F.Y.I.

Melbourne Fashion Festival announces 2021 dates and program

Melbourne Fashion Festival has announced key date and program for the 2021 event.

The announcement:

Melbourne Fashion Festival (MFF) has today revealed the dates and program highlights for the highly anticipated 2021 Festival.

The 10-day Festival will take place from 11 – 20 March 2021 with a program of events across multiple locations and digital platforms, staging a creative and immersive shopping take-over of Melbourne and beyond.

Underpinned by a commitment to accessibility, diversity, inclusion and sustainability, the creatively charged program of fashion, arts and ideas activities will also mark the Festival’s 25th year, making it the longest-running consumer fashion event in Australia.

Reflecting on the local fashion and events industry that has been especially devastated by the COVID-19 pandemic, Yolanda Finch, MFF Acting CEO, says the Festival’s mission to drive critical economic and cultural outcomes for Victoria had never been more relevant, and in 2021 its program would deliver a curation of fashion and cultural itineraries that supported local creators and businesses – for all audiences to enjoy.

“The 2021 Festival will offer audiences a second-to-none program of live and digital events with a strong entertainment and shopping itinerary to encourage social engagement and growth within the Victorian creative and retail economy,” Ms Finch said.

“The challenges of 2020 have provoked innovation across fashion, retail and creative sectors. The local recovery pathway is led by diverse points of view that show us a reimagined world in which to conduct business and create new ways to connect with one another. It’s also being led by the customer that now shops more mindfully, buys locally, connects globally, and seeks experiences spanning both real and virtual realms.”

“The Festival program takes this unique opportunity to reach out to audiences in all the spaces where they play, work, imagine, shop and interact, to share experiences that allow both creators and audiences alike to express themselves through fashion,” Ms Finch concluded.

Victoria’s Minister for Creative Industries, Danny Pearson welcomed the Festival’s return and recognised the important role the event will play in the state’s recovery.

“Like many creative industries, our fashion industry has been hit hard by the challenges of 2020. The 2021 Festival will be a celebration of the resilience, adaptability and innovation that characterises the industry and the talented people who power it.”

“It will also mark a welcome return to the events Victorians enjoy, and that contribute so much to our economy and vibrant cultural life here in the creative state.”

Key program announcements include Shop The Runway® shopping itineraries to switch on the city with experiences and entertainment, a 3-day Australian Fashion Summit comprising multiple digital sessions accompanied by learning and networking events at venues all around Melbourne from 17 – 19 March, Australia’s longest running Fashion Film Award screenings at various indoor and outdoor cinema locations, and the Festival’s famous runways featuring Australia’s most respected designers, including the traditional opening night extravaganza, Gala Runway, presented by David Jones.

The Festival’s Industry Development Programs will present the work of talented emerging designers, writers and filmmakers, with Australia’s best and brightest fashion design talent appearing throughout the program, and the Independent Program will delight audiences with events and activities that stretch the imagination.

Applications close for the Industry Development Programs and participation within the Independent Program on 11 December, 2020. The full program of both free and ticketed events will be launched to the public on 19 January 2021.

Source: AMPR media release

 

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