What a month May is for fashion. The action starts, as always, with the Met Gala on the first Monday, before shifting down to Sydney’s Carriageworks for Afterpay Australian Fashion Week (AAFW). This year, AAFW steps into its 27th iteration, and Afterpay’s third consecutive year as the event’s main sponsor. A smoking ceremony and Welcome to Country, led by Brendan Kerin from the Metropolitan Local Aboriginal Land Council, opened the five-day program, before guests—a mixture of industry figures, media and other personalities—made their way to the first runway show of the week: Lesleigh Jermanus’s Alémais, held in Gallery 1.
“It feels like a full-circle moment,” Jermanus shared last year, when it was announced that Alémais, just two-years-old at the time, would be making their AAFW debut in 2023. “We are incredibly honoured that Alémais has been invited to open this iconic week and we are excited to bring the magic and energy of Alémais to life for a global audience on the runway.”
Unsurprisingly then, many of the attendees we saw at Carriageworks on day one flitted about in Jermanus’s brightly patterned gowns—enough bishop sleeves, linen and swirling florals to satisfy the resort-minded, and last many a European sojourn. And it was the weather for it too, despite Sydney’s temperamental autumn. Street style goers embraced the post-rainshower sun in sheer tops, still nodding to the season in khaki and checked outerwear. Suits, a staple of the contemporary Australian closet, were also in abundance, though this year, guests seemed keen to wear them in deeper tones and unorthodox cuts: pencil skirt sets with peplum waists, or tie-dye vests over parachute midis.
Below, we round up all the street style trends we’ve spotted at 2023 Afterpay Australian Fashion Week so far.
Sign up to the Vogue newsletter
See more coverage from AAFW 2023 below:
