While you consider Sydney, what involves thoughts? The Opera Home, the Harbour Bridge, Bondi Seaside, maybe? The Australian Trend Council (AFC) actually reckons so. In its second yr as organizer of Australian Trend Week (AFW), the council has swapped industrial venue Carriageworks for the Museum of Modern Artwork, which sits simply in entrance of those very Aussie landmarks.
The AFC hopes the transfer will enhance the week’s international pull for press and patrons, to raised assist manufacturers set up themselves not simply within the Australian market, but in addition globally. “We all know from previous exhibits that happen [at Sydney landmarks], like Bondi Born and Carla Zampatti final yr, that these pictures go international,” says AFW style director Kellie Hush. “There’s nothing extra iconic than seeing a mannequin with the Opera Home or the Sydney Harbour Bridge within the background.”
The AFC took up the helm of AFW simply six months previous to the 2025 occasion, after IMG, who ran the week for nearly 20 years, pulled out in November 2024. Beneath IMG possession, manufacturers have been confronted with terms that made taking part unattainable for a lot of. Now, because it strikes to a non-profit mannequin, the AFC goals to form AFW right into a extra accessible version that doubles as a launchpad for reaching international scale.
“Australia is a small nation,” Hush says. “There are 27 million of us. For a enterprise to actually thrive and develop, they must look to worldwide markets, as a result of contemplating the dimensions of the market right here, you do finally cap out.” The catch-22 is that worldwide growth is pricey, which is why Hush is eager to attach manufacturers with wholesalers who can assist the transition. Past the exhibits, patrons shall be connecting with manufacturers in showrooms and scheduling conferences, which the AFC additionally helps coordinate; Web-a-Porter, as an illustration, will journey past Sydney to Melbourne and Byron Bay whereas on the town.
Operating from Could 11 to fifteen, AFW kicks off with a standard Welcome to Nation, which is a land acknowledgement ceremony. Then, Carla Zampatti will open the week, adopted by a present from occasionwear label Maticevski, whose founder Toni Maticevski will make a return to AFW for the primary time in 10 years. The remainder of the calendar consists of runways from veteran manufacturers corresponding to Aje, Bianca Spender, Beare Park, Ngali, and Nicol & Ford, alongside newer names corresponding to Courtney Zheng and Esse. Trend favorites Alix Higgins and Iordanes Spyridon Gogos are within the combine as properly.
