FOMA 2022 INITIATIVES
Fabrics of Multicultural Australia (FOMA) supported by the NFACR, DFAT, across a 12 month campaign in 2022, witnessed numerous collaborations with local councils, cultural institutions and foreign governments, most importantly supported the creative industries sector through economic empowerment of brands.
FOMA 2023, will take place on Friday 23 June 2023 at Powerhouse Museum, tickets coming soon.
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Friday, 9 December 2022 from 11:30 AM to 2:30 PM (Past Project)
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Friday, 9 December 2022 from 5:00 PM to 8:00 PM (Past Project I Imagery Here)
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FOMA x PWH - Thursday, 20 October 2022 (Past Project I Imagery here)
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FOMA x ATC - Saturday, 29 October 2022 ((Past Event I Imagery here))
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FOMA x Liverpool City Council - 20 - 21 May 2022 (Past Event I Imagery here)
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FOMA x Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade Creative Industries Roundtable, March 2022 (Past Project I Imagery Here)
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FOMA Artists & EXHIBITORS
China Cultural Centre in Sydney (CCC) is an official non-profit cultural organization registered in Sydney. Since its founding, CCC has been committed to pursuing “Quality, Popularization, Friendship and Cooperation” in its work of hosting cultural events and offering training courses and relevant information to the Australian public. It has held exhibitions, performances, and people-to-people exchanges that have brought to Australia the fine Chinese traditional and contemporary culture, and won high acclaim from the Australian public and its cultural community.
The Fiji Trade Commission aims to improve market access for Fijian products in Australia by promoting Fiji’s premium range of brands and connecting local buyers with Fijian businesses.
The Fijian apparel and fashion industry have a rich heritage, with a number of its fashion brands marketed all over the world. Fiji is home to many leading designers, and we are excited to showcase the wide range of high-quality Fijian brands as part of this year's FOMA Exhibit.
The Department of Tourism Philippines is the primary government agency charged with the responsibility to encourage, promote, and develop tourism as a major socio-economic activity to generate foreign currency and employment and to spread the benefits of tourism to both the private and public sector.
Anya started sewing as a 12-year-old in Ukraine; and quickly learned the intricacies of the sewing machine. In no time at all, she was designing and making skirts, tops and dresses for herself and for her family. Eventually, she converted my mother's old manual sewing machine to an electric machine by installing a motor and pedal.
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The label Buluuy Mirrii celebrates a range of Aboriginal talents. Commissioned Gomeroi artworks are transformed into fabric patterns by a Gomeroi graphic designer, printed on luxury fabrics and sewn into one-off garments. Her label, Buluuy Mirrii promotes and revives important aspects of Gomeroi culture in each runway show, allowing the international fashion audience to learn some of Gomeroi cultural richness through specially recorded Gomeroi soundtracks and voice overs which tell the stories behind each garment.
Danielle has worked with a number of iconic Australian brands such as R.M Williams, The NRL, and The GO Foundation. A brand alliance with Danielle is much more than partnering with an artist, it is partnering with a cultural ambassador.
A descendant of the Murrawari people through her Mother’s maternal side, and Euahlayi people through her Mother’s paternal grandmother, Danielle has created a name for herself within the art world.
Karis Zanetta Cheng is an emerging textile-based fashion designer. As a designer she is captivated by the emotion, history and memories that are embedded within colour and material. Karis is inspired by her heritage as a third culture kid born in New Zealand, with parents from Singapore and Malaysia, ancestors from China and is now living and working in Sydney, Australia.
She interweaves these aspects of her culture to processes, create and reimagine what fashion is. Karis is fascinated by the tacit knowledge held within materials that allow textiles to become a canvas for untold stories and alternative narratives.
Australian designer and celebrity stylist Lena Kasparian has formed a strong foundation in the fashion industry with her natural ability and flare. With over a decade of experience in the fashion industry, the independent and self taught talent has achieved global recognition. Kasparian’s intense knowledge in the fashion world has inspired her to share her designs and bring them to life from paper to fabric. The black label carrying the designers name is renowned for its sophistication and elegance.
