The best events at Melbourne Fashion Week that aren’t runways, according to stylist Karinda Mutabazi

“Fashion in unexpected places.”

Think of fashion weeks and your mind immediately goes to runways. While (duh!) they make up much of the exciting week, they’re not the only type of event worth keeping on your radar.

I’ve been participating in Melbourne’s fashion weeks since I was 15 years old. Through volunteering, winning tickets, attending as media and assisting stylists, I’ve been privy to the magnitude of events and the enormous undertaking that is the seven-day affair.

• Melbourne Fashion Week’s 2023 program runs from October 23 to 29
• There are nine premium runways and 100 events and sessions, 300 participating designers and 300 involved retailers
• Tickets are on sale from September 20 at 12pm

Fashion Journal is, once again, a proud official media partner of Melbourne Fashion Week (M/FW). From October 23 to 29, the city will be transformed into an energetic showcase of our country’s creative talent. This year’s campaign theme is For Curious Hearts, an ode to the people who work tirelessly behind the scenes to create fashion magic.

One of Melbourne’s creatives who’s playing a part in Melbourne Fashion Week is stylist and creative director Karinda Mutabazi. Working across fashion, TV and music, Karinda is no stranger to Australia’s fashion scene. This year, she’s curated the Rialto Fashion Capsule (and has teased it features some of her “favourite designers and creators”). Karinda is also styling The Commons Collective Dining Runway, where the “theatre of food and fashion merg[e] together”.

For more fashion news, shoots, articles and features, head to our Fashion section.

Her advice for tackling the upcoming Melbourne Fashion Week? “Go seek out something new, a brand you’ve never heard of, a place you’ve never been,” she tells me. “Fashion week is an amazing introduction, both to new season collections but also to brands and makers you may never have come across otherwise.

“People often think that fashion week is all about sitting front row at a runway show. Actually, it’s about meeting and getting inspired by other creative people.” Below, Karinda shares her top picks for the best non-runway Melbourne Fashion Week events happening this year.

Wastefest

Wastefest is one of the top things on my list, Beta by Sth Bnk’s Future From Waste Lab is inviting emerging designers to reinterpret textile waste into new garments. Designer Lilli McKenzie is an amazing example of how incredible this can be, with woven garments created from fabric scraps that are mindblowing. I can’t wait to see what new things they come up with.

Student designers

Sign me up! It’s the nature of my job to always be on the hunt for new designers. Fashion weeks are an amazing opportunity to meet student designers and see all their work in one place. Each [fashion] school has its own flare so it’s worth checking out all the different events if you have time.

[They’re] a preview into where fashion is headed in this country. There is nothing like seeing a garment and then being able to find out directly from the designer the story of how it was made and why. I’d recommend the Sustainable Storytelling event, the LCI Exhibition and Talks, and RMIT’s A Window In Time event.

The Pop Up runways

I know you said things that aren’t runways but the Pop Up runways happen organically at different locations throughout the city and are always incredible. I love that the festival presents fashion in unexpected places. If you won’t come to fashion, [they’ll] bring it to you. It brings the city to life; I love the idea of bursting out of our little bubble and having fashion be more accessible and seen by people who otherwise may not have thought to look.

Fashion Capsules

Although this one is a little bit biased, I will be checking out the other Fashion Capsules. I love seeing how the pieces are curated and displayed. It’s also a chance to really appreciate the work, as often in a runway show you miss the details because the pieces move by quickly.

I am looking forward to seeing the bold and bright designers at the Queen Victoria Market Capsule; Vow Studios and Haus of Dizzy are always iconic. The Collins Square [capsule] features jewellery by Melanie Katsalidis of Pieces of Eight gallery whose work is always stunning. Since you are already looking at capsules, you should go past the Rialto and Collins Place [ones] too.

To suss Melbourne Fashion Week’s full program, head here.