Here’s to Be’s Highlights

Spending five consecutive days at (Afterpay) Australian Fashion Week feels a lot like being on a roller coaster you’re not allowed to get off. The spectacle of big personalities, dressed in wild looks and being photographed from every angle, can be super fun and hilarious. It can also make you question every decision that led you there to that moment. But, as with most things in life, Fashion Week is essentially all about what you make it. And with so many great designers padding the schedule, there was a real sense of excitement and liberation, both on the runway and in the crowd, this year. 

On day one, sustainable New Zealand brand Maggie Marilyn and bold newcomer Youkhana were highlights. Showing at night, designer Nathaniel Youkhana’s close-knit community of talented friends paraded the label’s trademark hand weaved designs while the audience cheered and clapped. It was fun and loose and set a positive tone for the week. Other runways that were more like parties than parades, and with super diverse, positive casting, came from Melbourne designer Erik Yvon and Iordanes Spyridon Gogos. Both set in a huge space with a long runway, model after model emerged in a sea of colour and texture with big hair and big moves, embodying the ethos of each label.

Taking it down a notch with excellent, concise presentations, Gail Sorronda sent her beautiful, sparkly gothic femme fatales down the runway to a muted industrial soundtrack and Ingrid Verner leaned in to her trademark use of clever design elements by reworking favourites from the Verner archives and revealing new designs that interrogated the idea of resort culture and resort wear from a uniquely Australian perspective.

Finishing off the week, the Alix Higgins parade was a cleverly sparse display of the evolution of a designer with a sense of humour and a clear vision. And Wackie Ju surprised everyone in a show that elevated their muses and community, who wore delicately deconstructed, sheer fabrics in autumnal tones. As with many of the other parades this year, Wackie Ju’s show was super theatrical and also complete with a signature scent and performance by angelic singer ĀN JÍ.