ELLE | Melbourne Fashion Festival 2025
Australian Designers Show Upcycling Artistry At Melbourne Fashion Festival
Celebrating sustainable fashion
Melbourne Fashion Festival and ELLE Australia celebrated the Australian fashion industry’s dedication to sustainability and talent with a unique runway show over the weekend. The ‘New Again Runway’ event welcomed a number of independent, Australian designers and retailers to showcase their unique designs and sartorial masterpieces born entirely from recycled and reclaimed materials.
Held at the Royal Exhibition Building on March 8, the grand space was neon lit and buzzing with stylish onlookers. Up-and-coming designers Amy Cottrell, Mutual Muse, Saigey, SZN, Chilali, Ginny’s Girl Gang, Perple, Sabatucci, Toile Studio and designer resale store, SWOP, each demonstrated their creativity on the runway, playing with structure, texture and fabric for one of the week’s most exciting shows.
Elevated streetwear was high on the menu, with Cottrell opening the show with her iconic Y2k wears and recycled bio-plastic accessories. Chilali continued its focus on black, structural, unisex clothing, while Szn played with patchwork denim, and Saigey made knitwear cool. Contemporary trends, like the currently popular pirate-core aesthetic, were seen in the rococo stylings of Sabatucci and Perple’s white lacework, while Toile Studios (whose designs were recently worn by BLACKPINK‘s Jennie—squee!) played on the moto-chic trend.
In the grand tradition of haute couture runways, the show finished with a collection of bridalwear, with each designer showing a sustainable wedding dress design.
The runway welcomed a who’s who of Melbourne’s fashion scene to its front row, including Charlene Ye Davies, Maggie Zhou, radio host Dee Salmin, and The Voice star Siena Fodera.
ELLE Australia was a key partner in the event, welcoming the opportunity to support Australian design talent and a sustainable fashion industry.