Get to know 19 Australian designers at this Independent Runway at Paypal Melbourne Fashion Festival

Celebrating the best in local fashion design.

Here at Fashion Journal, supporting local, independent designers is something we care very deeply about. With the rise of ultra-fast fashion looming and the trend cycle only getting quicker, now – more than ever – it’s important for us to recognise the Australian designers championing slow fashion principles and conscious design.

Discover more up-and-coming local designers in our Fashion section. 

And what better way to do so than with 19 of Australia’s most innovative independent designers? Paypal Melbourne Fashion Festival’s Independent Runway lineup is here and we are simply beside ourselves. Presented by none other than Fashion Journal (that’s us!), this runway is the “cultural heartbeat of the festival’s program”. Hosted at the Naarm creative hub of Collingwood Yards, this runway is set to be an unmissable event – if we do say so ourselves.

Let’s talk about talent. If you’ve read through our fashion vertical before, you might be familiar with a few of these names. As an official media partner of the Festival and the presenter of this runway, these are the labels that heavily informed our sartorial stories over the last year. Both parts of the runway will take place on Thursday, March 10, running from 8PM.

Part one will feature conscious, thoughtful womenswear from some of our local favourites like Suku Home, Par Moi, Penny Sage and Après Studio. Part two is centred on the contemporary, experimental designs from emerging labels like Ramp Tramp Tramp Stamp, Wackie Ju, Moss Tunstall and Stella Vendetta. If that preview doesn’t quite satisfy your appetite, we’ve shared the full lineup below.

Section one

• The Social Studio
• Verner x Yarra Youth Services
• Après Studio
• Par Moi
• Erik Yvon
• Suku
• Elissa McGowan
• Muse the Label
• Dominique Healy
• Penny Sage

Section two

• Wackie Ju
• Stella Vendetta
• Alix Higgins
• Ka-He
• Toilé Studios
• Moss Tunstall
• Speed
• Youkhana
• Ramp Tramp Tramp Stamp

Paired with a beverage (or two) from the flowing bar, this event is a true FJ-style celebration of local fashion, art and ideas. Observe the vibrant handwoven dresses of Youkhana, the expressive handpainted denim of Moss Tunstall and the pure textile poetry of Alix Higgins. While the world is waking up to the diverse talent in Australia’s fashion industry (have you seen Euphoria?), you can experience all of it in the bliss of your own backyard.

You can pick up your tickets on sale from today. Each one comes with a $100 gift bag (the best) featuring a selection of goodies from the Festival’s partners, like Lancôme, David Jones and Eleven Australia.

View the full runway program and get your ticket here.