Grassroots Style Re-evaluating Australian Fashion and Aboriginal Art in the 1970s and 1980s

Maynard, M 2000, ‘Grassroots Style Re-evaluating Australian Fashion and Aboriginal Art in the 1970s and 1980s’, Journal of Design History, vol. 13, no. 2, pp. 137–150. <http://jdh.oxfordjournals.org.ezproxy.lib.rmit.edu.au/content/13/2/137>.

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Margaret Maynard is a key figure in the study of Australian dress and an honorary research fellow at University of Queensland. In this article she discusses how a number of Australian designers drew inspiration from "grassroots" native flora and fauna and appropriated and collaborated with indigenous artists as a way to distinguish themselves from other western designers who were "plundering the streets for design inspiration". The article explores the influence of the Whitlam government's encouragement of art and design as a means to develop a national identity and brings to light the complex relationship between European and Indigenous design style concluding that "there is no escape from the politicisation of either art or design in Australia". Maynard is careful to point out that her use of terms like 'aboriginal', 'indigenous' and 'grassroots' are used interchangeably and are not exactly correct. Maynard touches on but does not provide much detail about the financial retribution for indigenous communities as a result of their collaborations with white designers, leaving the reader with some unanswered questions.