It’s not often a Bogan Shire resident stars in the pages of British Vogue and the odds are even shorter that two win a spot in the same issue but that’s exactly what this month’s August edition has done.  

Local Fashion icon “Kennedy the Label” and Nyngan artist Jamila Hume both have appeared in the magazine which was established in 1916 and is known as Britain’s Fashion Bible, with its pages full of fashion, beauty and lifestyle. 

‘Kennedy the Label’ is a family run business lead by designer and creator Annabelle Kennedy of Nyngan. Annabelle who lives with her husband Dom and four children on their large mixed farming family property, grew up on the south coast and moved to Nyngan in 2012.  

Although she had visions in her mind for her products, she didn’t officially establish the label until 2017. With a desire to modernise classic children’s clothing, she also aimed for the clothing to have sustainability, durability and affordability.  

In 2019 Annabelle introduced Liberty of London to her brand to enable Australians to access the iconic prints for their kids. 

The label, which is run from the family home, means all hands are on deck for packing and preparing products to send, before Annabelle makes the 100 kilometre round trip to town to post them, as well as fitting in kids' school, sport and ballet, and helping on the farm in between designing and creating garments, it’s a busy life for this bush mum. 

Initially the magazine contacted her to advertise but then decided to feature her label instead. Pretty impressive for an Outback Australian business. 

A little overwhelmed Annabelle took to Facebook expressing her honour at this inclusion.  

ABOVE: Annabel Kennedy with her daughter Florence 

“From the Bush to British Vogue – if you had of told me eight years ago that with time and perseverance my very own daughters would grace the glossy pages of global fashion powerhouse British Vogue wearing the clothes I designed and curated and to be selling globally from our humble farmhouse in Outback NSW, I would probably have rolled my eyes, but here we are,” she said.   

Jamilla's voyage to Vogue

Jamila Hume, has lived all over the world, though in the last few years has called Nyngan home. During this time, she established a studio in the town where she produces amazing art pieces that have been snapped up by buyers both in Australia and world-wide. 

The artist who recently returned from the UK where she held outdoor workshops for budding artists is making quite a name for herself across the globe. 

Born in England, Jamila and her family moved to Canada where she was raised and attended University. In 2010 she immigrated to Australia and in 2017 decided it was time to follow her dream of painting and she relocated to Florence in Italy painting and attending galleries and museums.  

Her wide travel experiences allowed her to take inspiration from her journey to create her art.  

“I find inspiration in a single flower petal; a large rambling garden scape; or a gestural bouquet of local flowers,” said Jamila. 

“I paint freely with my palette knife. I apply a very thick layer of oil paint and start the visual journey by first adding foliage and then responding to the blending and bleeding of colours. My process is akin to a stream of consciousness: one gestural mark leads to another the colours change as they pick up the background colour or adjacent marks; the painting emerges over a series of days. Each one of my paintings takes about a week to paint,” she said. 

“While travelling in the UK I received an email from Conde Nash British Vogue. I was taken aback and thought maybe it was a fraudulent email.” 

“I guess because I never imagined my work would attract the likes of Vogue. I asked how she found me, and she said her Managing Director saw my work online and started to follow me and made the recommendation,” said Jamila. 

“After numerous email exchanges I realised it was a real invitation and so my art was included in Vogue Art Gallery picks in the interior section.”  

“I have only worked full time ever as an artist from the Studio on Pangee Street and my current success was birthed right in Nyngan. I would like to thank the Nynganites for supporting me. They made me – their joy became my joy and that translated into my paintings that have now landed in Vogue.” 

“It’s not every day an artist living in a rural outback town gets to feature in one of the most well-known magazines in the world, it is very humbling,” said Jamila. 

Proof, that living in rural Australia is no obstacle to making your dreams come true as these two extraordinary creatives have shown, giving hope to all those in rural areas putting in the hard yards’ day in and day out that amazing things really can happen.