My Paloma
Eliana Gamboa-Chapman
MY PALOMA was born from a desire to create a bridge between cultural heritage and contemporaneity where use of noble materials, playful creativity and artistic savoir-faire passed down from generations are a central source of innovative practice. The brand is delighted to collaborate with FOMA 2022 as it presents the ideal vehicle to showcase culture within Australia’s contemporary fashion landscape. MY PALOMA celebrates the unique talent of leading sustainable luxury Latin American designers. The platform’s founder Eliana Gamboa-Chapman works in exclusive partnership with designers to bring you hand-selected pieces that are infused with values that support a better future for artisan communities and the environment.
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Meera by Poornima Sharma
Poornima
Meera was conceived in 2018, a brand with an empowering message; you decide who you want to be and let your actions speak for you. More than a fashion label, Meera is a way of life, it is the embracing of diversity and the courage to be fearless in the face of adversity.
Meera seeks to redefine the ideals of beauty by showcasing the rawness and the authenticity of the modern Indian woman and man. Each piece is designed with the intention to make a bold statement, reflecting the brave vision and fiery passion of the brand’s founder, Poornima Sharma.
Tina Zhang's design aesthetic is all about blending traditional tailoring and casual wear with a touch of couture.
Tina's love of mixing prints, texture, colour and shapes to achieve a harmonic, innovative and contemporary design, reflects her personal experience and beliefs, which aim to depict a balance between western and eastern culture, as well as both femininity and masculinity.
Vivian Chan Shaw started her fashion career in Sydney in the 1960s as designer and fashion co-ordinator for leading bridal fabric specialists, René and Canns, and moved on to fashion retail as a manager for the In Shoppe and the House of Merivale.
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This collection explores four decades of the work of celebrated Australian fashion label, Vivian Chan Shaw, from 1972 – 2000s. It traces garments starting from the first collections, designed in fabric in the 1970s, and follows the transition to the unique hand loomed knitwear, for which Vivian Chan Shaw has a global reputation.
Wendy Scully loved her experience in the 2019 FOMA event held in Sydney. Participating in FOMA allows Wendy to enjoy the learning experience of collaboration and creative expression with other designers. New skills and creative channels are explored with the opportunity to share design thoughts and ideas with designer from another fashion area. FOMA 2019 saw Wendy Scully Millinery create a millinery collection to collaborate with the Charlotte Smith Vintage Collection. The focus of each handmade piece was creating headpieces inspired by the iconic colours of Australian Flora and Fauna, to match the elegant dresses.
Maryam is the founder of Sakena The Label. She designs jewellery and clothing inspired by vintage Afghan tradition with a modern touch. Her suppliers are the unprivileged women of Afghanistan who help her bring her vision into reality. At the moment, Maryam focuses on conceptual photography and storytelling. Maryam’s work was featured in 4 different international magazines (including a cover feature).
Tatyana Anderson's heritage is witnessed in the detailed elegance of her luxury bedroom wear collections. Born and trained in couturier designing, pattern making and sewing in Russia, Tatyana migrated to Melbourne, Australia in 1989. A third-generation couturier, she started sewing at the age of 5, "helping" her grandmother with an evening dress for one of her many clients. Eventually luxurious and sophisticated bedroom wear that has captured her passion and imagination.
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The Bowerbirds collection explores the process of deconstructing preloved garments and reclaimed materials, then combining them with textile treatments to create exciting and unique wearable forms. The collection imagines a world where all the forgotten, vintage and waste textiles are re-used and re-imagined into a new design language. Prints, patterns and embellishments have been pushed into the limits of sensory overload, aiming for a disruptive camouflage that subverts the distinction between waste and high fashion.
Photographer Liz Ham, Models: Georgia, Tamina