As Billie Jean Hamlet steps off the plane in Broome everything settles.

The heat warms her skin as shades of ochre and blue stretch as far as the eye can see and the bustling pace of Bondi becomes an afterthought.

On the four-hour drive to Fitzroy Crossing any leftover stress dissipates as she gets closer to where she grew up in a remote community by a river, days spent hunting and fishing with her family.

It’s a long way from opening and closing Australian Fashion Week in May. Even further from New York, where she spends much of her time as one of Australia’s most sought-after models, and where she’s returning again soon.

This year alone Hamlet was the IT girl of fashion week, fronted a Seafolly campaign and was on the cover of Russh. Now, she’s the face of Reebok’s major Born Classic. Worn for Life campaign — the brand’s first Indigenous model.

And yet it’s the moments when her feet are covered in red earth that she feels most herself.

“For me there is no better feeling in the world than touching down in the Kimberley,” Hamlet tells STM. “It’s like the second I step off the plane everything just slows down as soon as I see the red dirt and the blue skies.

“It just takes me to a state of ease and calmness that I guess I yearn for when I spend so much of my life in cities like Sydney and New York, where everything moves so fast. It reminds me of who I am.”

No matter how busy her schedule is, the Walmatjarri/Yamatiji model will always find time to return home.

She’s reflecting on her most recent trip in November where she took part in the Marra Worra Worra × KAFTA Fitzroy Fashion Runway, and ran fashion and self-confidence workshops.

As she engaged with the young First Nations girls and boys, she couldn’t help but remember the painfully shy young girl who grew into the self-assured young woman that flew to Sydney with only a backpack and $500 in 2020. Hamlet soon booked a Country Road campaign before a Marie Claire spread and a 16-page Vogue opportunity followed. Soon, she was in front of the camera for Bec & Bridge and Sir the Label.

“People don’t realise that I literally had all odds stacked up against me,” Hamlet reflects. “I grew up in poverty and experienced a lot of adversity. I had zero connections to the fashion industry when I moved to Sydney, and I didn’t know a single person.

“So my career wasn’t built on luck. It was built on a lot of grit and determination, hard work, and this kind of unwavering belief that I belonged, even before anyone else believed it too.”

It’s a self-belief she had to build from nothing as growing up the path to a dream like hers didn’t exist.

“Growing up there was so much hope for the boys in my community with AFL,” Hamlet explains.

“There was nothing really in the world of fashion or music or anything like that. And being a creative person growing up, I kind of had to create my own dream.

“I think it’s so important for the girls to see someone from their own community going out and achieving their wildest dreams. And I’m sure it makes them feel like if I’m out there doing it, then they’re just as capable.”

In November — flanked with two massive suitcases of brand-new clothing for the girls thanks to her work with Thread Together — the workshops started quietly, the young girls as timid as Hamlet had once been. Before long, she says, they were laughing and hyping each other up.

“I’ve gone back quite a few times over the past year, and I’ve built such personal relationships with everyone,” Hamlet says. “I follow a few of the girls on Instagram, so whenever I come back now, I’m just greeted with big hugs. It’s just the most rewarding thing ever.”

There is one participant whose story has stayed with her, a “gorgeous” young girl who at eight has gone through more than most adults do in their whole life.

“What really stuck with me wasn’t just her story, but it was her energy,” Hamlet says. “She was the first to arrive and then the last one to leave, and she just wanted to soak everything up, and she wanted to learn.

“She threw herself into every activity, so every time I go back I know she’ll be there, and she’s always asking me a million questions. She loves to ask where I’ve lived in the world, and where I’ve travelled, what famous people have I met — all the ins and outs.”

While the glamorous world that Hamlet exists in — attending the F1 Glamour on The Grid, flying to Coachella and appearing on billboards — is always a talking point among the young women, they’re equally interested in where she started, and her enduring connection to home.

“She’ll ask me what community I came from and who my mum is,” she says. “And the moment I told her who my mum was, she smiled straight away and made that connection because I guess that’s how small Fitzroy Crossing is.”

A lot has changed since Hamlet was based in Western Australia, but her approach to personal style has stayed similarly grounded.

She’s always leaned towards authenticity and comfort, whereas her model off duty looks — Kate Moss has always been a style icon — now includes vintage pieces. Her current favourite is a pair of FIFA World Cup Celine flats which she wore to a Rhode event that Hailey Bieber attended.

When the Reebok opportunity came up, it was the perfect fit.

“It’s an iconic brand, and I feel like it’s been a part of sport, fashion, and culture for decades. So it’s really special to be part of that legacy,” she says.

“I love the crossover . . . (I grew up playing) sport, and now I’m so in love with fashion. So it’s kind of my two worlds merging together.”

As Hamlet waved goodbye to the girls in November, and the place that will always be home, the overwhelming feeling was pride. Of the young women, but also herself. The young Billie who got on that plane at 19 with an “insane amount of belief”.

“I think what would mean the most to young Billie is just knowing that I never forgot where I came from,” she says. “I’m still so connected to my family, my culture, my community.

“Now I get to use everything I feel to show other Aboriginal girls that their dreams are possible too.”