The first Aboriginal-owned, female-led First Nations brand at Paris Fashion Week
Miimi & Jiinda: First Nation Fashion House Makes European Debut at Paris Fashion Week Miimi & Jiinda, the Aboriginal-owned, female-led First Nations fashion house, is set to make its European debut at Paris Fashion Week, bringing ancestral stories, matriarchal wisdom, and a vision of sustainable luxury to the global stage.
(Visit the Paris Showroom 1–7 October 2025: 9 Rue de Beauce, 75003 Paris)
Founded by artist and designer Melissa Greenwood, a proud Gumbaynggirr, Bundjalung, and Dunghutti woman, together with her mother and master weaver Lauren Jarrett, Miimi & Jiinda has become one of Australia’s most acclaimed contemporary Indigenous fashion and art labels.
Their Paris showcase marks a historic milestone: an Aboriginal-owned, matriarch-led brand bringing First Nations culture into the European luxury fashion market.
A Matriarchal Brand Story
Miimi & Jiinda is more than fashion. It is a vessel of cultural memory, ancestral storytelling and collective healing, born from the bond between mother and daughter. Its name, meaning “Mother & Sister” in Gumbaynggirr, embodies matriarchal strength, kinship, and cultural continuity. Together, Greenwood and Jarrett transform weaving, painting, and storytelling into art forms that traverse boundaries of fashion, culture, and ceremony.
From their acclaimed runways at Australian Fashion Week to winning the Business Achievement Award at the 2025 National Indigenous Fashion Awards, Miimi & Jiinda has consistently championed reclamation, female leadership, and Indigenous storytelling. Their arrival in Paris marks not just a milestone for the brand, but a global recognition of First Nations culture, blending sustainable luxury with the ancestral knowledge of the world’s oldest living culture.
Gaagal Wanggaan: A New Collection as a Wearable Ceremony
At Paris Fashion Week, Miimi & Jiinda will unveil a preview of their Spring/Summer 2026 collection, Gaagal Wanggaan. The collection will be presented in a dedicated showroom during Paris Fashion Week, offering press, buyers, and industry insiders an exclusive preview. This deeply personal collection honours their traditional homelands, reclaimed through Native Title, Australia’s system of legally recognizing Indigenous peoples’ land rights. The recognition followed a 16-year struggle in which Greenwood’s grandmother played a pivotal role.
Meaning “South Beach” in Gumbaynggirr, Gaagal Wanggaan reflects resilience, belonging, and connection to Country and Earth. Its palette of soft coastal blues, deep ocean greens, and sandy neutrals evokes the ever-changing interplay of ocean, sand, and sky. Fluid, timeless silhouettes mirror the rhythm of waves and the Bindarray River, while natural, sustainably sourced fabrics ground the collection in cultural and ecological integrity. Each piece is designed as a wearable ceremony, carrying the spirit, memory, and stories of Country wherever it is worn.
Sustainable Luxury and Cultural Regeneration
Miimi & Jiinda works exclusively with high-quality, natural, and responsibly sourced fabrics including European Flax-certified linen, organic cotton, silks, and low-impact denim. Smaller runs and woven adornments continue to be created in Australia, preserving a living connection to homelands. Each garment is designed on Gumbaynggirr Country to be timeless, collectible, and ceremonial, affirming that true luxury embodies cultural regeneration, sustainable craft, and deeply connected to Country and Earth. For Miimi & Jiinda, sustainability is inseparable from culture.
Their European collections are now being crafted in family-led ateliers in Portugal, in a historic village dating back to 15 BC in the very same region where leading luxury houses create their garments. These ateliers, ongoingly led by women in their fourth generation, embody a lineage of craft that resonates with Gumbaynggirr values of kinship and continuity.
Looking Ahead
This Paris debut is the beginning of Miimi & Jiinda’s European journey, paving the way for a full launch into the market in 2026. Rooted in cultural integrity, sustainable craftsmanship, and a vision of Indigenous luxury, the brand carries forward the wisdom of matriarchs and the ancestral stories of Gumbaynggirr Country, now shared on one of the world’s most influential stages.
Visit the Paris Showroom 1–7 October 2025: 9 Rue de Beauce, 75003 Paris
Showroom contact: Artem Vetemaze, +380 98 070 8057
Press contact: Cara Mancini — cara@miimiandjiinda.com | Melissa Greenwood — melissa@miimiandjiinda.com
Instagram: @miimiandjiinda
