Corina Jadai was born in Derby, and raised in the Kimberley and Pilbara region.
Corina is an established artist, graphic designer and now First Nations fashion designer. She enjoys painting, creating designs for commercial use, designing football shirts, working with resin art and making jewellery.
Corina joined the Martu program in 2023 where she first met the program team and her mentor, Liz Reece, in Broome. Liz is an experienced professional in the textile industry, who has provided valuable insights along the way.
In July, Newmont Telfer provided the opportunity for Corina to showcase her fashion collection and work with the Martu program at the Newmont offices in Perth for a NAIDOC week celebration. Newmont staff enjoyed Corina’s presentation and many stayed behind to talk with Corina and view her portfolio.
Corina then spent the week with Brigitte to work with professionals in the fashion industry. These included Textile Lab, who are helping to print her designs onto fabric and sew the garments together at their textile factory.
Corina and Brigitte also visited Siricin Silks to choose fabrics for the designs. Brigitte said: “We had a great week visiting industry professionals to further Corina’s journey to help her first collection of garments become a reality. Corina is growing in confidence in talking about her work. We met with professionals in the industry who were incredibly impressed by her dedication and the creativity and quality of her work.”
Corina continues to build her networks in the First Nations fashion scene in WA. In late August, Corina was invited to be involved in a Kirrikin fashion show held at the Fortescue Festival at Newman. Corina met with the Kirrikin team in Newman and was given the opportunity for a behind the scenes industry experience which will be valuable when Corina comes to show her own garments.
Young community members learnt how to be a model for the day, walking the catwalk wearing Kirrikin's latest designs. Corina said the event was “an inspiring, memorable and uplifting experience”. “The event provided a welcome moment of beauty and creativity, which I truly appreciated.”
Image: Corina and Amanda Healy (Director, Kirrikin) meeting at Kirrikin studio in Perth to discuss Corina’s fashion designs
