Get to Know these Up-and-Coming Australian Fashion Designers Before They’re Everywhere Next Year

If you’re one who stays on top of fashion trends and up-and-coming designers, you’re in for a real this Afterpay Australian Fashion Week. The weeklong event, which runs Monday, May 9 to Friday, May 13 at Carriageworks Sydney and virtually at AAFW.com.au, will feature a show dedicated to showcasing the works of some of Australia’s best emerging designers.

Called Next Gen and held on the last day of Fashion Week, the runway show is part of a program established in 1996, which discovered and launched the careers of top industry names including Akira, Anna Quan, BEC + BRIDGE, CAMILLA AND MARC and sass & bide, among others.

“Next Gen recognises the new guard of innovators influencing the future of fashion design in Australia, says Natalie Xenita, Vice President-Managing Director of IMG Fashion Events & Properties Asia Pacific. “The 2022 winners have demonstrated talent not only in design, but in harnessing fashion’s power as a tool for communicating social and environmental messages that influence culture.”

This year, judges selected four winning designers, with their prize is valued at over $100,000 and includes runway show production, a content package including runway photography and livestream, and international shipping credits provided by competition sponsor DHL.    

So, who made the cut? Who are the designers to know now because they just might be everywhere next year?

Asiyam

Founder and creative director Asia Hassan founded Asiyam to challenge the norms of how women should dress, born from her frustration of not being able to find well-designed and accessible clothing with modest aesthetics. The label features intricate details and fabric manipulation, designed to be worn by any woman.

Clea

Designer Natasha Gordon founded Clea in 2021, embracing an aesthetic that proposes a fresh balance of opposing elements — masculine and feminine, textural and clean, strength and softness, intricate and minimal.

Phoebe Pendergast

Phoebe Pendergast launched her eponymous label in 2019 after graduating from RMIT’s Fashion Design Honours program. Pendergast’s design process draws inspiration from personal memories and experiences she wants to relive, creating pieces that evoke a visceral response within the wearer.  

Not a Man’s Dream

Designer Samantha Saint James’ vision for her label is to defy fashion’s gendered archetypes. Saint James combines traditional fashion design with contemporary innovation, art and culture, to create luxury androgynous streetwear that empowers the wearer.

The Next Gen runway show will take place on Friday, May 13 at 10am. A panel discussion featuring all four winners will follow on the same day at 4:30pm, as part of The Talks, AAFW’s ongoing series of culturally enriching conversations. Tickets to both events are available now via AAFW: The Experience, fashion week’s innovative consumer offering. Runway show experiences range from $109 to $239, while The Talks are $49.