Uploaded August 2026 | Updated September 2026, 2 weeks ago
The ABC is celebrating “Country to Couture” as a triumph of diversity—an event strictly exclusive to First Nations models. Imagine the outrage if anyone hosted a Caucasian fashion week. Turns out “inclusive” just means segregated, but funded by your taxes.
Fashion! Not exactly my cup of tea. I’m pretty much a utilitarian when it comes to clothes. Most of what I wear is given to me by family members, but when I have to buy some, I’ll just go to Kmart or Big W or wherever. Yeah, I know they’re made in Bangladesh, or China, or wherever, but I figure keeping my bank account above water trumps a custom-tailored moral high ground.
But as with most things in modern-day we-don’t-want-to-offend-anybody Australia, fashion has become racialised.
Case in point: the Country to Couture Indigenous fashion show: “Celebrating a LEGACY of Cultural Strength & Empowerment.” Who knew a cotton blend held so much institutional power? “Country to Couture Returns to Larrakia Country.” — Darwin, if you didn’t know where that was.
Obviously in Australia, it’s perfectly fine to hold an Indigenous-only fashion event, with Indigenous-only models. Actually, if you held an Asian-only fashion week, or an African-only fashion week, or heck, even a Middle Eastern Islamic showcase, they’d all be lauded as vibrant diversity.
But as we all know, there’s only one type of ethnically exclusive fashion week that you wouldn’t be allowed to celebrate in our supposedly tolerant and inclusive Australia: a Caucasian fashion week!
Yes, having exclusively Caucasian models wearing tweed jackets, bowler hats, and floral tea dresses would be immediately met with protests and cries of racism. Because as we’ve been thoroughly educated, some cultures have vibrant heritage, and others just have systemic privilege with tailored lapels.
Of course, on the website, the fashion show is portrayed as a celebration of Indigenous culture, not a racially-exclusive echo chamber. You’re free to meet all the designers and models. They pretend they’re inclusive by noting: “Aspiring and established models are encouraged to apply,” as if they’re open to everybody, before immediately clarifying: “we welcome First Nations applications.” Let’s be real—they only welcome First Nations applications. There’s zero chance they’re letting my privileged pallor anywhere near the spotlight.
And naturally, a highly racialised, Indigenous-only event gets free taxpayer-funded promotion on our national broadcaster. The ABC proudly declared that Australia’s biggest showcase of Indigenous fashion, Country to Couture, had hit the runway in a celebration of design and culture, noting that there were two sold-out shows at Charles Darwin University—though I doubt Darwin’s theories on survival of the fittest accounted for racialised taxpayer-subsidised runway shows.
The ABC showcases plenty of the latest 2026 designs, which I’m sure you can purchase for an eye-watering sum. Mind you, whether a non-Indigenous person could actually wear any of it in public without instantly being condemned for cultural appropriation is another story. But don’t worry—I’m sure they’ll still happily process your white-privilege credit card at the checkout.
Anyway, that’s it for me. That’s about as much as I can bear talking about fashion—especially fashion that’s bankrolled by the taxpayer and sorted by skin colour.
MUSIC
Allégro by Emmit Fenn
The ABC is celebrating “Country to Couture” as a triumph of diversity—an event strictly exclusive to First Nations models. Imagine the outrage if anyone hosted a Caucasian fashion week. Turns out “inclusive” just means segregated, but funded by your taxes.
Fashion! Not exactly my cup of tea. I’m pretty much a utilitarian when it comes to clothes. Most of what I wear is given to me by family members, but when I have to buy some, I’ll just go to Kmart or Big W or wherever. Yeah, I know they’re made in Bangladesh, or China, or wherever, but I figure keeping my bank account above water trumps a custom-tailored moral high ground.
But as with most things in modern-day we-don’t-want-to-offend-anybody Australia, fashion has become racialised.
Case in point: the Country to Couture Indigenous fashion show: “Celebrating a LEGACY of Cultural Strength & Empowerment.” Who knew a cotton blend held so much institutional power? “Country to Couture Returns to Larrakia Country.” — Darwin, if you didn’t know where that was.
Obviously in Australia, it’s perfectly fine to hold an Indigenous-only fashion event, with Indigenous-only models. Actually, if you held an Asian-only fashion week, or an African-only fashion week, or heck, even a Middle Eastern Islamic showcase, they’d all be lauded as vibrant diversity.
But as we all know, there’s only one type of ethnically exclusive fashion week that you wouldn’t be allowed to celebrate in our supposedly tolerant and inclusive Australia: a Caucasian fashion week!
Yes, having exclusively Caucasian models wearing tweed jackets, bowler hats, and floral tea dresses would be immediately met with protests and cries of racism. Because as we’ve been thoroughly educated, some cultures have vibrant heritage, and others just have systemic privilege with tailored lapels.
Of course, on the website, the fashion show is portrayed as a celebration of Indigenous culture, not a racially-exclusive echo chamber. You’re free to meet all the designers and models. They pretend they’re inclusive by noting: “Aspiring and established models are encouraged to apply,” as if they’re open to everybody, before immediately clarifying: “we welcome First Nations applications.” Let’s be real—they only welcome First Nations applications. There’s zero chance they’re letting my privileged pallor anywhere near the spotlight.
And naturally, a highly racialised, Indigenous-only event gets free taxpayer-funded promotion on our national broadcaster. The ABC proudly declared that Australia’s biggest showcase of Indigenous fashion, Country to Couture, had hit the runway in a celebration of design and culture, noting that there were two sold-out shows at Charles Darwin University—though I doubt Darwin’s theories on survival of the fittest accounted for racialised taxpayer-subsidised runway shows.
The ABC showcases plenty of the latest 2026 designs, which I’m sure you can purchase for an eye-watering sum. Mind you, whether a non-Indigenous person could actually wear any of it in public without instantly being condemned for cultural appropriation is another story. But don’t worry—I’m sure they’ll still happily process your white-privilege credit card at the checkout.
Anyway, that’s it for me. That’s about as much as I can bear talking about fashion—especially fashion that’s bankrolled by the taxpayer and sorted by skin colour.
MUSIC
Allégro by Emmit Fenn
