Wings: an independent force reshaping fashion week
With fewer runways and a shift toward commercial viability, this year’s official Australian Fashion Week has left some designers out in the cold — but a new underground collective is staging a stylish rebellion.
On the eve of Fashion Week, on a rain-slicked Sydney evening, the city’s edgier fashion creatures gathered on George Street for the inaugural independent fashion show from creative collective Wings.
The venue: The Plaza Hotel — once the infamously grimy Star Bar, now lushly renovated and a key sponsor of the event. Inside, stacked vintage televisions buzzed with static, and the fashion set — more Leigh Bowery than Lara Worthington — mingled, or at least attempted to, over the snarling squall of Sonic Reducer, a punk band from Canberra. It was a far cry from the polished halls of Carriageworks — and that was the point.
Founded last year by designer Alvi Chung, of Sydney label Speed (who presented at AFW in 2023 and 2024), and Daniel Neeson, Wings was created to support independent designers and offer an alternative platform at a time when space on the official Australian Fashion Week (AFW) schedule is tightening.
The backdrop is a year of upheaval. In November, long-time organiser IMG exited the event, leaving the Australian Fashion Council (AFC) just 100 days to rebuild it. The result: a shorter four-day program, a reduced footprint at Carriageworks, and a sharper commercial focus.
This year, only two showrooms will be in use at Carriageworks — down from five — hosting runway shows on Tuesday, May 13, and Wednesday, May 14. The latter half of the week shifts to private venues, with a stronger emphasis on events designed to attract buyers.
For many designers, especially those not focused on wholesale, that’s meant being left off the schedule entirely. Among them is Queensland designer Gail Sorronda, whose goth-tinged work has shown internationally but was deemed not commercially aligned enough for this year’s line-up.
Also absent: the graduate runway from TAFE NSW’s Fashion Design Studio, a showcase that previously launched the careers of Romance Was Born, Christopher Esber, and Akira Isogawa.
It’s in this climate that Wings arrives. “We started it because we wanted to give a platform to emerging designers who are more conceptual, who didn’t fit the mould of Fashion Week,” Chung tells The Australian.
“When AFC walked in, they put a strong focus on wholesale basis for selection—they wanted to focus on brands that were a lot bigger and had ready-to-wear and ready-to-go. It cut out a lot of people who were more based on slow craftsmanship.
“We thought it was important to show that there are other ways. That not going by the book and being experimental and conceptual can bring not only economic support to Australia but also global traction.”
Over three nights, five independent designers showed: Catholic Guilt, helmed by Ella Jackson, who has shown at Paris Fashion Week and designed a custom chain-mail gown for Julia Fox at last year’s NGV Gala; Jody Just, whose lairy, cowboy-inspired garb is favoured by The Kid Laroi and Post Malone; newcomers Joteo and Amiss; and, of course, Speed.
Speed’s show on Thursday night offered the clearest glimpse yet of the collective’s ethos. First out were members of Sydney post-punk band G.U.N. (Galvani. Unapologetic. Noise.), who stalked the checkerboard runway before launching into a throbbing live set. Then came the models: eyes rimmed in soot-black kohl, hair spiked into accusatory peaks, dressed in trailing, shredded garments — a little gothic sensuality, a little club kid survival gear. Cut-outs appeared where they shouldn’t; crushed velvet florals bloomed darkly.
The two-day festival doesn’t end on the runway. A two-week pop-up store at the Plaza Hotel will follow, giving designers the chance to sell directly to audiences. Wings is also a ticketed event — a rare model in Australian fashion — with revenue helping offset production costs for the emerging labels involved.
This isn’t a rivalry, but it is a recalibration. The official AFW schedule still boasts marquee names — Aje, Romance Was Born, Carla Zampatti — and is working to steady itself under new leadership. But with fewer runway slots and a growing emphasis on wholesale-ready collections, independent platforms like Wings are filling the cracks where the mainstream can’t—or won’t.
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