A revamped Australian Fashion Week brings renewed hope for debuting designers
Following uncertain times for the event, an overhauled schedule offers opportunity for emerging brands to find new audiences at home and abroad.
Laura May Gibbs, co-founder and creative director of Byron Bay fashion label Nagnata, felt it was important to stage her first official fashion week show as a sign of support for the Australian fashion industry.
For three years Nagnata has shown independently off schedule and has retail expansion plans for New York after generating interest in the US market late in 2024.
“In the past we felt we didn’t have a big enough collection to present or other times there were different elements of the brand’s storytelling that I felt would be lost on a runway,” Gibbs says.
With this collection Gibbs will make her first foray into denim, a significant move for the business which started Return to Earth, and will use organically grown plant dyes and focus on materials that decompose naturally.
“(It) signals a pivot into a new product category,” she says.
“It’s a deliberate extension of our mission to offer a complete Nagnata uniform – one that ... champions better choices for people and the planet.
“This extra evolution is really relevant to the fashion audience so I strongly felt this was the time to get on schedule.”
Nagnata joins a renewed fashion week following the sudden exit of IMG in November 2024. IMG had sponsored the event for 20 years.
The not-for-profit industry body the Australian Fashion Council is the new custodian of Australian Fashion Week, and Gibbs is happy to be part of its new iteration.
“Obviously, at the end of last year, there was a lot of uncertainty around whether AFW was going ahead but I feel Australia has a really important design perspective that needs to be shared with the world,” she says.
Nagnata isn’t the only brand making a fashion week debut this year.
Menswear brand Joseph & James will also stage a show and present at the country’s inaugural fashion trade show, The Atelier by Splash Sydney.
“I’m not just excited about unveiling a new collection at our debut solo show – I’m excited to contribute to a broader conversation about what Australian menswear could be,” says designer Juanita Page, who founded the label in 2021. “That’s why we also chose to participate in The Atelier (showroom).”
Meanwhile, Farage will stage its first AFW show after nearly 30 years in the industry.
Joe and Katy Farage, the designers behind their namesake label, known for its refined and well-tailored suiting, say this year was the right moment to introduce their brand to a new audience.
“Katy and I really took the time to explore the heritage of our brand when designing this year’s collection,” says Joe Farage.
“After 27 years of building and refining our craft, we felt that this year was the right moment to showcase our collection on schedule and introduce our brand to a new audience.”
The show reflects, he says, a “celebration of how far we’ve come, but also a commitment to the future of our industry and the continued relevance of Australian Fashion Week”.
Kicking off on Monday, May 12, fashion week will have a renewed focus on younger labels debuting on schedule.
Newly appointed AFW chief executive Kellie Hush says a key role of the event will be to create a platform that showcases new and established fashion brands to Australia and the world.
“The schedule for 2025 reflects our commitment to supporting brands at different stages of business growth,” she says.
Hush recognises that “AFW is a crucial launch pad for new design talent seeking media attention, international buyer access, and brand recognition”.
Runway mainstays such as Carla Zampatti and Romance Was Born, celebrating 60 and 20-year anniversaries respectively, remain set to show on the schedule. Other returning labels include Aje, Alix Higgins and Bianca Spender.
AFW will run from Monday to Friday. Nagnata and Farage are scheduled to show on Tuesday
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