Shabby chic is finally out. After 13 years, Australian Fashion Week is moving from its industrial headquarters at Carriageworks in Eveleigh and returning to Circular Quay in Sydney.
The Museum of Contemporary Art will be home for this year’s industry showcase of resort fashion from May 11-15, giving designers a harbourside setting and content creators a choice of backdrops beyond exposed brick walls.
“Bringing Australian Fashion Week to the Museum of Contemporary Art marks an exciting new chapter for the event and for Australian fashion more broadly,” said Marianne Perkovic, executive chair of the Australian Fashion Council, operators of the event.
“The MCA provides an iconic Sydney backdrop that reflects the creativity, cultural relevance and global outlook of our designers, while enabling a more open, connected and internationally compelling format.”
Harbour views are always exciting – try nabbing a window seat on the Manly ferry – but as far as new chapters go, the Museum of Contemporary Art setting is as familiar as pouffe skirts, oversized blazers and torn T-shirts to fashion veterans. Australian Fashion Week was based at the Overseas Passenger Terminal, next door to the museum from 2003-2012.
The Museum of Contemporary Art has also been a popular venue during Australian Fashion Week’s 31 years, hosting many shows including Morrissey Edmiston in 1996, with media tycoon Lachlan Murdoch in the front row and supermodel Helena Christensen on the runway; Alex Perry in 2003; Aje in 2022; and the 60th anniversary of Carla Zampatti last year.
The change of address will hopefully attract billionaires and supermodels back to the event, which like recent fashion weeks in New York and London, has struggled with its image.
As any Sydney real estate agent will gleefully tell you, water views come at a price. Australian Fashion Week is downsizing for the move.
The sprawling 16,700 square metres at Carriageworks was home to three permanent runway spaces, including the Carla Zampatti Runway. Logistics at the Museum of Contemporary Art’s 14,193 square metres are still being decided, but there will most likely be one permanent runway, with other spaces utilised, depending on show sizes. Discussions are under way for a space dedicated to designer Carla Zampatti’s memory.
The Australian Fashion Council assumed control of Fashion Week when former operators IMG abandoned the event in late 2024, after nearly 20 years at the helm.
Last year, former journalist and magazine editor Kellie Hush was appointed Australian Fashion Week chief executive, rallying labels such as Romance Was Born, Farage and Beare Park together for a strong season at Carriageworks, focusing on wholesaling opportunities with international buyers. Hush returns this year as fashion director.
For designers who have been waiting for confirmation of the Museum of Contemporary Art location as well as sponsorship guidance and support, Friday’s announcement comes later than Naomi Campbell at a photo shoot, with the opening runway less than three months away.
At least the walk from Redfern station to Carriageworks, in heels, is one less thing to worry about.
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