Day one of the 2022 Melbourne Fashion Festival saw a little Barbiecore in the city and elaborate evening-wear at the State Library. By Hayley Peppin
WHILE SYDNEY may play host to the country’s biggest sartorial event, Afterpay Australian Fashion Week, fashion arguably looks best in the cultural capital of Melbourne. ARIA-nominated artist Vera Blue even told Harper’s BAZAAR Australia/New Zealand during PayPal Melbourne Fashion Festival back in March there’s a “little extra edge” in the city lauded for black attire, unabashed creativity and four seasons in one day.
“You can feel a little bit more fearless to walk around in Melbourne and wear whatever the heck you want,” Blue added.
Last year, Melbourne Fashion Week (M/FW) marked the return of Melbourne’s thriving arts and cultural scene following two years of continuous lockdowns. While runways were staged for COVID-19 safety measures, in 2022 the festival is about celebrating Melbourne in every way.
Set across eight of the city’s most iconic (and unexpected) locations, M/FW promises experiential and eco-conscious shows with more than 600 established and emerging designers. Guests can marvel at Ginger & Smart and ELK among other labels while dining on fresh produce at the Queen Victoria Market, or discover new wares by Bec + Bridge and Oroton in a never-before-seen space at Melbourne’s Emporium building.
The annual event also recognises the city’s diverse fashion community with the meat market in North Melbourne hosting the country’s second Modest runway and a First Nations-focused runway titled ‘ganbu murra.’
Aside from the M/FW runways, Melburnians can enjoy a series of talks and workshops on the circular fashion economy and local manufacturing (with $1 from each runway ticket sale also going towards carbon offset) and check out a number of fashion capsules and roving entertainment throughout the CBD. With dining, bar and coffee culture a way of Melbourne life, it’s unsurprising the festival also has an array of exclusive foodie offers from some of Melbourne’s favourite restaurants including Society and Arbory Afloat.
ARIA Award-winning Indigenous Australian artist and 2022 M/FW ambassador, Thelma Plum will also delivering an evocative closing night performance at the impressive grand dome at 333 Collins.
“I am so excited to be part of Melbourne Fashion Week this year and help shine a light on the incredible local fashion talent in beautiful Melbourne,” Plum said.
“Melbourne Fashion Week is a show-stopping celebration of our brilliant local designers and creatives who help to cement Melbourne as Australia’s fashion capital,” Lord Mayor Sally Capp said in a statement.
“A key element of Melbourne Fashion Week is its runway-to-retail focus — you can walk out of an event and into a local store and buy a fabulous outfit while supporting Melbourne businesses.”
Follow BAZAAR’s daily M/FW coverage to inspire you to get dressed up for an invigorating spring/summer season in Melbourne.
Related: Melbourne fashion is back and surprisingly not in black
Melbourne is all about city living, so its opening M/FW runway on October 10 was fittingly held at the centre of the CBD — Wesley Place. Nestled amongst the new sky-high Office Towers and the Gothic Revival architecture of the 164-year-old Wesley Church, the environment symbolically represented the city’s progress.
Following a Welcome to Country, famed Melbourne designers such as Acler, Gorman, Ngali and Torannce brightened the concrete jungle with a sea of colour and playful prints — proving tonal colours are out and ‘dopamine dressing’ is here to stay. In the warmer months, expect to wear the lushest of greens, soothing lilacs and electrifying oranges paired with effortless strappy sandals and slides.
Notably, Viceta Wang brought a little Barbiecore to the Urban Garden with a ‘Metamorphosis dress,’ which resembled butterfly wings — an homage to the changing times.
A scattering of Australia’s fashion elite sat front row in equally expressive clothing, with M/FW ambassador Thelma Plum — wearing a sophisticated white blazer with monochrome pink dress — also debuting a new orange ‘do to match the vivid runway.
Not one preppy look was shown at the Victorian State Library on Monday evening: Everything was bigger and bolder to match the multi-sensory and immersive experience.
As an extension of last year’s event at the NGV, the 2022 Fashion X Art exhibition saw guests wander through one of the city’s architectural triumphs while spectating roving creative performances. Theatrical stages, gilded ballrooms and office scapes inside the library showcased wearable art, elaborate evening-wear and fantastical millinery — offering a little Spring Racing inspiration.
J’Aton Couture took over the La Trobe Reading Room with an opera singer donning meringue-like tulle, black opera gloves and chandelier earrings, while under the space’s magnificent dome. Mariam Seddiq favoured pleating and fluidity with a number of models set against gold frames, meanwhile Posture Studio saw dancers dressed in Victorian-like corsetry — featuring high-neck detailing — and exaggerated tutus with sheer stockings. Strateas Carlucci celebrated models of all ages, as they showed off sleek and structured outerwear suitable for temperamental spring weather. Verner also took us down the rabbit hole with a number of optical illusions, as models wearing polka dots, blurred lines and multi-dimensional stripes stood in front of alternate patterns.
Fashion X Art highlights include a collaboration between the Gapuwiyak Culture and Arts Centre (a remote Art Centre in east Arnhemland in the Northern Territory) and eco-artist Aly deGroot with a series of meticulously woven accessories and garments made from panadanus spiralis — a palm native to Northern Australia — inspired by a story from Yolngu culture. Jason Grech also showed the sartorial power of red with three models daringly donning the shade from head-to-toe. A ruffled mini-dress, a floor-length tulle gown with Y2K cut-outs and a dominatrix-inspired set was styled with fingerless gloves, stilettos and dainty, yet dramatic, feathered headpieces.
Set against the rows of books, the immersive runway dared guests to dream about their fashion fantasy.
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