Melbourne Fashion Week will return for from November 23 to 29 with new-look program
Fashion is back on the city’s event calendar, with this year’s Melbourne Fashion Week going ahead with a jam-packed new-look program.
Victoria
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Fashion is back on Melbourne’s events calendar, with the industry eager to kickstart its recovery after being hit hard by the pandemic.
Melbourne Fashion Week is set to return from November 23 to 29, and this year’s programming for the a nnual week-long event will look different to previous years.
Attendees can expect free online runways, talks led by industry experts and a suite of socially distanced in-person activations.
The pandemic era runway format mirrors similar virtual events hosted by international brands Balmain, Moschino and Miu Miu earlier this year.
Lord Mayor Sally Capp said the event will provide a much-needed boost to local retail and fashion.
“This year’s event is focused on providing critical support to our retail, fashion and hospitality industries as our city starts to recover,” Ms Capp said.
“Melbourne is renowned for its creativity and style and we want to use this event to showcase our incredible talent and encourage people to support local.”
As part of a worldwide movement towards reducing seasonality in fashion, one of the key focuses for this year’s Melbourne Fashion Week is to showcase local collections that celebrate timelessness and a commitment to sustainable style.
City of Melbourne CEO Justin Hanney said now is a vital time to be supporting homegrown designers.
“Supporting Melbourne’s fashion, design and retail industries is more critical than ever before,” he said.
“Our re-imagined program of online and safely managed in-person events have been designed with supporting local designers and retailers at its core.”
In the lead up to Melbourne Fashion Week BELLA Model Management will be hosting its Diversity Model Search, culminating with a runway featuring winners and ambassadors of the competition being held at Federation Square on November 26.
The search which began on Wednesday October 21 has a focus on inclusivity and BELLA Management founder Chelsea Bonner said she encourages models who may usually feel excluded in the industry to register.
“Inclusivity is about including those who might otherwise be excluded or marginalised due to race, ethnicity, gender, sexual orientation, socio- economic status, age, physical abilities and religion,” Ms Bonner said.
“We’re very much looking forward to the Search culminating in a pop-up runway at M/FW to bring some fun and excitement back to the fashion and modelling industry and to play our part in reviving the Australian city that has been the hardest hit by this pandemic.”
For more information about Melbourne Fashion Week events, head to www.melbourne.vic.gov.au/mfw.
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