The complete schedule for Australian Fashion Week (AFW) 2024 has been released. The designers who will show at the nation’s most prestigious fashion event has officially been unveiled.
Local fashion label Carla Zampatti has announced a return to the runway after a four-year absence, showcasing the brand’s Resort ’25 collection.
“Australian Fashion Week is an event like no other,” Carla Zampatti CEO Alex Schuman said in a statement.
“2024 marks the return of Carla Zampatti to Australian Fashion Week after a four-year absence, and we’re all very excited to bring the brand to the biggest stage in Australian fashion: the Carla Zampatti runway at Australian Fashion Week in Sydney.
“It’s a milestone for the brand as we launch internationally.”
The timing is perfect for the brand, which has recently welcomed a new creative director, Karlie Ungar, who previously worked for the likes of Saba and Cue. The Carla Zampatti show will present on opening evening at 6pm, with a further encore presentation at 8pm, which is open to consumers.
It’s not just Carla Zampatti that will be showing to the public, with Australian label Acler announcing that it will be one of five labels to showcase to consumers during the week.
“Australian Fashion Week is the most influential event in the Asia-Pacific region, connecting designers with a global audience of fashion industry VIPs. For the first time, we are thrilled to invite our loyal customers and fashion followers to experience Australia’s annual fashion event firsthand,” said Kathryn Forth & Julia Ritorto, Co-Founders of Acler.
Other confirmed shows open to the public include Romance Was Born, Pandora’s AFW Closing Night Runway and the David Jones Indigenous Fashion Projects Runway.
Australian Fashion Week is being managed by IMG and is supported by the New South Wales Government and its tourism branch Destination NSW. Zampatti an exciting addition to this year’s schedule for show organisers.
Natalie Xenita, vice president-managing director of IMG Fashion Events Asia-Pacific, said, “We are thrilled to announce the return of Carla Zampatti to Australian Fashion Week. Carla herself loved the magic of a runway show, and we are proud to support Alex, Karlie and the entire Carla Zampatti team.”
Australian Fashion Week 2024 presented by Pandora will be held between May 13-17 in Sydney.
The shows of all your favourite Australian designers will be scheduled periodically throughout the singular week in May, with most shows on site at Carriageworks, Sydney, but a few held at locations offsite.
The Carla Zampatti show will be held at 6pm on May 13, with an encore presentation that is open to consumers at 8pm. For more details on tickets and passes, click here. They will be available from February 5.
While the complete schedule, available on the website, will include a list of talks and series, here is a day-by-day guide to the designers hitting the runway at Australian Fashion Week.
*denotes a public show. Ticket details below.
While many shows are invite only for trade and media, there are some consumer tickets available this year to a selection of runways and other smaller events and panels.
Tickets will be available at australianfashionweek.com on Monday, 5th February.
Shows open to the public include:
Australian Fashion Week is the country’s only trade fashion event, which brings in over 33,000 attendees and participants across five days. Much like fashion weeks overseas, we see designers showcase the best of the best, with Resort collections shown during the Australian week.
It will also continue the illustrious Next Gen program, which is presented by DHL, a prize given to four up-and-coming designers valued at over $100,000. In 2023, Ruby Pedder, Cameron Hill, Liandra Gaykamangu and Xixi Wu won, showing their collections at AFW and adding their names to the list of previous winners, including Anna Quan, Bec + Bridge and Camilla and Marc.
The Australian Fashion Week does offer a volunteer program, although applications for this year are not yet available. It’s open to people of all backgrounds seeking experience in events, PR, fashion, media and production.