Bima Wear, BATHURST ISLAND

Twelve Tiwi women currently produce unique fabric prints and sewn garments in brilliant, bold, timeless designs. Fabrics feature traditional symbols, structures and family and environmental representations that are central to Tiwi culture. We also work in other art practices such as painting, linocut, etching and design. Eight women have worked with Bima Wear for more than 30 years with three working since its inception in 1969. Dedication and morale is strong among the women, with most of us having worked at Bima Wear since leaving school. Local Tiwi people shop for their clothing at Bima Wear and proudly wear the beautiful vibrant designs to special occasions including religious and cultural ceremonies, football matches and for shopping trips to the mainland. Bima Wear has gone through many stages, from being one of the biggest sewing centres in the Northern Territory, producing school uniforms and providing fabrics for fashion designers such as Jenny Kee and Linda Jackson, amongst others, to now entering the world of e-commerce with our online shop. Bima Wear is a branch of Bima Wear Association a Tiwi women’s organisation. Bima Wear Association is a not for profit organisation based on the Tiwi Islands in the NT. Our Association objectives are: to reduce poverty and promote the welfare and development of women and girls of the Aboriginal community at Bathurst Island to improve the living standards of Tiwi women and girls to provide a safe facility for Tiwi women and girls to access support to provide programs which facilitate capacity building, education, skill development, economic development and community development to foster the preservation and development of traditional and other cultural and recreational activities. We hope you enjoy our website. The Bima Wear Ladies.

• Printing
• Textiles
• Indigenous

• Tops
• Dresses
• Homewares
• Towels
• Socks
• Clothing