Joy on the agenda for day four of Australian Fashion Week

Wearable art, good vibes and highlighter hues were all present and accounted for on day four of fashion week.

Annie Brown

A model walks the runway during the Iordanes Spyridon Gogos show at Australian Fashion Week on Thursday. Picture: Getty Images

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Joy is something to treasure when you feel it. At Jordan Gogos’s show on day four of Australian Fashion Week (his fifth, he pointed out in a video played ahead of the runway show, meaning he is no longer an “emerging designer”), joy abounded.

Perhaps it was best embodied by artist/curator Kirsha Kaechele – fresh from her victory in court to keep men out of her Ladies Lounge exhibition at Tasmania’s Mona Gallery – who danced and pranced down the runway in truly extraordinary boots.

Gogos’s kaleidoscopic brand, Iordanes Spyridon Gogos, has always intersected with art, fashion and culture. Gogos, a multidisciplinary artist, sits within this juncture. Later this month, he will visit his exhibit for the Ramsay Prize at AGSA, in which he is a finalist.

For each collection, made with deadstock fabric, Gogos enlists collaborators. This year this included designer Nathaniel Youkhana, whom Gogos has worked with before, on a dress that featured Youkhana’s hand braiding and Gogos’s painting and stitching. It took 250 hours to finish.

It was worn by Elaine George, who in 1993 was the first Indigenous model to appear on the cover of Vogue Australia. Another featured 30 photographs transferred on to deadstock gold fabric, individually cut and pressed on to the fabric, and turned into a dress in collaboration with designer Mary Argyropoulos. Quite beautiful two-tone coats were made from old patterned carpets.

Speaking ahead of his show, Gogos said he was feeling energised by Australian fashion. The energy though, he pointed out, needs to be high.

“I’m feeling very positive and excited about fashion in Australia. I think if Australian fashion is to truly progress that perfection needs to be put aside and energy, will and enthusiasm needs to be put at the forefront to grow.”

A model walks the runway during the Iordanes Spyridon Gogos show at Australian Fashion Week. Picture: Getty Images

Elaine George walks the runway during the Iordanes Spyridon Gogos show at Australian Fashion Week. Picture: Getty Images

Another designer to put joy down the runway was Gary Bigeni, whose collection was typically colourful, sparkly and – now, this is truly a vibe – inclusive.

At the culmination of the show, models wearing Easter egg wrapping-like lilac skirts and blue sequined dresses and highlighter hued silky separates danced down the runway.

For Bigeni, celebrating a unique point of view in fashion is essential. “Being creative in our industry is everything,” he says.

“I think it’s important to push boundaries in a way that feels authentic to you … Fashion should always be evolving, and we each have a role in shaping where it goes next.”

Australian Fashion Week continues through to Friday.