Our Highlight Picks for
Australian Fashion Week 2024
Overwhelmed by this year’s Australian Fashion Week program? We’re freeing up your fashion calendar by selecting the runways that we can’t wait to see and that you won’t want to miss. It all starts next week, so read on to see our picks for each day of the program.
As lovers of all things shiny and new, we can’t go past Australian Fashion Week’s Next Gen Designer Showcase. This runway will present the four young brands that are beginning to scale into serious businesses, that have been hand-picked as the brightest and most up-and-coming fashion brands on the near horizon. Get excited about Amy Lawrance, Emily Watson, House of Campbell and Potirakis and if you’re not able to attend in Sydney, or haven’t received an invitation, look out for #NextGen to start trending on Instagram around 11am AEST on Monday, May 13.
Tuesday’s schedule sees two exciting designers whose designs we cant see enough of! Liandra Gaykamangu’s swimwear label hits the invitation-only runway at 11am. Since we first discovered her, not long after she launched her label, we’ve been sold! Inspired by the diversity of country and her rich culture, her reversible swimsuits and resort collections have also been quickly taken up by the public. No doubt her use of recycled plastics and elastene in her pieces have helped entrench her popularity. Get to know more about Liandra herself when she also features a few days later on Friday 17 May at 12pm for the Woman With Drive seminar.
A little later on Tuesday, ready-to-wear and sustainable couture label Mastani hits the runway. Mastani pieces are created using handmade techniques passed down over many years from designer Kudrat Makkar’s Indian heritage – all the while recycling and repurposing all cutoffs and scraps from the production process. Watch how repurposing mixes with high-end femininity! Start scrolling Instagram around 2pm AEST.
There’s one more showcase we can’t go past on Tuesday. One of South Australia’s biggest brands, ACLER hits the runway at prime-time in Sydney, 8.30pm. Having only been around for 10 years, ACLER is going from strength to strength. Having already moved into the bridal space, along with their new resort wear collection, they’ll also be presenting their new footwear and expanded accessories range.
Romance Was Born lovers can get excited about Wednesday’s AFW offering. They’ll be having two shows, one for industry and one for the public. We remember seeing their first runway and being taken by their incredibly distinctive, vibrant chaos of colour at a time when the dominant fashion trend was a very basic monotone. Look forward to see their latest bold-but-sustainable offerings of appliqué, beading and sequins.
Passionate slow fashion lovers will have to wait until Friday 17 May to see men’s, women’s and non-binary soft-tailored pieces by madre natura. A brand that lives by it’s pillars of sustainable, ethical, circular and slow fashion, it’s the only runway that reflects true circularity. It offers free mending for the lifetime of their garments and a direct path to the Australian Recycling Factory after that.
The closing night spectacle we can’t go past is the Indigenous Fashion Projects runway. David Jones has come to the party once again, by sponsoring, merchandising and showcasing its Indigenous Designer Collections. This year’s unique offerings for what is always an exciting runway will feature men’s swimwear by GALI, Lazy Girl Lingerie, ready-to-wear men’s fashion by JOSEPH & JAMES and day wear by Miimi & Jiinda.
Of course, there’s so much more happening in the weeklong program, including a symposium on sustainability. That’s happening on Tuesday, May 14 at 5pm. Expect to see your Instagram feed flooded with images of the panel. Sustainability warrior and fashion journalist Clare Press will feature here, along with the global heads of some of fashion’s biggest brands.
See you there fashionistas!
See the full program of Australian Fashion Week.
Featured Image: by Lisa Maree Williams/Getty Images of Nat Buchanan dressed in ACLER at Australian Fashion Week 2023.
Special note: We wish to thank each brand for use of images from their respective instagram accounts. Please be aware that these images are for illustration purposes only. In no way do they reveal what will be seen on the runway at Australian Fashion Week 2024.
