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In the weekend that followed the 2023 iteration of Afterpay Australian Fashion Week, I struggled to articulate the sheer volume of excitement, sartorial euphoria, and exhaustion the five-day-long affair leaves you with. It’s a fervid and frenetic week.
The who’s who of the Australian fashion industry all rush around the harbour-side city of Sydney at such a frantic pace there may as well be a trial of smoke and skid marks left by our new-season Mary Janes as we all attempt (and fail) to race from show to show without burning out.
As GRAZIA’s senior fashion features writer, I aim to offer our voice to the emerging and established designers who serve as the vanguard of Australia’s $20 billion fashion industry, serving the world stage a slice of the inimitable and internationally lauded creative talents.
Thanks to a well-oiled machine (and a perennially stylish team of writers) fashion fanatics and luxury consumers get a front-row glimpse of new-season offerings, behind-the-scene interviews with designers and an on-the-ground synopsis of the hottest styles and happenings in the scene.
What our readers don’t see is the menial labour of it all; the getting from A to B, the back-seat dress changes, the copywriting from the car. Fortunately, GRAZIA was privileged to commute around town in Toyota’s stylish RAV4 GXL, a recently unveiled offering in their long line of luxury motor vehicles.
So, in our attempts to bring you an unflinchingly raw review of the week that was, keep reading below for a week in the life of a fashion writer during fashion week—caffeine overdoses, sartorial bliss and more!
MONDAY
By 8 AM that morning, I’d already madly texted all my friends attending the five-day fête asking for their opinions on my outfit; a Miu Miu SS/22 esque striped Acne Studios button-down and pleated mini skirt from With Jéan.
By 9 AM, I’d been picked up by GRAZIA’s editorial director, Jessica Bailey, in our slick Toyota RAV4 GXL—indeed, fashion week offers no time for fashion regrets our outfit rethinks, those simply must be rain checked for another time.
Cruising to Carriageworks in our crimson red chariot is efficient as our team needn’t battle with Sydney’s notoriously horrific public transport. Instead, we make use of the time in transit to predict what the week ahead would bring; slinky linens? New takes on resort wear? A maxed-out credit card by 2 PM Friday after shopping everything we see on the runway?
After a brief stint at Carriageworks in the morning, we make our way across town to our two off-site shows, Bondi Born at a former Coal Loader on the lower North Shore, and Maggie Marilyn at a converted sailing club in harbour-bay in the Eastern Suburbs. Thankfully, this means we can escape working in the media room for a cruisy commute around the city.
With luxe fabric seats, our Toyota becomes our home away from home during the madness of fashion week, providing the perfect setting for our pre and post-show pow-wows.
Another benefit of being chauffeured around fashion week? Not having to monitor your champagne consumption as you head into the last show of the evening. Fashion is notoriously good at stocking its bar with luxe spirits and spritz, but notoriously bad at estimating the number of canapés they require.
Thankfully, Maggie Marilyn struck that balance perfectly by offering gin martinis with a side and fish and chips—no drive-through required here!
TUESDAY
Aje invited revellers to the serene Sydney Modern art precinct at the crisp hour of 7:45 AM. Whoever said fashion people weren’t morning people has never done a fashion week. The invite said strictly no coffee, but with our ride waiting just down the road for us during the show, my iced latte remained chilled as it remained perched in one of the RAV4 GXL’s many cup holders.
By the time the next show, Bianca Spender, rolled around, I already felt like I had run a marathon, and with Tuesday the busiest day on my schedule, I knew I had to pace myself.
That meant two things; stopping to get a thick slice of vegemite on sourdough (and a cheeky brownie) and keeping my phone powered up courtesy of one of the car’s four fast-charging USB sockets. You never know when a fashion emergency is going to take place, so you always need to be on standby!
Later in the day, we head to the Ace Hotel in Surry Hills for Anna Quan’s workwear redux presentation. Rather than heading back to Carriageworks, I indulge quiet and serenity of the hotel’s luxe lobby bar. A quick lunch break (and bathroom selfie) later, I find myself once again back in our Toyota, dashing across the Anzac Bridge to watch Bec + Bridge’s hot young thing collection.
