Your guide to Melbourne Fashion Week’s 2025 program
photography by MELISSA COWAN
WORDS BY DAISY HENRY
Everything you need to know about this year’s Melbourne Fashion Week program.
It’s officially spring, which means the days are getting longer, the weather is warmer and Melbourne Fashion Week (M/FW) is on the horizon.
The longest-running fashion event in Australia, Melbourne Fashion Week is an annual, week-long event of all things fashion delivered by the City of Melbourne. This year’s program features six premium runways held throughout the city and over 100 free and ticketed events, as well as over 300 featured designers. Among these will be collections from Corcorancorin, Karlaidlaw, Lucinda Babi and Niamh Galea (formerly Ramp Tramp Tramp Stamp).
- Melbourne Fashion Week’s 2025 program runs from October 20 to 26
- There will be six runways, 300 participating designers and over 100 free and ticketed events
- Tickets are on sale now, here.
This year’s theme, Come As You Are, recognises the many people who shape Melbourne’s iconic fashion scene and spotlights the community, self-expression and creativity that sets Melbourne apart.
As an official media partner of M/FW again this year (and fans of any event that platforms local fashion), we’re already counting down the days until Melbourne’s most stylish take over the city’s streets – that’s 33 as of today, if anyone’s asking. Find everything there is to know about this year’s M/FW below.
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When is Melbourne Fashion Week?
Melbourne Fashion Week is returning this year for six days, starting on Monday October 20 and finishing on Sunday October 26. There will be a series of runways, panels and independent events taking place every day.
Where is Melbourne Fashion Week held?
Melbourne Fashion Week runways and events will take place in venues all across Melbourne – from iconic landmarks like the Melbourne Recital Centre and 101 Collins to hidden gems like Il Mercato Centrale restaurant, Kensington’s Younghusband and 1 Hotel Melbourne.
Luckily, we’re curated a range of guides on our favourite Melbourne hair salons, massage studios, brick-and-mortar stores and date night spots if you’re looking to fill time in any time between events.
What runways will be on at Melbourne Fashion Week?
This year’s schedule will see six premium runways held across various locations around the city showcasing the best of Melbourne fashion and culture.
First off the bat will be the Opening Night ganbgu marra runway, held at 1 Hotel Melbourne on Monday, October 20. Starting at 8pm, it will feature the works of Banbu, Gammin Threads, Jaru Girl, Kaninda, Yapa Mali, Yarrenyty Arltere Artists and more, in a celebration of emerging and established First Nations talent.
The Opulent Tastes Runway on Tuesday, October 21 will be split into two sessions, one starting at 5.30pm and another at 8pm. Held at Il Mercato Centrale, it will blend fashion and food, consisting of a decadent Italian dinner party and runway in one.
Wednesday’s Fashion x Music runway, held in collaboration with Collarts, will feature a one-hour show that fuses fashion, live music and performance, showcasing pieces from Collective Closets, Gail Sorronda, Grace Lillian Lee and Social Studio.
The Little Bourke Street Runway, presented by Emporium Melbourne, will take place on Thursday, October 23 in two free sessions, at 5pm and 7pm. Featuring designers Aje Studio, Bec and Bridge, Oroton, Salomon and Sandro (all of which have boutiques in Emporium), it’s a celebration of classic Melbourne fashion.
Next up is the much-anticipated Student Collections Runway. Taking place at Younghusband on Friday, October 24, it will spotlight collections by student designers from Melbourne’s top design schools, giving us an exciting glimpse into the future of the Australian fashion industry. It will also see the announcement of the coveted Melbourne Fashion Week Student Award.
The Closing Runway: 101 Collins on Sunday October 26 will round out this year’s Melbourne Fashion Week. This runway is all about expecting the unexpected, celebrating bold creativity and spectacle. With collections from Fashion Journal favourites, including Amy Cottrell, Cakey Sportsman, Corcorancorin, Jarrod Reid, Karlaidlaw, Lucinda Babi, Niamh Galea and Salon Archive, we can already tell this will be an epic closer.
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What other events can I attend at Melbourne Fashion Week?
The beauty of Melbourne Fashion Week also lies in the events beyond the runway, with a favourite of those in the Fashion Journal office being the Melbourne Fashion Week Conversations. Exploring the topics ranging from the business of fashion to the future of inclusive fashion, we’ll be keeping our eyes peeled on the speaker lineup announcement.
Five Fashion Capsules will also be on show throughout the city, including exhibitions at Collins Place, Melbourne Town Hall forecort and GPT 530 Collins Street. Each will showcase a different body of work, such as a series of iconic First Nations designs, unique costumes from the Australian Ballet and an exhibit on the evolution of drag.
A special one-off event gracing the calendar this year is the Wicked Wardrobe exhibition at Federation Square. Free to visitors, it will showcase the works of Oscar-winning designer Paul Tazewell and the costumes created for Wicked Part 1 and Wicked: For Good.
There will also be more than 40 independent fashion events, including pop-ups, vintage runways, workshops and fashion markets, will the full schedule coming soon.
How can I attend Melbourne Fashion Week?
This year’s Melbourne Fashion Week consists of both ticketed and free events. As a consumer event, it’s open to the general public as well as members of the industry, including writers, stylists and designers. For more information on ticketing, visit the Melbourne Fashion Week website.
To view Melbourne Fashion Week’s full program, head here.
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