Pip Miller
Amid the industrial pillars and heritage charm of Tanks Arts Centre’s Tank 5, the CIAF 2025 fashion performance Look & Listen made an unforgettable debut, transforming the historic space into a runway of resistance, expression, and unapologetic cultural pride.
With two parts—Look and Listen—and one unified story, the performance brought together 12 First Nations designers, 16 models, and a powerful creative team to reflect the 2025 curatorial theme, Pay Attention!
All photos by Veronica Sagredo, Blueclick Photography.
The result was a masterstroke in visual storytelling: immersive, arresting, and deeply grounded in Country and culture.
The Look segment foregrounded design, colour, and identity, offering a parade of wearable artworks from the likes of the sisterly duo Irene Robinson and Darlene Fell, Sandra and Shara Delaney, Robert Tommy Pau, and the Hope Vale Arts Centre, among others. From vibrant digital prints to delicate appliqué and hand-painted textiles, the garments themselves told stories of kinship, resistance, and connection to place.
Designs in Look were animated by choreographed movement featuring contemporary dance by students from Trinity Bay High School, not simply walked but performed—an extension of the body’s own narrative, evoking dance, ceremony, and storytelling.
All photos by Veronica Sagredo, Blueclick Photography.
The transition to Listen signalled an energy shift. The fashion remained central, but here the garments were interwoven with spoken word, music, and live performance. Cairns-based hip hop crew R.3.B brought the house down with a blistering, rhythmic live set that echoed the heartbeat of community and defiance. Their presence elevated the show from a catwalk to a concert to a cultural event.
Designs such as a hand-painted koala dress, fringed with natural fibres and worn barefoot, offered a reverent, almost ceremonial quality. Models became messengers, moving through cloth and space with pride and purpose.
CIAF Artistic Director Teho Ropeyarn said the vision for Look & Listen was to push the boundaries of what fashion can be.
“This is more than design—it’s about visual sovereignty,” Ropeyarn explained.
“We’re asserting our presence on our terms. Through textile, movement, music and voice, we are speaking directly to our communities—and to those who need to hear us,” he said.
All photos by Veronica Sagredo, Blueclick Photography.
The production was directed and curated by CIAF’s Fashion Coordinator Lynelle Flinders, who emphasised that Look & Listen is as much a cultural statement as it is a creative showcase.
“There’s a reason we called it Look & Listen—we want audiences to slow down, engage, and absorb,” Flinders said.
“Everything you see on stage has meaning. It’s woven with story and strength,” she said.
The applause that closed both performances wasn’t just for the artistry—it was for the movement behind it.
Tickets to tonight’s performances of CIAF’s Look & Listen can be purchased from www.ciaf.com.au
All photos by Veronica Sagredo, Blueclick Photography.
