Australian Fashion Week kicks off with the return of old and new

As the mercury begins to drop with the onset of autumn in Australia, the country's fashion industry is warming up for the biggest week of the year.

Australian Fashion Week kicked off its latest edition on May 13: a five-day calendar event that sees the long-awaited return of local fashion veterans, as well as the debut of several other brands, to the official Resort line-up. 2025.

This year, Danish jewelery brand Pandora is the title sponsor (replacing Afterpay) of the annual fashion event, which takes place once again at Sydney's Carriageworks (with some selected outside shows scheduled in the port city) until Friday, May 17

With the official calendar scaled back a bit to around 25 designer shows, plus a handful of group shows this season, here's a look at the key fashion shows from day one and two of Australian Fashion Week.

Albus Lumen: New Apocalypse

The luxury brand Albus Lumen on Monday launched the Resort 2025 season in front of a crowd of 600, made up of local and international media and buyers, and the local fashion elite, including Australian supermodels Victoria Lee and Montana Cox, and a group of actors from the hit series Netflix 'Heartbreak'. High'.

Under the creative direction of Marina Afonina, The fashion brand's 'Rebellion' collection looked at its past collections and archival pieces, with this notion of bringing new life to the old, and was staged in what looked like an abandoned city, offering a new apocalypse to guests. The garments arrived “worn”, dyeing the color of the fabrics and deconstructing older pieces and adding new elements.A palette of mostly earthy tones that add to the dystopian theme.

Viktoria & Woods: elevated day to day

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Surprisingly, it was 20-year-old Viktoria & Woods' first AFW this season, with the brand, founded by Margie Woods, cChoosing to explore the wardrobe of a unique woman while navigating her daily life.

Showing off-site at The Cove Apartments, tailoring and relaxed silhouettes were the key points of this mixed collection, which featured silks and cupro (in mint, lilac, metallic and navy) contrasted with the robust structure of linen and bamboo. This year, the sustainability-focused brand also expanded its use of leather, especially in ready-to-wear styles. This season's standout looks included tailoring, both sleeveless and sleeveless, and specialist knitwear, the category the Melbourne-based brand launched with in 2004.

Carla Zampatti: the matriarch of Australian fashion returns

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Australian fashion veteran Carla Zampatti returned to the AFW calendar after a five-year hiatus and some three years after the sudden death of the 78-year-old designer of the same name; The show will take place at the newly named Carla Zampatti Runway and will close on the first day.

“This is our first show on Australian fashion's biggest stage since 2019,” he said. Álex Schuman, executive director of Carla Zampatti, and daughter of the designer. “It's an opportunity to honor mom's memory on the runway that bears her name. It is an exciting look at how the brand has evolved and renewed over the years since her passing, without forgetting the history and values ​​of the brand.”

Under the creative direction of designer Karlie Ungar, the new 'Dynasty' collection leveraged the Sydney brand's classic heritage codes and female empowerment, while introducing new elements such as coin jewelery with custom-made faces into the mix. pewter; Italian maps printed on silk; and tailoring and dresses sculpted in petals.

The show, which began with a short film by Claudia Rose and backdropped by a custom score by Gary Sinclair, was as grand as Zampatti's own dresses, which this season were mostly, and somberly, black. It felt like a true matriarch moment.

Liandra: Honey bee by the sea

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Kicking off the second day, Indigenous designer Liandra Gaykamangu debuted a very summery, bee-inspired collection for her AFW solo runway debut. Specifically, this year also saw the designer expand into ready-to-wear for the first time; She is no longer called Liandra Swim, but simply Liandra.

Sunset-colored prints inspired by native flora and fauna, especially bees, were the leitmotif of this fun collection, with greens and jewel blues added to the color mix of printed cottons and chiffons. Without abandoning her swimsuit roots, bIkini tops and one-piece swimsuits were layered under clothing that could be worn from the beach to the street, or vice versa.

Bec + Bridge: Denim and metal

Sydney fashion duo Bec Cooper and Bridget Yorston brought their premium womenswear brand Bec + Bridge to Sydney's Overseas Passenger to showcase a Resort 2025 inspired by the art of metal work. The former college buddies launched wrap dresses and baggy wool pants paired with racer-back tanks and skivvy blouses, accented by Paris-worthy tucked-in shirts. This collection also saw the relaunch of denim at the brand, seen zhuzh with silver metallic details and corresponding with slouchy silver knee-high boots or metallic skirts. The oval sunglasses of the 90s were a very trendy touch.

Acler: Undulating shapes in space

On the evening of the second day, luxury womenswear brand Acler also returned to AFW after a five-year hiatus, with the likes of supermodel Gemma Ward and former Australian Deputy Prime Minister Julie Bishop sitting front row. The Adelaide-born brand's latest collection played with wavy shapes and conical volumes – think organza and tulle in saccharine tones, contrasting with metallics – along with intricate beadwork; a new adventure for the South Australian brand.

A new capsule collection of footwear and bags—slouchy, knee-high metallic boots and oversized crescent-moon bags—adds another designer arrow to Acler's bow.

All of this in front of a maze-like white stage that made the floating shapes, metallic boots and moon bags look extra galactic.