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From a dress you’ll never regret, to one with an entire table inside it, here are the highlights from Australian fashion week’s 2026 collections
Maticevski
Designer Toni Maticevski says the layers of silver leaves on this garment took “weeks of work” to prepare. The silhouette on the other hand, “just sort of randomly happened”. He sketched dramatic trapezoid shoulders, while working with one of his team members, and then thought: “What if we actually put her head inside it? That could be really weird and kind of dumb but kind of amazing.” – AG
Nagnata
Denim totes are a new item for activewear label Nagnata. It’s hard to make basics like bike shorts and shopping bags look interesting, but show director Joel Piccini and stylist Jessica Dos Remedios struck gold by looping the tote over a model’s head and belting it. Wearing a bag as a top may be a joke, but the punchline is me when I try it at home. – AG
Alix Higgins
Each season I’ve been trying to grow up, designer Alix Higgins says. This time he has gone back to basics – with a newfound sense of fun. His particular flavour of whimsy manifested in reworked polo shirts that were cut in half to find new forms as bottomwear. Additional frivolity was included, but only in small doses: ribbons, internet-forward patterns and droopy headgear. In this example, the tangy yellow and pink paired with the monochromatic shirt makes the unserious, shirt-as-skirt creation, serious. – IL
Carla Zampatti
Sometimes the biggest shift is an unexpected colour palette. While Carla Zampatti continues its reign as the go-to label for Australia’s C-suite business leaders (and high-glamour cheerleaders), its designer, Tanya Emon Beattie, understands that certain boxes need to be ticked, while pushing its customers forward. That particular cohort of women at the top might traditionally lean towards neutrals – perhaps paired with “a pop of colour” – so why not suggest a refreshing combination of lilac and crimson? The tailoring remains as refined as ever, but the surprising shift in tone shows leadership that leaves the beige brigade behind. – GTN
Gary Bigeni
This dress was a refreshing bolt of blue on a week that was otherwise a bit gloomy both in weather and size inclusivity. Gary Bigeni showed fluid, draped jersey dresses way back in his first collection 20 years ago. It’s a style that worked then, still looks fresh now and has always rivalled pyjamas for comfort. The sky shade was particularly pretty with model Bruna Lapinskas’ copper hair, a credit to unfussy styling from Jana Bartolo. – AG
Bianca Spender
Opera gloves with everything. Preferably in leather. This is one of the many takeaways from this week’s shows. Bianca Spender demonstrates the item’s appeal for daywear, while offering a look that taps into a number of other trends: sheer fabrications, drapery, bubble-hemmed skirts, midriffs and tonal dressing. This look best personifies the aviation motifs throughout the show – the olive greens, the buoyancy of parachutes and the nonchalance of unzipped flight suits, suggested in a jacket tied around the hips. – GTN
Christian Kimber
Christian Kimber is on a one-man mission to infuse the relaxed Australian male’s approach to dressing with refined European sensibilities. It’s elegant, but not highbrow. This look is a case in point. The fit is loose but not oversized, the fabric tactile in natural fibres. The colours are tonal, but there are points of interest that – to paraphrase the late and great Vogue editor Diana Vreeland – allow the eye to travel. The ikat-adjacent pattern of the shirt offers a subtle contrast to the warp and weft of the suit fabric, and the print on the neck scarf adds some punctuation. – GTN
Mariam Seddiq
Open the wardrobe of any woman, and you are guaranteed to find what is unsexily described as a “going-out top”. You know the one. You pair it with jeans or plain black trousers. It’s the Goldilocks combination for occasions that require a look that’s not too little, not too much, but just right. Mariam Seddiq’s draped bodice with trailing hemline is just such a top (and much sexier in person). Here, it is worn with leather trousers, which seem to be giving denim a run for its money, if this week’s catwalks are to be trusted. – GTN
ESSE
This is that dress. You know the one. If you didn’t buy it at the time, you still live with regret. If you did, you will be smug. You will start concocting events as another excuse to wear it. At cocktail parties, friends will eventually begin to ask if it’s time to buy something new. They’re just envious. Esse designer Charlotte Hicks understands inherently what women want. Here, the drape of the fabric offers ease and flattery, the swish of fringing adds a dash of drama, while the colour draws you in with dulcet tones rather than screaming over the cacophony. Serotonin in satin. – GTN
Ngali
Designer Denni Francisco had space, softness and light in mind when designing her collection this year – all things she thinks we need more of. We could also do with more covetable, water-resistant cotton coats, which is exactly what this look delivered. The subtle circle embellishments on the coat added interest and have a nice story behind them, representing waterways found on country, and the concept of coming together, Francisco says. The lavender headscarf, featuring a print from Gija artist Lindsay Malay, was one of many featured. “We wanted to show all the different ways that you can wear scarves,” Francisco says. “It’s not always about buying something new. – AG
L’IDEE WOMAN
It wouldn’t be a resort wear season without a standout kaftan, and what a kaftan this is. L’Idee Woman co-founder Breeana Smith says their signature pleating is designed to flow over and flatter the body, something that requires a good deal of “engineering”. The trailing sleeves flapped like wings on the runway, appropriate since it was modelled by former Victoria’s Secret angel Taylor Hill. – AG
TAFE – LUKE RUTHERFORD-DURNEY
This is the only acceptable way to close a show. Student designer Luke Rutherford-Durney presented what he calls “The Heiress” as the final look at the Tafe fashion design school runway, to audible gasps. “It’s a hoodie tracksuit for a princess,” says Rutherford-Durney. The tabletop silhouette was created by a “floating belt” made from plywood and discarded building materials. “It needed to have some real industrial structure to have that shape,” he says. The bottom half of the dress moved on its own, accentuated by the shredded hemline and train. I would be scared to square off against her. –IL
