The PayPal Melbourne Fashion Festival has just confirmed an expansion into regional Victoria this year, launching a Geelong Fashion Fortnight event which is supported by the City of Greater Geelong.
The Geelong Fashion Fortnight will spotlight the region’s local fashion scene across a series of events and activations during the main festival dates from February 14 to 28 this year. This forms part of the PMFF’s 30th anniversary programme.
“We’re creating meaningful opportunities for local designers, makers and creatives to be showcased on a major platform, while inviting new audiences to engage with fashion in a distinctly regional context,” PayPal Melbourne Fashion Festival CEO Caroline (Ralph) Ralphsmith said.
“We’re proud to collaborate with the City of Greater Geelong and an incredible network of local partners to bring this programme to life.”
The inaugural Geelong Fashion Fortnight features 16 events, 10 of which are free to attend, including exhibitions, workshops, runways and markets, hosted by the National Wool Museum, Creative Geelong, Murran First Nations Hub, Westfield Geelong, Millinery Australia, and more.
The National Wool Museum event highlights a Fibre Art and Fashion exhibit, a behind-the-scenes tour of the Museum’s textile collections, a jewellery making workshop and a natural dyeing workshop.
Geelong Fashion Fortnight will also include a Murran First Nations Hub event, which includes First Nations textiles and fashion design, including free-to-feel possum skins, bush-dye fabrics and possum skin cloaks. There will also be a time capsule exhibition of Murran Hub’s leading fashion designers such as Maara Collective, Liandra, Yangurrdi, Ngali and MumRed.
Other events include a Westfield Geelong fashion showcase, a millinery exhibit, Yarra Street window dressings, recycled t-shirt designs, a bridal fashion parade and a fragrance workshop.
“As Australia’s first UNESCO City of Design, we’re thrilled to partner with the PayPal Melbourne Fashion Festival on its first expansion into regional Victoria,” Greater Geelong Mayor Stretch Kontelj OAM said.
“This collaboration felt like a natural fit and a meaningful way to recognise the strength of Geelong’s creative and design community. From our rich textile history, celebrated through the National Wool Museum, to the many contemporary fashion brands that have emerged from the region, Geelong has a strong and authentic fashion story to tell.”
Tickets are currently on sale via the PMFF website.