No other fashion week offers resortwear like Australia’s legacy and emerging fashion houses, and Australian Fashion Week (AFW) Resort 25 proved an undeniable testament. Over 32 shows and 5 days, Sydney’s Carriageworks descended into a diverse array of reimagining, celebrating and examining how we wear clothes.
Though there were fewer shows than last year, hosting a runway during AFW now acts as much of a marketing tool as it does a traditional trade show. From Sydney to Paris, today’s runway consumption is all about its accessibility and story-telling opportunities, from livestreams and backstage TikToks to pre-orders and post-show acquisition tactics.
Brands who show during AFW are more than likely to operate from a long-term brand-building perspective, to create authentic content that defines identity and positioning. IMG managing director Natalie Xenita, told the Financial Review that established labels see three times the media coverage during fashion week, and for emerging brands, it can be as much as 13 times. For the brands who don’t show, it might be that their budget is simply allocated elsewhere; paid ads, in-store activations or intimate VIC events to boost lifetime value.
Take a leaf from the week’s sponsor, Pandora. Thanks to a brand-building overhaul that involved backing prestigious fashion events (like fashion week) the jewelry brand reported Q1 organic growth of 18%. Australian brands are right to swap star power for strategy and be clued in to the returns they realistically can get out of fashion week. Why fork out for an international celebrity appearance when a) a handful of micro-influencers can run up cash flow by wearing the current selling collection, and b) simultaneously foster community-level engagement?
Speaking of story-telling, Viktoria and Woods celebrated their 20th anniversary with their first runway collection led by 90s favorite Emma Balfour, P.E. Nation unveiled its new pared-back direction and the Carla Zampatti label returned to the runway under Karlie Unger, where a sold-out public show followed. Vogue Runway called out Amy Lawrence as one to watch from the New Gen lineup, citing the collections 12 romantic yet architectural dresses with almost-flat silhouettes. Liandra Gaykamangu of Liandra presented her first solo showing on the official Australian Fashion Week calendar, and the second-ever First Nations designer to do so. Jordan Gogos presented his fourth Iordanes Spyridon Gogos AFW show true to his psychedelic, hand-made aesthetic and even featured a collaboration with Designer Rugs.
As for the collections themselves, resort is arguably the most profitable time of year for Australian brands. There is an art to honing sophisticated, sartorially-nuanced clothing for days that might peak at 40 degrees and drop to a wet and windy 23 degrees. Australian designers recognize (and execute) this better than anyone, but how much should weather get a look-in during range planning?
As Style Arcade’s Morgan Polinelli discussed in the expansion webinar, it is weather (over country) that should help define assortments if you have a global brand mindset. Hybrid-resort styles can extend the life of a range for not only local consumers, but ensuring the product range hits for, say, a Queensland winter and a New York summer, is equally advantageous.
This is perhaps why intricacies in asymmetric, nonchalant layering were a big styling trend throughout the week. Albus Lumen, Blanca and Rory William Doherty were among those to channel cool-girl (and guy) versatility with loose trousers, knotted tops, off-shoulder dresses and jumpers slung around the waist; looks with a cross-border mentality. Key to this styling was an abundance of hosiery in pops of red, calf-length with brogues and slippers, or up to the navel beneath tracksuits as seen at P.E. Nation.
Polka dots were a resounding print choice especially on sheer garments, while double-belted and contrast waistbands on skirts, denim and trousers were often paired with oversized tailoring. Re-done resort stripes presented rather ironically at Verner and Blanca, while denim was industrial, paneled, and acid-washed across Bec + Bridge, Albus Lumen, Acler and Injury.
Anna Quan, Beare Park, Karla Spetic and Michael Lo Sordo leaned into late-night glamor with sheer lace, embellishment, plunging necklines, sequins and all amounts of scantily-cladness. Diaphanous fabrics, shining silk, raw edges and fringing added depth and allure, monochrome looks were sleek and modern. Red and fuschia pink emerged as the power color combination, making appearances at Emma Mulholland, Blanca, Acler and Verner.
Themes of Australian identity were rife, from the barefoot resort-centric nature of Liandra, Verner, Emma Mulholland and Alix Higgins but there was something else in the air for several brands; energy in new directions and the darker undertones at Injury, Wackie Ju and Nicol & Ford transformed into spectacles of liberation and celebration.
What a week! Here are the most dominant trends from Australian Fashion Week Resort 25.
Bondi bermudas
The bermuda short, or in some cases, Miu Miu-esque board short, is a particularly Bondi-centric styling device that stylishly toes the line of on-duty and after-hours. Viktoria and Woods showed several different iterations, silken, sporty, tailored, and paired with monochromatic pieces. Albus Lumen’s denim pairs were finished with devil-may-care styling, while Beare Park had something for all occasions in denim, leather and silk.
Evening lace
Taking cues from the international runways, smoldering sheer lace designs were evident in the evening wear sphere, from Karla Spetic’s catsuits to Anna Quan’s electric yellow and shimmering sheers, to Michael Lo Sordo’s after-dark theatrics. Carla Zampatti’s lace was on-trend in olive green while Romance Was Born remained true to form with voluminous silhouettes and detail-oriented design.
Peek-a-boo skirts
Saint Laurent and Prada may have something to do with the sheer lower-half garments sent endlessly down the Resort 25 runways. Imbued with a sporty edge at P.E. Nation and all-glamor at Carla Zampatti, whether they are peeking through coats, underneath sweaters or offset with wide waist-bands, the trend is set to spike this summer.
Black and white
The obvious impact of black and white looks was a major drawcard at the Resort shows, especially at Karla Spetic whose lingerie, lace, and garter-inflected looks were inspired by Japanese cult cinema. Third Form found elegance in contrasting black and white evening wear through cutouts, while Anna Quan’s dropped-waist dress with a black knitted bodice and a fringed skirt is sure to be a party season hit.
Pastel blocking
Taking cues from Dries Van Noten, Loewe, and Issey Miyake, the Australian brands were hot on the heels of international runways with pastel and sorbet colors. Typical to the mood-boosting qualities of an Australian summer, pale yellow, soft blue and baby pink were the signifiers of a new era for P.E Nation. Elsewhere, Albus Lumen and Viktoria and Woods picked up on pastel layering for its feminine, ethereal qualities.
Summer tailoring
Louche, languid tailoring is an Australian resort signature, and this season upped the ante in terms of silhouettes and luxe-looking fabrications. Short-suits looked fresh and endlessly wearable at Beare Park and Blanca, while others looked to amplify off-duty tailoring with oversized silhouettes, large shoulders, lightweight trench coats, and interesting cut-outs.
Dramatic chromatics
Australians love a party, and resort collections are fortunate to collide with the southern hemisphere’s holiday season, Christmas and New Years; where shiny, shapely evening dresses are the order of that day. Acler answered the call of duty with a masterclass in structural, golden and embellished evening wear that set the tone for summer festivities (those boots!). Bec and Bridge and Rory William Docherty looked at crinkled shirts, skirts, dresses, and pants in show-stopping alfoil-like textures.
Main image credit: Katie Fergus for Refinery29
