Native Swimwear Australia is a First Nations label creating bold and empowering resort wear and swimwear, inspired by First Nations history and culture. It is also the first Aboriginal fashion label in history to showcase at New York Fashion Week in 2015.

We work with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander artists and community groups around Australia to uncover authentic First Nations artworks for each collection. We use bold and colour visual prints that draw from ancient First Nations wisdom.

The artwork is licensed exclusively to us and we print our fabric in Brisbane, Queensland, created from recycled marine plastic waste.

As the first Aboriginal fashion label in history to showcase at New York Fashion Week in 2015, we are now seeking to scale through e-commerce as well as to develop a Customer Relationship Management system to nurture the loyal fans they already have.

Our mission with Native Swimwear Australia is three-fold – to celebrate First Nations people and culture, to lead the way in sustainability and fair trade as a fashion label and to create empowering pieces for active and poolside glamour!

Native Swimwear Australia was founded by Eli and Natalie Cunningham. I, Natalie, am from the Nucoorilma/Ngarabal people from Tingha and Glen Innes and Biripi people from Dingo Creek in NSW while Eli is a Nughi (Moreton and Stradbroke Islands, QLD) and Woorimi (Forster, NSW).

I’m also a board member of the Queensland Fashion Council and I’ve had my collections shown at Australian Fashion Week as well as New York Fashion Week.

At Native Swimwear Australia, we design our garments, inspired by the oldest living culture in the world – the Aboriginal culture. Each piece tells a beautiful Dreamtime story of how we live or lived on this country and I think it is beautiful that through fashion, someone’s stories can live on forever.

Today, I’m the board member of the Queensland Fashion Council, and we’re so proud that our work allows their Aboriginal culture as well as those of fellow First Nations people to be celebrated with the world. Through this campaign, we would love you to join our journey and support us to go further and beyond!

Natalie’s achievements:

The first Aboriginal fashion label in history to showcase at New York Fashion Week in 2015.

I am seeking your support to develop an e-commerce marketing strategy particularly focused on social media and driving website traffic.

I’m also looking for help to develop a Customer Relationship Management System to nurture the customer journey.

And finally, I want to connect with someone to learn about profit margins to help grow Native Swimwear Australia.

By pledging your support to us, you will be helping fund this consultancy! Join our journey and help us do better and grow further.