Unveiling Australian fashion week 2025: The essentials
Industry professionals and fashion lovers alike will soon be heading off down under for the 2025 edition of Australian Fashion Week, held at the iconic Carriageworks in Sydney. Every year, local designers and global fashion houses showcase their latest collections in key locations across the bustling city.
However, 2025 is set to be a step-change event for the famous fashion week after long-term headline sponsor IMG confirmed they were withdrawing from the event at the beginning of the year. Thankfully, Pandora and Destination NSW have stepped up to ensure that the show goes off without a hitch. Attendees can expect to be treated to showstopping designs from exceptional emerging talents and household favourites, like women’s workwear from David Lawrence setting the trend for autumnal business chic and Alix Higgins’ hotly anticipated Resort 2025 collection.
A brief history
The first edition of Australian Fashion Week was held in 1996, and it was the brainchild of PR professional Simon Lock. Mercedes Benz was the first headline sponsor of the event until it was passed over the Rosemount Estate wineries in 2006. However, by 2011, it was back in the hands of the popular car brand and was renamed Mercedes Benz Fashion Week Australia. They remained the primary sponsors of the event until October of 2022, when Afterpay took over as the main sponsor, subsequently renaming it to Afterpay Australian Fashion Week.
The fashion week was historically held at the Overseas Passenger Terminal in Circular Quay until it was officially moved to the Carriageworks in Eveligh in 2013, where it continues to be held every year. Due to its global placement and event timing, it has drawn some criticism for being out of touch with global fashion. In order to better align with fashion weeks held in the northern hemisphere, the event was moved to be held in May in 2015.
Some of Australia’s and the world’s most prominent designers have appeared at Australian Fashion Week, showcasing their world-class designs and iconic styles, including Aje, Christopher Esber, and the highly respected Oscar de la Renta. In 2020, the event was due to celebrate its 25th anniversary edition, but Fashion Week was cancelled due to the global coronavirus pandemic.
Fashion week: When & where
The 2025 edition of Australian Fashion Week will be held at Sydney’s Carriageworks from 12 to 16 May. While some designers stage their collections at selected off-site locations across the city each year, most runway shows will be held at Carriageworks.
The full schedule, off-site presentation locations, and list of designers attending have not yet been released; however, attendees can expect to see many emerging designers looking for the perfect opportunity to stand their mark in the fashion world.
Delivering new focus
For the first time in nearly two decades, Australian Fashion Week will be primarily shaped by the booming local fashion industry. This homegrown approach hopes to ensure that the event continues to benefit designers, buyers, and the entire fashion ecosystem while still supporting long-term value and industry success.
In recent years, the event has received criticism over the withdrawal of top Australian designers. But founder Simon Lock has reiterated that moving forward, the driving force behind the fashion event is to focus on fostering and highlighting emerging designers and their work.
Last year, some of the week’s biggest talking points came from the theatrical runways of up-and-coming brands like Nicol & Ford, Wackie Ju and Iordanes Spyridon Gogos, and Lock wants to continue this positive momentum.
The Australian difference
While the 2025 Australian Fashion Week will mirror past events, there will be some key new changes made to ensure improved inclusion and accessibility to guests and designers alike. By bringing on major partners, the event is in the financial position to waive designer fees, which is typically a significant barrier many up-and-coming brands have to negotiate, often preventing them from participating.
The 2025 edition will be no different, with Destination NSW and Pandora as the event’s headline sponsors. Attending designers will not be charged fees; instead, they will be personally invited to present their latest collections.
Furthermore, global courier company DHL will present Australian Fashion Week’s Next Gen program. It has quickly gained a reputation for being a popular and consistent highlight of the week’s event and can closely be likened to London Fashion Week’s Fashion East showcase. Four talented and deserving emerging designers will be presented with cash prizes of up to $100,000 over the duration of the event.
Additionally, Australian Fashion Week was previously only made accessible to specific groups of people, including fashion professionals, organisers, media, models, buyers and other industry professionals. But now, select events throughout the week will be open to the general public, and tickets can be bought via the official website.
Atelier trade event
An exciting new addition will make its debut during the 2025 event after AFC Australian Fashion Week entered into an official partnership with Australia’s first international fashion trade event, Splash Sydney Show. The partnership will host an onsite designer showroom -AFC presents Atelier powered by Splash- in hopes of providing improved wholesale opportunities for local emerging designers, focusing on contemporary fashion brands.
The event sponsors will collaborate to build a star-studded guest list of international buyers, media personnel and other key industry members who are passionately interested in discovering and exploring Australian brands and offer local brands a more accessible entry point to showcase their work to a global audience.
The editorial unit
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