We rise, we pulse — ancestors in our core, we sway, embraced by sacred songs, memories’ light. Outside, the rain falls—a gentle blessing, calling forth the voices of the inner self. As whispered prayers across time, Grace Lilian Lee led the way as the first Indigenous Australian woman and Torres Strait Islander to unveil a collection at Paris Couture Fashion Week. Preach.
Rooted in cultural symbolism – an intimate setting at 229LAB with a secret unfolding in plain sight. Every silhouette moved with intention, hypnotic, echoing the rhythms of dancers, weavers, and storytellers who walk the spaces between worlds. The collection rises from the lineage of The Dream Weaver: Guardians of Grace, her recent solo show acquired by QAGOMA (the home to more than 17,000 artworks from Australia and around the world).
The fabric murmurs of ancestral tales honoring Grace’s lineage across the Torres Strait, China, and Europe. Sculpted, handwoven textiles and laser-cut acrylic beadwork blend traditional craftsmanship with modernity in a seamless dialogue. The palette radiates, with vivid yellows carrying warmth and vitality, bold pinks moving with a calm power, tender yet unyielding; lush greens speak of renewal and rootedness, and deep reds echo with ceremony and resilience. A mad crush for the pearl-white mask glowing—ephemeral yet eternal—guiding, watching, never fading. Something that I would want to wear every day to ward off negative energy. To the left.
Supported by a Creative Australia scholarship, Grace’s artist residency at the Cité Internationale des Arts brings together eight First Nations creatives and her family, each of whom played a role in the sacred choreography of this moment. As an altar of expression, her collection, entitled “The Guardians,” unfolds as a love letter to her ancestors, a testament to resilience grounded in color, form, and soul.
