Paypal Melbourne Fashion Festival reveals independent program for 2022
Paypal Melbourne Fashion Festival has revealed the independent program for 2022, with a new hub at Collingwood Yards.
The announcement:
PayPal Melbourne Fashion Festival welcomes the return of the Independent Program to the 2022 Festival line up with an exciting new hub at Collingwood Yards. This year’s program will champion Melbourne’s diverse range of independently spirited artists and creative communities across fashion, art, design and music, and comes to life in a series of free and ticketed online and in-person events.
The Program has been created with community, sustainability, diversity and inclusion at its core, highlighting artists and brands who are changing the status quo and approaching all aspects of creativity – from design to production to retail – in new and unique ways.
Headlining the Program is the Independent Runway, presented by Fashion Journal on Thursday 10 March 8.00pm (AEDT). This unmissable event showcases twenty of the nation’s up and coming talents, locally renowned for their work reimagining design principles and for their pure innovation. The show will provide a unique look at what the local Melbourne fashion scene looks like in 2022.
This year, the showcase will split into two parts, with part one showcasing contemporary designers including VERNER x Yarra Youth Services, Par Moi, Penny Sage, Muse the Label, APRÈS STUDIO, SUKU Home, Dominique Healy and The Social Studio. Part two explores experimental and innovative design featuring designers including Wackie Ju, RAMP TRAMP TRAMP STAMP, SPEED, Stella Vendetta, Toile Studios, ERIK YVON, Youkhana, Moss Tunstall, Alix Higgins and KA-HE.
Several designers will host independent runway showcases bringing to life the diversity of Australia’s independent fashion scene such as the one-of-a-kind bowls club runway by Sister x Kannava Jewels (Saturday 5 March, 5.00pm AEDT, Thornbury Bowls Club).
Another highlight will include the MYAMI Runway (Friday 11 March 10.00pm AEDT), a virtual runway experience by trailblazing tech-luxe fashion house MYAMI, where the designer will showcase their first collection of digital fashion. Trading globally in pixels rather than textiles, MYAMI is chasing a future where NFT’s (non-fungible tokens) will provide virtual wardrobes through both social media and virtual, augmented and mixed reality.
Sustainability is top of the agenda for the program’s series of conversations and activations, with a focus on the circular economy and the future of fashion. Highlight events will include The Social Studio presents Circular Style, exploring the possibilities of zero waste design principles through the presentation of a ready-towear collection made from unused and unwanted fabrics and a conversation with a panel of experts.
Sustainability Victoria will be hosting a panel discussion, Purchasing Power for the Planet, that brings to light the cost of fast fashion on our environment. The interactive session, will host fashion labels, circular businesses and influencers, speaking to how we can make circular and sustainable fashion the choice for every occasion.
Another highlight is The Future from Waste Lab’s vision created by Kit Willow, KITX. This series of one-day workshops, led by KITX’s Head of Sustainability and Fashion Development, Kristy O’Loughlin, are designed to inspire systemic change from within the fashion industry through collaboration with other industry leaders and provide consumers with insider access to this evolving movement.
The program will also see local brand NIQUE launch their first ever rental collection, powered by Rntr, in their Melbourne Central boutique. The concept evolved from the ambition to be part of a circular model, with each rental reducing waste, saving 66.8kg carbon emissions and 7,562L of water. Melbourne label Arnsdorf will also be showcasing a rental collection, powered by Rntr, in their Fitzroy boutique, which has previously only been available online.
There are countless exhibitions and experiences that bring to life the cultural spirit of the independent design community, including:
- Thread Count, an exhibition curated by proud Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander woman and Creative Director Nina Fitzgerald. Thread Count is a multi-media installation that shares the powerful stories of this intricate female-led practice and the Master Weavers behind it who uphold an ancient and traditional craft that sees form seamlessly melded with functionality.
- Verner x Yarra Youth Services presented by The Social Studio, a collaboration that brings young people of Yarra Youth’s fashion program to explore printmaking, upcylcing and reuse leveraging pieces from designer Ingrid Verner’s archives. The collection will preview at the Independent Runway.
- ‘Worn To Be Heard’ Mo-Hair Suit Showcase Event created in collaboration with Movember, menswear label POLITIX and local visual artist Pamela Kleemann-Passi for the 2021 ‘Worn to be Heard’ campaign, the Mo-Hair Suit – made from real moustache hair – was designed to spark conversations around men’s health and will be exhibited as part of a discussion held at the Collingwood Yards (Saturday 12 March, 2.00pm AEDT).
- Stay Soft Autumn Fashion Market is a community co-working space at the Collingwood Yards, home to a number of local artists and a host of a monthly night market. As part of this year’s Independent program, the Collingwood Night Market returns in Autumn, where they will welcome a range of fashion focused stall holders to sell their wares in the Collingwood Yards courtyard, sound tracked by Hope Street Radio.
PayPal Melbourne Fashion Festival Independent Program lead, Savannah Anand-Sobti said “This year’s Independent Program brings with it a refreshed spirit at its new home at the Collingwood Yards. We feel privileged to be able to utilise the space to showcase some of the most exciting new talent in Australia but also hold meaningful and thought-provoking exhibitions and talks around sustainability, inclusion and creativity.”
This year, new Naming Rights Partner PayPal have come on board to support the Curatorial Bursaries, made possible by PayPal Pay in 4, which enables the Festival to support and nurture the wider creative community and local independent fashion scene.
The PayPal Melbourne Fashion Festival Curatorial Bursary Program offers new opportunities for fashion industry engagement and employment. This year six talented emerging creatives will benefit from this year’s Curaturial Bursaries, made possible by PayPal Pay in 4, providing an opportunity for them to showcase the innovative work to new audiences through the Festival’s Independent Program.
The Independent Program runs from 3 – 12 March 2022 across multiple venues, with a unique program centred at Collingwood Yards leading into the festival’s final weekend from 9 – 11 March.
Source: AMPR media release
