How fashion is helping high school students find healing

Seventeen-year-old Tassiana Riordan channeled her grief into a powerful artistic tribute for her late brother, Samuel, a talented dancer, musician, and artist who died from a rare brain tumor. Riordan's creation, a wearable piece of art, will be featured in this year's Cairns Indigenous Art Fair (CIAF).

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He was a big impact in my life.

Her design is deeply personal, centering on a photograph of Samuel wearing a traditional headdress. It is adorned with his initials, four frangipani flowers, his favorite bloom, and a wild yam vine, the totem of her clan from Saibai in the Torres Strait. Each flower also bears the initials of her four brothers, symbolizing family connection and remembrance.

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I think he would be really happy that I was able to dedicate this art piece to him.

This artwork is part of a broader initiative by Trinity Bay State High School in partnership with Cairns's First Nations Fashion and Design Hub. The collaboration empowers students to use fashion as a medium for storytelling and exploring their cultural identity. Lynelle Flinders, CIAF fashion coordinator, noted that fashion provides a vital avenue for young Indigenous people to connect with their heritage, especially when elders pass away, preserving stories and a sense of belonging.

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My family's very cultural and has a lot of traditional art practices like dancing and singing and the traditional art styles.