Australian Fashion Week - ‘Next Gen’
This week, our team had the honour of travelling to Sydney for a pinnacle event on the Australian fashion calendar, Afterpay Australian Fashion Week (AAFW 2021).
The most anticipated moment of the entire event was on day two at “Next Gen”, a show that every year celebrates the hottest designers to watch in fashion.
This year the “Next Gen” show featured designers Aaizél, Erik-Yvon, OUTFACED and Replica Project and had media, industry and consumers buzzing. We were there sitting front row to watch these emerging designers showcase their collections.
Aaizél
Originally from South-Korea, Minhee Jo, the face behind Aaizél now calls Melbourne home.
With sustainability at the front of her design process, Minhee is a firm believer in slow fashion, with each collection designed upon these values.
The brands main focus is creating interchangeable, long lasting pieces with a season-less approach catering to both hemispheres.
Influences of European Art and traditional East Asian clothing construction are evident in Aaizél pieces, and each has a mix of structure and undone styling.
Minhee loves working with earthy tones and silhouettes that enhance the wearer’s existing beauty.
Erik-Yvon
Drawing inspiration from his origins in Mauritius, Erik-Yvon creates bold tran-seasonal pieces for both men’s and women's wear.
Now based in Melbourne, his label creates a dynamic combination of elements; colours, prints, shapes and textures which define the core of each collection.
The brands colourful and bold themes are inspired by artists, diverse cultures and everyday surroundings. Entirely produced in Melbourne, the label is committed to working with and strengthening the local industry.
Erik-Yvon’s latest collection combines genderless silhouettes and luxe quality with a street aesthetic, bringing a unique imprint to Australian fashion.
OUTFACED
Megan Louise Taylor is the face behind Melbourne based brand, OUTFACED. Megan holds a passion for print design and digital illustration, and her career experience spans sportswear and athleisure, apparel, accessories and footwear.
Megan does all aspects of designing herself and chooses to keep all production elements in-house.
OUTFACED is a gender-neutral label that uses prints and unexpected shapes to tell a story. The collection showcased non-conforming clothing with bold electric printing, and each piece showed an element of fun and artistic exploration.
Megan said that during COVID-19, she saw everyone wanting a bit of brightness and colour in their life during lockdown, and that her collection leans into that.
Replica Project
The designer behind Replica Project, Amanda Nichols, was a costume cutter and maker whose film credits include Baz Luhrmann’s ‘Australia’, ‘The Great Gatsby’ and Ridley Scott’s ‘Alien: Convenient’.
Amanda’s time as a costume cutter and her experience working in haute-couture, have influenced her approach to her own brands structure and style.
Replica Project, based in Melbourne, takes its influence from heritage fashion houses and combines this with contemporary fashion.
Most of Replica Project’s fabrics are from local Australian suppliers, and the label also uses dead-stock fabrics and some imported textiles, with production split between Melbourne and Sydney.
The collection showed beautifully cut and constructed garments that could become be timeless pieces for women of all ages.
All Images courtesy of: Macami (@macami__)
