Between the runways this week and the budget surplus, one might be forgiven for thinking it was 1997, not 2024. Designers at Australian Fashion Week, perhaps nostalgic for different times, looked to the 1990s for inspiration, sending models down the catwalk in slip dresses, sheer pencil skirts and cargo pants.
Russian-born designer Marina Afonina’s Albus Lumen opened the week with a show that leaned heavily into the grunge look of the early 1990s. Focusing on suede and jersey, the collection featured a muted palette and was deliberately genderless, with nearly as many male models as female. Despite the chill at Sydney’s Carriageworks, where this week’s events largely took place, models were dressed in bikinis and low-slung skirts, a deliberate swing against the quiet luxury trend of late.