Nadia Bartel returns to Australian Fashion Week to launch Henne’s new season collection

It was only last year former WAG Nadia Bartel made her Fashion Week debut, but this year she’s promised a “very different” look for the A-list showcase.

Nadia Bartel will lead the Victorian charge in a state-of-origin battle for bragging rights at Australian Fashion Week.

Now in its third year, Bartel’s fashion brand Henne, meaning ‘Her’ in Swedish, will hold its new season collection runway in Sydney on Wednesday, as international buyers converge on the Harbour City to find Australia’s next big thing.

The former WAG turned fashionista promised a “nod to the 80s” with power suiting to feature strongly, as she continues to cement her name in the fashion world.

Former WAG Nadia Bartel is launching Henne’s new season collection in Sydney. Picture: Matrix Pictures

Nadia Bartel arrives to Network 7 studios in Sydney ahead of her fashion label’s show this week. Picture: Matrix Pictures

“I’ve loved attending Fashion Week as a guest for so many years,” Bartel told the Herald Sun on Monday as the first day kicked off.

“So to see Henne on the runway is such a surreal feeling.

“This year’s runway will look and feel very different. The collection is inspired by the 80s.”

It wouldn’t be fashion week without the peacocks and posers, with Melbourne fashionistas Maria Thattil, Olympia Valance and Olivia Molly Rogers all seen out with an entourage of stylists and cameras flashing on the first day.

Elsewhere homegrown designer Asia Hassan presented her brand Asiyam’s first runway show for the Afterpay Australian Fashion Week’s launch day.

Henne founder Nadia Bartel talks all things fashion during a sit-down with Sunrise. Picture: Matrix Pictures

It was history in the making, and the first time the fashion week has featured a show solely dedicated to a modest label, with Hassan saying it is the way of the future.

“It’s been a journey,” Hassan told the Herald Sun fighting back tears. “This feels historic. I’m overwhelmed, being the first is quite emotional but I am trying to pave the way and normalise and say there is other kinds of creativity and that the same designer doesn’t always have to feature on the runway that doesn’t translate to real life.”

Recalling awkward experiences shopping and little to choose from after arriving in Melbourne as a Somali refugee, the Muslim woman began making her own designs.

Hassan says many women across Australia dress modestly, whether it’s for religious, cultural or personal reasons. But the struggle to find outfits that are stylish yet appropriate is real.

A winner of the 2022 Next Gen competition which spotlights new and emerging talent, Hassan said it was an incredible yet daunting jump to have her first solo show for opening day, with 31 hand-picked modest neck-to-ankle looks in a vivid colour palette, proving covering up has never looked so chic.

Melbourne brands Joslin, Erik Yvon and menswear supremo Christian Kimber will also feature solo collections throughout the week. Melbourne has arrived!