silverguide.site –

After a 10-year absence from the schedule, Melbourne designer Toni Maticevski will return to Australian fashion week this year.

Maticevski was one of more than 20 designers announced at the trade show’s schedule launch today.

The designer, whose works are worn by A-list celebrities and are held in the collections of major museums, told Guardian Australia that “seeing the new crew of designers, and what they were doing last year” inspired his return to the event.

“It was so innovative and exciting in terms of design and concepts, and I thought, ‘you know what, that’s the kind of industry that I want to be a part of.’”

Maticevski is known for his elaborate pattern-making and drapery which lends a science-fiction edge to his feminine, 1950s-style silhouettes. He said he was planning on an intimate presentation. “I just want to keep it discreet and not scream or anything.”

At AFW’s schedule launch, the event’s fashion director, Kellie Hush, said: “It’s really important that we have those established names on the schedule.”

Other major brands showing include Carla Zampatti and Aje; as well as long-running labels Bianca Spender, Mariam Seddiq and Gary Bigeni.

They will be joined by newer names including Ngali, Esse, Nicol and Ford, Alix Higgins, Courtney Zheng and Iordanes Spyridon Gogos.

There will also be showcases of emerging talent, including First Nations designers. Tafe NSW’s longstanding student showcase, the Innovators, will also return after a year’s absence from the official program.

Speaking at the launch event, Hush said the event had more than 200 submissions from designers hoping to take part, which resulted in “spirited discussions” among the selection committee.

Australian fashion week will have a new harbour-front location, at Sydney’s Museum of Contemporary Art, this year after 13 years at Carriageworks.

Australian fashion week is a trade event, where media and buyers from local and international boutiques and department stores come to preview and purchase collections. Hush said interest from international buyers had been strong. “So Austrade, we’re going to have to hit them up for more cash next year,” Hush said.

This year’s event will also feature several consumer-facing components, including ticketed runway shows.

In late 2024, the future of the fashion trade show was imperilled after IMG, the global events company that ran fashion week, announced it would no longer administer the shows. The local fashion industry’s peak body, the Australian Fashion Council, with funding from Destination NSW and the City of Sydney, stepped in to run the 2025 event with just a few months’ notice.