Liandra Swim is an Indigenous label making waves,in a good way.
Instead of sticking to Cathy Freeman or Christine Anu,who Gaykamangu admires but who she says have major platforms of their own,she unearthed the astrophysicists,Harvard graduates and community leaders from Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities who are so rarely spoken about on a national stage.
"It was a space Aboriginal culture wasn't really in,"she says."I grew up with a lot of stereotypes put on to me at different times. If I was going to advocate that Aboriginal culture was really strong,and we’re not just in the tourism industry,I wanted to prove that."
Larissa Behrendt is one of the Indigenous women to be honoured with a Liandra Swim style in her name.Credit:Jonathan David
Three years on,Gaykamangu – from north-east Arnhem Land in Northern Territory – has elevated Liandra Swim to being not only one of Australia's highest profile Indigenous fashion brands but also one of the country's fastest-growing swimwear brands,full stop.
"I thought,'If I am going to make a swimwear label,how deep can I make it?'"she says.
First came the prints,"so people will be proud to wear Aboriginal culture",and the naming convention was a natural extension. To top it off,the latest collection uses fabrics made from recycled plastics,and its packaging comes from biomaterials such as tapioca.
Even as the profile of Aboriginal-owned brands grows along with more support from mainstream press and Aboriginal celebrities including Channel Nine entertainment reporter Brooke Boney (Nine owns this masthead) and model Charlee Fraser,Gaykamangu acknowledges it can still pose a conundrum to non-Aboriginal wearers,particularly in the context of the Black Lives Matter movement.