Ginny’s Girl Gang’s Hand-Painted Jackets Come With Powerful Statements

Since its inception, Jones has created outerwear that brings awareness to indigenous culture and issues. “Strength of My Ancestors,” for instance, pays respect to those who have come before us. “I Pay My Respects to the Traditional Owners” and “Existing on Stolen Land” both make reference to the many indigenous tribes who existed and thrived pre-colonization. Often, she will surround these messages with her own contemporary take on indigenous art motifs (such as dot art). “I want what I paint to be like a moving, living billboard of what’s important to [indigenous people]” she says. “It’s about starting a conversation, whether it’s with yourself or with each other. People who wear what I put out are open to having those conversations.”

Jones creates all of her works using acrylic paint and a fabric medium, along with a thick fluid that helps the paint become waterproof, and each jacket takes 20–40 hours to make. Sometimes, Jones will also create custom pieces for clients as well, working with them to nail down a statement that encompasses what they wish to convey. “It’s a spiritual process to me,” she says. “I really get to know the person that I’m creating the jacket for. That’s the most important part and lengthiest part of the process. They’re going to wear whatever this message is, and I really want to relay why that’s so important to them.”

Further, Jones will also produce special one-off pieces for a good cause: Until June 19, she is auctioning off a jacket that reads “The Future Is Blak” to raise funds for Sisters Inside, a nonprofit that provides aid to criminalized women and girls. (“Blak” is how many indigenous people identify in Australia, to acknowledge the black, indigenous natives who first arrived in the country. “C is for colonization, so we lose the C,” says Jones.) The current bid is already at $1,400, up from a starting bid of $300.