A line up of 600 participating designers and retailers are joining the Melbourne Fashion Week (M/FW) this October, including youth-centric label Aje Studio, luxury brand Oroton and First Nations label Ngali.
Running from October 20 to 26, Melbourne Fashion Week will include six premium runways, and more than 100 free and ticketed events across the six-day program.
Organisers have set the theme for this year as ‘Come As You Are’, with the event expected to create over 1,000 jobs.
Other featured designers include Asau by Gabriel Cole, BAAQIY, Clair Helen, Collective Closets, Et Al, Grace Lillian Lee, Husk, J’Aton Couture, Karlaidlaw, Perple and students from Melbourne’s leading fashion institutions.
The event will continue to back home-grown talent, with more than 85 per cent of participating designers, stylists, models, students and retailers from Melbourne.
“Melbourne Fashion Week is back, celebrating another year of style, creativity and community right across the city,” acting Lord Mayor Roshena Campbell said.
"Melbourne will cement its place as Australia’s fashion and retail capital, with bold new runway locations and a spotlight on local designers, artisans and creatives."
Within the full program is a free, Australian-first Wicked exhibition at Federation Square, which spotlights Oscar-winning designer Paul Tazewell’s costumes created for Elphaba and Glinda in Universal Pictures’ Wicked movies.
The program also features the largest number of independent events to date, with over 40 unique experiences including pop up regenerative stores, vintage runways, retail events, fashion markets, talks, open studios and projections.
"More than 100,000 people are expected to flock to the city for Melbourne Fashion Week – a major boost for local traders and a celebration of everything that makes Melbourne the nation’s style capital,” Campbell said.
Head of Tourism and Events portfolio Councillor Mark Scott said M/FW is a major drawcard for Melbourne, with last year’s event contributing almost $30 million to the local economy and supporting more than 1,000 jobs.
"With its runway-to-retail focus, Melbourne Fashion Week gives people even more reason to shop local and support emerging talent,” Scott said.
Tickets are available to purchase at the M/FW website.