Our Story

Welcome to our site.

Bowie Empire offers high end streetwear with cultural influences from the Torres Strait Islands. Our brand provides garments that are both ethical and of high quality.  All garments are proudly designed and manufactured in Australia.

We would like to give a special mention to the artist of the Torres Strait Islander flag, the late Bernard Namok Snr. Our Dhari 94 products display the dhari/dhoeri (headdress) from the national Torres Strait Islander flag.

Eso/Thank you

Tahlia & Aisha Bowie

From the islands of the Torres Strait 

Twin sisters, Tahlia & Aisha, were both raised on Hammond Island and Thursday Island. The Torres Strait (Zenadth Kes) is a region of islands located around the most northern point of Queensland, Australia.

At 15 years old with their family, they moved to Cairns to complete the last 3 years of high school. At just 18 years old, the two of them made the big move to Sydney in December 2012.

The move to Sydney was a massive culture shock. The population of the Torres Strait is at 4,514 (recorded in the 2016 Australian census) and Sydney with a population over 5 million people. Everything was noticeably different and far from what they were used to. The people, the food, the way of life, the environment, the infrastructure and the opportunities; were all different. 

Despite being so far away from home, Tahlia & Aisha did what they could to cling on to their island culture whilst living in one of the largest cities in Australia. They would cook few traditional dishes, listen to songs by Torres Strait Islander artists, attend Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander events and continue to speak their language at home. 

Looking around the city and streets of Sydney, there was no representation of the Torres Strait. Tahlia & Aisha wanted to represent their culture and community. Fashion and design had caught their interest whilst living in Sydney and being exposed to the fashion world. They then realised there was a gap in the market and decided to start their own business in 2015. The twin sisters created Bowie Empire, a streetwear label inspired by Torres Strait Islander culture. 

Now based in Brisbane, Bowie Empire has been featured in GQ Australia, Queensland Museum and Cairns Art Gallery. Bowie Empire has been worn by Bow Wow (American rapper/actor), Luke Carroll (Actor), Mitch Tambo (Singer & Songwriter) Cayla George (Australian Opal/Olympian), Nathan Jawai (NBA/NBL athlete) and Patty Mills (NBA athlete/Olympian) to name a few. 

Bowie Empire aims to bring awareness to Torres Strait Islander culture and to allow everyone to represent and wear with pride.