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Australian Fashion Week 2026 has officially kicked off with an epic lineup of local talent.
Returning with a new address, there was a fresh sense of momentum in the air, and an idyllic vista to match. For the first time, the festivities unfolded at the Museum of Contemporary Art, where the harbour shimmered in the background and editors, buyers, creators and models darted between shows beneath increasingly ominous clouds.
The week began with a moving Welcome to Country ceremony, grounding the proceedings in reflection and community before the fashion crowd launched headfirst into a packed schedule of runway debuts and long-awaited returns. Inside venues across Circular Quay and the CBD, designers leaned into craft and storytelling, from Toni Maticevski’s sculptural salon presentation to Beare Park’s sensual tailoring.
By evening, some dramatic weather had finally arrived just in time for Carla Zampatti’s closing show, where Shanina Shaik strode through the drizzle with the kind of glamour that rain can’t dampen. If day one proved anything, it’s that Australian fashion is entering an exciting new era.
Read on and watch this space for GRAZIA‘s show dispatches throughout the week.
AFW 2026 DAY ONE
Maticevski
Ten years after his last on-schedule appearance at Australian Fashion Week, Toni Maticevski made an irreverent return on day one. Staged inside The Collider in Haymarket, and opened by Gemma Ward, the designer’s Winter 2026 presentation offered an intimate look at 23 ornate looks, with guests brought close enough to appreciate every sculptural fold, floating frill and feat of construction.
For Maticevski, inspiration didn’t begin with a singular reference point. Instead, the collection emerged from an ongoing exploration of silhouette, fabrication, and technique that has defined the house’s two-decade visual language. “The mood often begins with fabric and colour; they create a feeling and shape in my mind, which slowly takes form as the collection develops,” he told GRAZIA ahead of the show. “There is also an interplay of motifs and textures I’ve explored throughout the last twenty years, leaf motifs transformed into fringes, layered volumes and exaggerated proportions… Ultimately, it becomes a meeting point between the realities of modern wearability and a more fantastical, fairytale sense of dreaming.”
And there was certainly fantasy here, albeit the controlled kind. A layered all-white look with cascading organza evoked bridal ether without ever tipping into saccharine territory, while one of the closing looks appeared to hover around the body entirely untethered from gravity.
Yet beneath the theatricality was remarkable precision. With every drape, shimmer, and exaggerated proportion, there was purpose. Perhaps, after a long absence, that is what made the show feel so resonant. In returning to the AFW schedule, Maticevski wasn’t attempting to keep up, but rather, reintroduce us to his own world, trusting in its enduring originality.
Beare Park
Presented within the soaring curves of the Sydney Opera House, where the brand first debuted five years ago, Beare Park’s Pre-Fall 2026 collection channelled the aching romanticism of Sinéad O’Connor’s ‘In This Heart’, conjuring a wardrobe that felt intimate, intelligent and self-assured. Impeccably styled by Nicchia Wippell, the collection exuded a palpable sense of confidence in each look. Every detail was given thorough consideration, executed with the effortless polish we’ve come to expect from the designer.
For this season, founder Gabriella Pereira explored devotion as both a feeling and a discipline, translating personal transformation into elongated tailoring, liquid draping, and silhouettes that moved with sensual ease. Crisp cotton shirting was softened by translucent silk layers, while metallic ash dupion caught the light like smoke and outerwear made for the ultimate statement. A palette of burnt sienna, tobacco, ivory and near-black nightshade only heightened the mood.
What continues to distinguish Beare Park is its ability to make restraint feel seductive. Even the most dramatic proportions retained an ease to them, as though the wearer had simply thrown on an impeccably cut floor-length coat before slipping out the door.
In a sweet gesture, Pereira included a detailed directory of the local makers and suppliers behind the collection, spotlighting the Australian artisans and craftspeople integral to the brand’s process. At a time when fashion often speaks vaguely about “craft”, Beare Park chose specificity—and all the better for it.
