A M I N ATA CONTEH-BIGER

Twenty years ago, Aminata ContehBiger arrived in Australia as a refugee. In her suitcase: this traditional Guinean dress, a free-flowing navy number with intricate white trims. “My mum gave it to me before I left Africa – it was very expensive, but she didn’t want me to forget where I came from,” explains Conteh-Biger, who grew up during the Sierra Leone Civil War and experienced unthinkable horrors. In 1999, aged 18, she was ripped from her father’s arms, kidnapped by rebel forces and used as a sex slave and human shield before fleeing to Guinea and, ultimately, Sydney.

This dress represents her strength and pride. “There’s so much love, tradition and culture in the piece. I don’t wear it often, but when I do it’s very special,” says Conteh-Biger, founder and CEO of the Aminata Maternal Foundation and author of a memoir, Rising Heart. “I feel really graceful; even the way I move and dance in it is different. It makes you carry yourself like a warrior.”

The human rights advocate says that while her dad never recovered from losing her – “He was extremely protective and loving, and after I was taken he could never celebrate life again” – he did inspire her bent for style and sophistication, and since moving to Australia, ContehBiger has worked as a model and in fashion retail. And how will her mother feel about seeing this sentimental garment in glossy print? “She’s going to melt – my mum is such a proud woman. She’ll probably sleep with the magazine.”

“I’D BEEN SUCH A TOMBOY UNTIL I DESIGNED THIS LINE”