Paolo Sebastian, Romance Was Born, and ten other Australian fashion brands are flying to Paris Fashion Week later this month in a bid to expand exports into the region.
The mission is driven by the Australian Fashion Council (AFC) and is supported by Austrade through the Trade Diversification Network, and further backed by Create NSW as part of the NSW Fashion Sector Strategy 2025-2028.
Launching during Paris Fashion Week Womenswear SS27, AFC’s Australian Fashion Rooms will run from September 30 to October 4, 2026, at Galerie Poggi in the French capital. The initiative is set to draw interest from international buyers, media and industry.
The 12-strong cohort of emerging, evolving and established brands includes Amy Lawrance, Buai, Caroline Reznik, Esse, Haluminous, Ilio Nema, Maara Collective, Madre Natura, Miimi & Jiinda, Ngali, Paolo Sebastian and Romance Was Born. Their styles span couture, refined and directional ready-to-wear, First Nations-led practice, artisanal craft and experimental design.
Half of the cohort have been platformed during Australian Fashion Week through group shows or solo runways.
The program was guided by an advisory panel that included leaders across Aje, Camilla and Marc, David Jones and 10 Magazine, alongside Dan Thawley, Kellie Hush and Yatu Widders Hunt.
Ahead of Paris, participating designers are undertaking a structured readiness program covering market-facing brand positioning, wholesale and export preparation, and the presentation of their collections to international audiences.
The program will officially open with a reception at the Australian Embassy in Paris, hosted by Lynette Wood, Australian Ambassador to France, with the reception bringing together participating designers with international buyers, media, cultural figures and government stakeholders.
"Australian creativity is distinctive, globally relevant and deserves to be seen on the world stage,” AFC executive chair Marianne Perkovic said. “AFC's Australian Fashion Rooms creates a genuine point of discovery in Paris, connecting 12 Australian designers directly with the buyers, media and industry leaders who can turn international interest into commercial opportunity.
“This is part of a deliberate AFC strategy to build sustainable global pathways for an industry that contributes $27.2 billion to our economy and generates $7.2 billion in exports. With the support of Austrade and Create NSW, our ambition is not simply to showcase Australian fashion to the world, but to help our brands build lasting global businesses."
The Australian Fashion Rooms at Paris Fashion Week will be themed as a gallery-like space. A broader cultural layer is being developed around the showroom, with Australian chef and food stylist Sian Redgrave developing a menu for it, matched with coffee from Sydney’s The Little Marionette.
Austrade’s Trade Diversification Network GM Jay Meek said the cohort of 12 designers brings together Austrade’s global reach and the AFC’s industry expertise.
“Austrade is pleased to be working alongside Create NSW and the AFC to take Australian fashion to the world,” Meek said.
The Paris mission follows a similar initiative at Centrestage in Hong Kong, one of Asia’s largest fashion trade events, where ten designers were brought over by the AFC, Austrade and Create NSW.