In the 20-minute commute, I’ve filled two stories, responded to a few emails and made use of the spacious interiors to slightly unwind before my three (!) next events.
Thankfully, Bec + Bridge’s 90s dance soundtrack was the perfect serotonin booster, meaning I drove back towards NET-A-PORTER’s intimate soiree on a martini high and the sounds of Janet Jackson’s “Throb” and Crystal Waters’ “100% Pure Love” blasting the car’s supreme sound system.
The last show of the evening, Wynn Hamlyn, was aptly held at a high-octane, turbo-charged go-karting track. As models stomped down the course in tough leather jackets and crisply-structured dresses, I couldn’t help but feel like I was living my Devon Aoki fantasy from 2 Fast 2 Furious.
Thankfully for those on Sydney roads that night, I wasn’t actually behind the wheel of a hot pink race car, but rather carefully driven by a car boasting a plethora of safety features, including a pre-collision safety system. A girl can dream, right?
WEDNESDAY
After a day that was probably too fast and furious for my immune system to handle, Wednesday offered a slice of respite in the incredibly busy week. After a beautiful morning at Ngali—the first ever First Nations solo show in Australian Fashion Week history—my editor, Pema Bakshi, and I made our way to an unlikely location for Henne’s show: a church.
One quick backseat meeting later, we were ready to meet God, a.k.a the latest new-season offerings that will have us in a chokehold. That afternoon, the powers at be wanted to give us a show by sending grey rain clouds, freezing temperatures and rocky waves to Clovelly Beach—the location of Joslin’s balmy Resort ‘24 collection.
The original runway may have been washed away, but the collection and ingenious pivoting from the PR team made up for a slight weather fiasco. Just as the rain began pelting down, we took solace in the ultra-warm heaters inside our cosy car. I quickly ducked back home to pick up a PVC trench and swap my pinstripe mini for some pinstripe trousers before dashing off again to the final show of the night.
THURSDAY
Still with me? The slow realisation that I’ll have to return the beloved Toyota and return to my typical mode of transport, see: walking or playing passenger princess to my boyfriend, hits me. I’m not looking forward to farewelling the car’s gargantuan boot space that can hold several ludicrously capacious bags with ease.
However, most importantly, I’ve quickly become accustomed to the privacy glass the car features, which particularly came in handy today as I needed to make an ultra-quick change in between Macgraw’s show in Paddington and an Emma Mulholland on Holiday soirée at the rooftop restaurant Kiln.
Emma Mulholland herself has hand-selected the ensembles she wanted her guests to wear, meaning I made the spacious back seat my own personal change-room while I swapped my fashion week attire for my party clothes. After several natural wines and mouth-watering food, I joined several industry friends at 10 William Street for a post-party tipple celebrating the fact the end of fashion week was in sight.
FRIDAY
Friday marked the end of a mammoth week, and the last two of the 25 shows I was fortunate enough to attend. Thankfully, they took place at either end of the day, meaning I could freshen up, finesse the stories I was working on and wade through my amounting inbox during the bulk of the day.
After Alix Higgin’s emotive show, I felt particularly naughty and almost took the car to redacted drive-through. Instead, I did the right thing: order UberEats and eat my fast food horizontally like the goblin fashion week has turned us all into.
That evening, as we drove to Carriageworks, we were greeted by a beautiful amber sunset, which also proved to be the perfect golden hour light for a few backseat selfies I had to take to correctly christen the new Christopher Esber top I purchased impromptu on Wednesday night. The light charcoal colour way is a refreshing contrast against the deep maraschino cherry colour of the car, because if Paris Hilton and Kim Kardashian taught us anything it’s to always match your outfits to your motor vehicle!
Drinks at a nearby bar are on the menu, however, for most of us, Caroline Reznik’s closing show is a sign to draw the week to a close. On the ride back, I’m reminded by the beauty on display at fashion week of the importance of revelling in everyday luxuries. Whether it be your mode of transport or your ensemble, indulging in something sumptuous should be practised in every part of our lives.
This year, the GRAZIA Australia team travelled between AAFW shows in the refined style of Toyota’s new RAV4 GXL. With its modern and spacious interior, privacy glass, and fast charging portals for our phones, it was the perfect mode of travel for zipping across Sydney town. To find out more, visit toyota.com.au
