An immersive, multi-sensory exhibition was the perfect start to Melbourne Fashion Week

“Designers came from different corners of the local fashion landscape – a blend of black tie attire, contemporary streetwear and refined tailoring.”

On the first night of this year’s Melbourne Fashion Week (M/FW), 13 of the city’s creative minds came together for Fashion x Art, a multi-sensory, immersive storytelling experience. Stationed throughout State Library Victoria, each designer was given a unique performance space, offering a colourful walkthrough of the historic building. There were stages, ballrooms and abandoned office scapes, each room showcasing a fresh combination of sound, colour and wearable art.

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Following the opening Urban Garden Runway at Wesley Place, Art x Fashion was held across three sessions, with groups of guests able to walk through the exhibition at their own pace. Styled by Joseph Romano, the event was a follow-on from last year’s show of the same name, held at the National Gallery of Victoria. This time around, designers came from different corners of the local fashion landscape – a blend of black tie attire, contemporary streetwear and refined tailoring.

Verner was the first designer up, with three models positioned in the exhibition entryway. They rotated in front of shadowy graphic backdrops, designed to ‘draw the eye to and around the body’. Almost optical illusion-esque, the three Verner looks featured shiny viscose and soft cotton covered in blurred, multi-directional stripes and polka dots.

The next two rooms, featuring Marium Seddiq and Posture Studio, followed strong. With a backdrop of gold-framed vintage paintings, Mariam Seddiq models were draped in soft pleats and fluid-like black fabric, accentuated with accents of reflective gold.

At Posture Studio, it was all about elegant performancewear – think textural tutus, Victorian-style high collars and traditional corsetry. Paying homage to her time as an artist at the Australian Ballet Company, model Carol Green was mesmerising in a structured black tutu and matching pointe shoes. Her effortless pointe work across the floor was a true balletcore moment.

Another highlight was Gapuwiyak Culture and Arts, a remote art centre located in East Arnhem land, Northern Territory. In collaboration with eco-artist Aly de Groot, the artists at Gapuwiyak crafted a selection of woven fibre pieces made from gunga (or panadanus spiralis, a kind of palm native to Northern Australia), bush string and natural dyes. Inspired by images taken in the 1930s and 1940s, this collaboration tells a story about how gunga relates to Yolngu culture.

At Strateas Carlucci, models were clad in finely detailed, structured outerwear, positioned in a futuristic officescape. Jackets were abandoned and hung over chairs, arms outstretched; while pant legs were draped over the wooden floors. It was minimalistic, sleek and a smidge unsettling – in the best way.

Moss Tunstall, another of the local brands featured in Fashion x Art, showcased a handpainted pair of two-metre-long jeans, paired with an upcycled denim vest and Briar Will x Moss Tunstall top from the Antipodeans collection.

“The physical garments themselves are by-products of the fashion industry,” Moss Tunstall designer Ajay Jennings told Fashion Journal last month. “The shirts and jeans in this collection are once-loved secondhand pieces… the notion of adapting and recycling is at the heart of the collection.”

The event culminated in the Ian Potter Queen’s Hall with a J’Aton Couture gown, a golden spotlight and an opera singer, a crescendo fitting for the soaring columns and regal arcades of the vast room.

Fashion x Art was a dazzling start to a big week of events held across the city of Melbourne, including spaces like the Queen Victoria Market Dairy Hall, the North Melbourne Meat Market and Collins Dome.

Find the full program of M/FW events here.