When 17-year-old Elaine George posed for the cover of Vogue Australia in 1993, becoming the first Indigenous model to do so, the enormity of the situation was entirely lost on her.
Yet that image would prove to be a turning point in the representation of First Nations Australians at home and abroad, where Ms George says some people "didn't know they existed".
It was a moment brought about by pure chance.
Elaine, now Elaine Tanaka, grew up in housing commission in south-west Brisbane.
Her mother is Arakwal from Byron Bay, part of the Bundjalung nation in northern New South Wales, and her father's ancestry is German.
She had saved up to take her younger sister Anita to Dreamworld and was waiting in line for a ride when she was noticed by photographer Grant Good and his partner Diana Finke.
"This lady was following me everywhere and I ended up confronting her and asking her to stop following us," she said.
The woman – Ms Finke – explained that she was a talent scout and handed Ms George a napkin with a number, asking if she was interested in modelling.
The Brisbane-based teenager dismissed the interaction as "a bit dodgy" and it wasn't until her mum found the napkin in her pocket and called Ms Finke that she agreed to have her photograph taken.
"They said they'd like to send it to Vogue to see if they were interested and I never knew what Vogue was," she said.
"We didn't grow up with magazines like that.
"My first job in modelling was actually the front cover of Vogue."
'They didn't know that Australia had Aboriginal people'
The fallout was a "whirlwind" with Ms George giving interviews across all the major media outlets.
At age 18, Ms George's modelling took her to the United States where she was not only considered "old" for the industry but was also confronted with a great deal of ignorance around her heritage and her country's history.
"I had to keep telling everybody that I was a First Nations model from Australia," she said.
"They actually didn't know that Australia had Aboriginal people in their country, they just though it was the Gold Coast [cliché] of blonde hair, blue eyes.
Ms George was signed with one of Australia's biggest modelling agencies, Chadwick Models, after Vogue decided she would make the cover.
Peter Chadwick said it was a "huge" moment for the fashion industry.
"I just looked and thought, 'Yes, she's got a great look and she could do well' and then on top of that she was First Nations so that was an added bonus."
But with the instant fame came enormous pressure, and after months of missing her family, home and community, Ms George made the difficult decision to walk away from the fashion industry.
She spent the next three decades and counting working as a child protection officer, helping foster carers with Aboriginal children make sure they stay connected to their family, culture and community.
"A lot of First Nations families struggle through the Stolen Generations and I wanted to make sure that future children had a better outcome in life than my own family [which was] part of the Stolen Generations."
While Ms George paved the way for First Nations models to appear on the cover of leading fashion magazines, it would be another 17 years before the next Indigenous model, Samantha Harris, would appear on the cover of Vogue.
"I thought it was beautiful [but] I was a little disappointed it took 17 years," Ms George said.
Covering the diversity of Australia's First Nations
Fast forward to May 2022, and the cover of Vogue Australia is a stunning quartet of First Nations women designed and styled by First Nations fashion creatives.
All four models — Elaine George, Charlee Fraser, Magnolia Maymuru and Cindy Rostron – are part of the First Nations Fashion + Design mentorship program, which is a non-profit that aims to give Indigenous creatives a voice.
When Ms George agreed to come out of nearly three decades of retirement to pose for the cover, she said it was because Vogue "really understood" what it meant to be a First Nations woman.
"There have been questions over the years of 'Oh, you're not Aboriginal because you're too white' or 'you don't have those typical stereotype features'.
"[But] on this cover, it represents all First Nations women around Australia and we're all from different mobs.
"Not only do we have the cover, but we have awesome Aboriginal designers and Aboriginal crew that were on the shoot as well."
Far from an isolated event, First Nations talent will feature heavily at this year's Australian Fashion Week, which starts on Monday.
The official closing event will be a runway show produced, styled, modelled and staffed by an all-Indigenous cast and crew.
Reflecting on her role in helping to change public perceptions and understanding around First Nations Australians, Ms George acknowledged there had been positive change over the years, but said there was still a long way to go.
"We actually don't even have a public holiday for First Nations people [even though] we have one for the Ekka [in Queensland] and Labour Day.
"I think that would be a great start."
