Yanggurdi, meaning ‘walkabout’, is Cassie’s fashion label.
The logo shows a budgie (MrBeaky) near a waterhole. This is where Cassie harvests lomandra and other native grasses for her weaving on Country.
Cassie’s fashion products are a collaboration across Wild Blak Wearable Arts, Yanggurdi fashion and MrBeaky merchandise.
Ethical fashion
Yanggurdi is upcycling with bush solar-dyeing for sustainably slow fashion with ethical values – highlighting the importance of environmental and wildlife conservation and the impacts of climate changes. Yanggurdi is using fashion as a platform for sharing cultural storytelling and important messages for a better future in fashion, building on developing textiles with native plant fibres into a biodegradable product and providing no carbon footprint.
National exposure
StyleUp NIT: “A spectacle like no other”: Country to Couture designers announced
Revival Runway: The designer of Yanggurdi says the fashion brand is about protecting Country
National Indigenous Times: First Nations designer Cassie Leatham blazing a sustainable trail
National Indigenous Times: Preserving Country through fashion, Yanggurdi’s eco-conscious collection unveiled
The New Daily: Yanggurdi leads way for First Nations fashion labels on festival runway
Mungan Biik
The first Yanggurdi collection, Mungan Biik, is inspired by Cassie’s travels across Country with her blue budgie, Mr Beaky. Mungan Biik means ‘Weave on Country.’ This line was launched at the PayPal Melbourne Fashion Festival 2022 – First Nations Runway.
Cassie screen prints images of her weaved works onto cotton. This is an example of how Cassie both honours the past and innovates for the present and future. She uses metallic colours in her designs to represent the resilience of Country, navy for the deep waters, and white ochre to lift spirit.
