
Expressions of Interest now closed.
About CIAF Fashion Performance
The CIAF’s Fashion Performance is a leading artistic platform where Indigenous culture is celebrated through art, fashion, modelling, dance, and performance. Launched in 2013, the Fashion Performance has become known for featuring a wide range of Indigenous Artists and Designers who are actively expressing themselves through fashion and textiles.
The Fashion Performance program creates a unique space for a wide array of creatives to come together collaboratively from dance, art, design and music in order to present a contemporary fashion performance that has gained National and International recognition in publications such as Peppermint Magazine, Vogue Japan and Lifestyle Vogue Australia.
In 2025, CIAF’s creative team extend the opportunity to all First Nations Designers living in Queensland to submit an EOI who are interested in pushing the boundaries of Fashion, Art and Culture. The successful applicants will be working with the CIAF curatorial team to ensure that their collection is showcased at the highest possible level.
CIAF 2025 Fashion Theme
CIAF’s 2025 Fashion Performance theme is “Look and Listen”. The theme is derived from CIAF's 2025 program theme, 'Pay Attention!'.
Designers are encouraged to consider how their fashion/wearable art/adornments respond to the theme in their EOI application.
CIAF 2025 Fashion Performance theme, ‘Look and Listen’, provides an opportunity for Designers to be heard:
- Look at what we do....
- Listen to our stories....
Storytelling is the beating heart of First Nations culture as it is the primary way in which our history has been recorded. It is a powerful means of passing on knowledge, history and attitudes to new generations.
- Be bold
- Speak up
- Look at our possibilities for the future
- Listen to our stories
EOI Due Date:
COB, Friday 24th January 2025
Important Dates:
- Art Fair Showcase EOI Deadline: 31st January, 2025
- Shortlisting Notfication: 7th February, 2025
- Application Release: 14th February, 2025
- Appicaltion Deadline: 28th February, 2025
- Final Selection Notification: 5th March, 2025
Eligibility Criteria
1. Applicants must 18 years of age or over to participate in this program.
2. Applicants must identify as First Nations artists and be of Aboriginal and or Torres Strait Islander descent.
3. Applicants must meet one of the following residency requirements: Reside in Queensland (QLD) or have familial ties to Queensland, meaning they have family connections or ancestral links to Aboriginal and or Torres Strait Islander communities in Queensland.
4. The program is open to First Nations artists at any stage of their career, including emerging, mid-career, or established artists.
5. Applicants should demonstrate a commitment to Indigenous cultural preservation, expression, continual improvement, and upholding of cultural protocols related to Indigenous Cultural Intellectual Property. Refer to CIAF Code of Practice at the end of this form.

What type of collections is CIAF seeking?
CIAF is looking to infuse the unique use of materials, assemblage techniques and textures in the creation of vibrant collections. These collections may include traditional and or contemporary pieces through the creative expression of adornment/wearable art with a key focus on the theme of “Look and Listen”.
The aim of the CIAF Fashion Performance is to bring together contemporary Indigenous fine art and wearable art, with high-end fashion through contemporary cultural performance and movement at two Shows. The CIAF Fashion Performance promotes contemporary First Nations design and aims to empower youth through the representation of who they are and where they come from.
We envisage this year’s Fashion Performance to be made up of full fashion collections, wearable art, elaborate adornments (head dress neck & body adornments) or both. CIAF has created an opportunity for designers and models to share the act of adornment, presentation, and collaboration.
* Expression of interest is a competitive process as the number of collections able to be showcased throughout CIAF’s Fashion Performance is limited.
Images: Sown in Time by Lynelle Flinders. Model: Benita Williams
Image above: Designer: Irene Robinson. Models: Tahanee Buli, Jamie Mclenson, Khloe Dempsey and Nardia Blackhall