The future of Australian fashion: Meet the winners of the Australian Fashion Foundation Scholarship Awards

The two recipients will receive a grant of USD$20,000 and an internship with a global fashion house.

A panel of industry leaders have this week steered the course of Australian fashion, selecting the winners of the coveted Australian Fashion Foundation (AUSFF) Scholarship Award. Presented each year to recognise and platform the next generation of local talent, the awards are the result of a partnership between the Australian Fashion Council and The Next Generation, a fashion program committed to supporting emerging designers.

Indigo Stuart of RMIT University and Ethan Bergersen of the University of Technology Sydney were both announced as winners, with each recipient receiving a grant of USD$20,000 and an internship placement with a global fashion house in 2025.

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The awards will allow students to build their skills, network and gain international experience, with previous winners having completed internships with Alexander McQueen, Elena Velez, Louis Vuitton, Narciso Rodriguez, Oscar de la Renta and Proenza Schouler.

A panel of judges, including Camilla and Marc’s Camilla Freeman-Topper, Zimmermann’s Nicky Zimmermann, and Australian Fashion Council CEO, Jaana Quaintance-James, selected the winners, paying special attention to their final graduate collections.

Winner Ethan Bergersen’s collection featured six looks made almost entirely from Australian wool. Exploring queerness and club culture as a theme, he also created a piece with 30,000 semi-precious, hand-sewn gemstones. “Getting so much industry recognition and support straight out of university is so validating,” he told Fashion Journal.

“I’m excited to witness all the different work within an international brand. There are so many aspects to running a fashion business that I can’t wait to learn and bring back to Australia or wherever life takes me next.”

Having just completed her honours in fashion design at RMIT, Indigo Stuart’s collection featured eight looks, including handwoven garments crafted on a four-shaft table loom. “I had to rethink how weaving can be applied to garment construction and in order to achieve this I developed and engineered my own weaving system to create zero-waste garments,” Indigo said of her designs.

“As a young designer, it means so much to have my work recognised and appreciated, especially by the very impressive judging panel. The experience of being able to share my work with them was such a rich experience within itself and I really had to soak it all in while I was there,” she told Fashion Journal.

“I’m incredibly excited about the opportunity to live in New York City and complete an internship there.”

The winners were selected from a shortlist of designers that included Frank Taplin, Georgia Brookes, James McKerracher, Kit Looi, Laura Heron, Little Pat Mooreswell, Madison Cusumano and Yishan Yao.

This announcement comes shortly after the news that the Australian Fashion Council will produce Australian Fashion Week in 2025, with funding from the NSW government. “The global fashion industry is experiencing a major shift of opportunity right now. We’re seeing a seismic transition of designers in the major houses and in Australia, I’m excited to see what will no doubt be one of the most important Australian Fashion Weeks in 2025,” AUSFF co-founder, Malcolm Carfrae said.

“Together with the Australian Fashion Council and The Next Generation, along with the support of our esteemed panel of judges, we are ensuring that the future of Australian creative talent can be part of that global conversation. This year’s finalists proved once again just how much skill, promise and prowess Australia has to offer in this area, and I can’t wait to see what lies ahead for our two winners.”

For more on the Australian Fashion Foundation, head here.