SIR. Directors Nikki Campbell and Sophie Coote initiated a partnership with Batchelor Institute for Indigenous Tertiary Education after a trip to The Northern Territory.

The Batchelor Institute is a not-for-profit organisation that ‘brings together Indigenous Australian traditions of knowledge and Western academic disciplinary positions and cultural contexts, and embraces values of respect, tolerance and diversity.'

“As an Australian business that built our success in the fashion industry through technology, this partnership is very synergistic. The projects that the institute runs focus on the progression of fashion with technology, so, naturally, we’re thrilled to be working together.” - Nikki Campbell

The donations from SIR. enabled the institute to digitally print student artworks onto fabrics, which were made into garments and showcased at the Darwin Aboriginal Art Fair’s runway for the first time. The donations will be further utilised in future projects as a part of the ongoing partnership between the institute and SIR.

SIR. and The Batchelor Institute continue their partnership with the development of an ongoing tiered mentorship program with Institute students, consisting of lectures with the SIR. team to help students understand the various aspects of a fashion house, from design to day-to-day business operations.

The SIR. team participated in a guided walk, led by Eve E White, an Indigenous cultural educator, to learn about the traditional land where the brand was born.

Marking a new era for SIR, the capturing of the Resort 22 campaign in Kooljaman, North Western Australia, was an opportunity to honour the traditional owners of our home country. The creation of the campaign story came to life on Bardi Jawi land, with key involvement of local indigenous community members, who welcomed the team to country through traditional song, dance, and storytelling on the shoot location sites. 

Working with Lockie Cooke, of leading reconciliation organisation the ICEA foundation, and Bundy Chaquebor, Kooljaman elder, it was a privilege to create something so special to SIR on the sacred lands of the Djarindjin and Ardyaloon people, and to be operating in a space where acknowledgement and education of Indigenous Australia overlaps with the creativity of the fashion industry.