PayPal Melbourne Fashion Festival has unveiled its 2025 program, which includes a key shift to its National Designer Award, presented by David Jones.
For the first time in the festival’s history, the National Designer Award x David Jones will be presented on the ‘Premium Runway’ in the festival’s main arena at the Royal Exhibition Building to a consumer audience.
Historically, this award ceremony has been featured outside the festival’s main arena, usually at the David Jones Bourke Street store. It would also typically have industry, media and friends attend.
This follows similar shifts in recent years at Australian Fashion Week, a national industry runway event, which had increased consumer participation through public-ticketed runways and events.
Meanwhile, the number of finalists to be chosen for next year’s National Designer Award has also increased, lifting from six in 2024 to ten in 2025.
The award winner will be announced live on the night. Past winners of the award include Alèmais, Christopher Esber, Dion Lee, Haulier, Romance Was Born, Song for Mute, Strateas Carlucci and Toni Maticevski.
PMFF 2025 marks the festival’s 29th year, with the event running from February 22 to March 8. Tickets are currently on sale, with some events still to be announced.
The festival is run by a not-for-profit organisation with a consumer model that is open for everyone to attend and provides a free opportunity for Australian designers to boost visibility and sell directly to consumers in a see now, buy now format.
According to PMFF, its 2024 program had a 10 per cent growth in attendance.
Alongside the lift in its National Designer Awards, PMFF’s National Graduate Showcase, presented by Emporium Melbourne, has increased from 10 graduates presenting in 2024, to 13 graduates in 2025.
“The fashion talent in Australia is rich, deep, diverse and extraordinary and it deserves to be celebrated in a way that is accessible to as many people as possible,” PMFF CEO Caroline (Ralph) Ralphsmith said.
“As Australia’s only true consumer major fashion event, PayPal Melbourne Fashion Festival does exactly that, delivering tangible value, development opportunities and exposure to designers at all levels by connecting them directly to consumers and facilitating purchases in real-time.
“We create a true fashion destination where anyone and everyone can experience ‘fashion as a spectator sport’, and as a result, we contribute to the creation of a strong, viable and commercially sustainable future for the Australian fashion industry.”
PayPal has also returned for its fourth consecutive year as the festival’s naming rights partner, as part of a new three-year commitment until 2027.
The festival’s preeminent ‘Premium Runway Series’ will feature over 90 emerging and established designers, across 12 runway shows.
The opening runway will feature Aje, Bianca Spender, Gail Sorronda, MacGraw, Manning Cartell, Ngali, Romance Was Born, and Viktoria & Woods.
Other designers featuring in the week-long runway series will include Oroton, Madre Natura, Mariam Seddiq, Christian Kimber, Lisa Barron, Nobody Denim, Amy Cottrell, and Mutual Muse.
PMFF is also yet to announce the designer leading the Grand Showcase solo runway during the week.