O.M: Have there been any difficulties that you have had to face and overcome within your career being a Yolngu woman from North-East Arnhem Land, in the Northern Territory of Australia? L.G: I wouldn’t say any difficulties, as such. But I have definitely experienced the challenges of breaking that glass-ceiling. Sometimes people don’t know what to make of me and like to place me and my swimwear in a box. I enjoy showing them that you can experience my culture and our stories through fashion in a really fun, unique and beautiful way. O.M: Prior to 2021, there was rarely any representation of Indigenous creatives in the Western world. Do you think going forward, that this movement will encourage people to have more discussions about cultural appropriation, the heritage of Indigenous creatives and communities? L.G: Yes absolutely! I think it is really great that we are seeing more people from diverse backgrounds enter into these spaces and Indigenous Australia has such a long and rich history in the creative field, both in our own long history and in the more modern context. I am really proud to be here representing my culture and people. The whole point of Liandra Swim is to be an ethical label that is made from high-quality materials and educates and celebrates Indigenous Australian culture. O.M: We must congratulate you once more on being nominated for the ‘Environmental and social contribution’ award for the 2021 NATIONAL INDIGENOUS FASHION AWARDS! How important is it for the fashion industry to continue to make more sustainable and ethical choices within production of the garments? Especially when working with Indigenous communities? L.G: Thank you so much! I think sustainable and ethical practices are incredibly important. The more time we, as designers and as the industry, spend on educating the consumer about these issues, the consumer will drive this change away from things like fast-fashion and damaging practices within our industry. I truly believe that it comes down to taking the time to create awareness and opportunities for dialogue and engagement, so we are able to learn and grow together. O.M: And finally, what are your hopes and aspirations for the future generations of the Indigenous creatives? L.G: I hope that we are just a seamless part of the fashion industry. I love that we are being celebrated, but I hope that we aren’t a 2021 trend and that perspectives, experiences and designs are a more integral and “normal” part of the way our industry thinks, moves and creates. For the first time in 25 years, Australian Fashion Week has showcased not one but two Indigenous runway shows. First Nations Fashion and Design [FNFD], run by Grace Lillian Lee and Teagan Cowlishaw, held a Welcome to Country and then a multi-designer runway show put on by an all-Indigenous cast and crew. 'We’re going to create change in this nation through fashion’, an emotional Lee said after the runway show. The celebration of Indigenous designers continued later in the week with a show by the Indigenous Fashion Projects [IFP]. The show featured six First Nations designers that are part of the IFP Pathways Program supported by David Jones - The Guardian A Massive Thank you to Liandra Gaykamangu for speaking with us.