Our Stories
Together We Create: The launch of Country Road x Ngali
When Wiradjuri designer Denni Francisco first started her label Ngali, she did so with collaboration in mind. For many years, Denni has worked with other First Nations artists to showcase their work through fashion.
The philosophy of Ngali is “Together we create”, and that is exactly what underpinned the Country Road x Ngali collection. This time, Ngali collaborated with Antikirinya-Matu Yankuntjatjara artist, community leader and educator Pearl Austin, alongside the Country Road team, to bring First Nations storytelling to life.
The idea of a collaboration had been many years in the making. Denni completed a mentorship with Country Road in 2021 and 2022, after winning the Fashion Design Award at the Indigenous Fashion Awards; an experience which sparked conversations about bringing First Nations fashion to a wider audience.
The outcome is the Country Road x Ngali collaboration, which is a curated collection of clothing and accessories all featuring the work of Pearl.
Here, Denni and Pearl share their thoughts on what inspired the collection, what they hope it teaches us all about First Nations storytelling, and how Country Road became a key collaborator.
Congratulations on a wonderful collection! How did you first connect with each other?
Pearl: My name is Pearl Austin—the artist of the paintings being featured in this collection. I'm from Coober Pedy and I remember submitting a painting to be considered for a possible collaboration and never thought anything of it. In the meantime, I was talking with Brian, our art centre's manager, about how I wanted to do something a bit different and push myself out of my comfort zone—only to find out the next day that they had chosen my artwork piece. I found out that they really loved my artwork and wanted to talk about this project!
Denni: I have been talking with Country Road for some time about doing a collaboration and when I saw Pearl's artwork, I thought it was amazing. And the team at Country Road loved it. The whole process of this collaboration has flowed with such ease and connection. We were talking to the art centre and to APY Art Centre Collective and it was just a lovely process, and it happened really easily. When we came together, we just had a flow.
What were the most important parts of the collaboration for you?
Pearl: I think it's just making sure that everyone is heard from all sides, especially the artist. This was the first collaboration I have done, so being able to learn from this and build on it is important. It's about making sure that everyone's interests are looked after throughout the whole process. And in this case, they were. If I needed something changed, it was done.
Denni: It's always really important to be most respectful of the artist. This was actually the first time a third party was involved. Usually, in my projects, it's just two First Nations creatives working together, but we had Country Road as a partner this time. It was great to see us all take those steps to doing things correctly and taking our time. Country Road made it easy for us and were very collaborative. There was never a conversation about Pearl and her artwork, without her.
I just want people to wear our stories. They wear the stories of our Country and our people. And that makes me really proud.Pearl Austin
How do you want people to engage with the story of the artwork?
Pearl: It's a living piece in some ways because it comes from my Country. It connects me to my Country and family. As the artist, I feel that I am a part of it, and I want people to understand it. It's great that people get information about the work when they buy one of the pieces. I want them to know it's not just art—it means something deeper.
The work is about me, my family and my community. It speaks to times when I was out in Coober Pedy, going out bush with my family, out to the creeks. The colours are earthy as we sometimes don't get enough rain, but there's still beauty in the dryness of my Country. We would just enjoy each other's company when we are out there, we connect, and we enjoy collecting bush tucker. That's what I wanted to show in this piece.
Denni: I am so excited to see Pearl's creativity celebrated in this way. This collaboration is the realisation of a vision of possibility—dreams of a collective journey with specific outcomes. It is the why of what Ngali does. It's the first collaboration I've done at this scale, and I feel like so much more is possible now. At the heart of everything was the question: “How do we honour the artwork?” At all times, we needed the artwork to be the hero.
How did you feel seeing the work come to life through the collection?
Pearl: Seeing it on the garments was amazing. It wasn't always the full print on the garments. They have used parts of my painting on certain pieces, which I think is a great way to do it. It pulls out and highlights different parts of the story.
Denni: This has always been part of Ngali's “DNA” and the why of what we do. We want to bring First Nations creativity to the front, and fashion is an easy entry point for many people to learn more about our culture. At the heart of everything was the acknowledgement and involvement of Pearl, and the respect of the story within the work itself.
I would use the words “visions of possibility”. We want to expand possibilities in the First Nations creative space. There is so much that can be achieved when we take the journey of respectful collaborations.Denni Francisco
How did you enjoy working with Country Road?
Pearl: When I first looked up Country Road, I didn't realise how much they were already working with our communities. I saw so many First Nations models in their campaigns! It was a real eye-opener for me about who was out there supporting us, so it's been great to have Country Road become part of our journey. I hope that plenty more collaborations come from this. I want to give our younger generations something to aspire to, and for communities around Australia to see these opportunities and reach for them too. For me, this has been such an amazing experience, and I love that there are opportunities for everyone—our photographers, designers... all of our creatives.
Denni: Country Road had the vision and something like this reinforces their commitment to our communities. It has been a joy to work with their different teams and together we had a fun and fulfilling journey together. We are always thinking of who is following in our footsteps, and we want to widen the pathway of opportunity for those who are yet to come.
