This October, Brisbane’s beloved Fashion Month hits its 10th year anniversary, where many up-and-coming designers are showcased in various events throughout the month.
This is all curated by Laura Churchill, who is founder and director of Fashion Queensland and Brisbane Fashion Month.
Ms Churchill said their anniversary year was a great time to stop and look back at what they have achieved.
“We’ve worked across so many iconic venues in Brisbane. To take a moment of pause in those times to just look around and [see] everyone’s enjoying the event, the company, and the fashion, it is pretty special,” she said.
Over the past ten years, the fashion industry in Brisbane has been greatly influenced by the festival as it has helped to connect locals and strengthen the community.
Ms Churchill said this has been the focus of Brisbane Fashion Month since it was founded in 2016.
The event has seen a substantial growth in its ten-year life span.
When asked about what inspires her in fashion, she said: “It’s really just this great community of designers that we have in Queensland. We really do have such a niche of industry here.”
Akin to previous years, there will be multiple runways taking place at different venues, including West Village and the Brisbane Powerhouse.
This year, alongside the festival’s classic program
of runway shows and guest speakers,
a unique science-fashion project with the
Institute of Molecular Bioscience will be held at
the Brisbane Powerhouse.
For this project, five designers have been chosen to create a one-off garment in response to the institute’s research.
“We actually pay designers to be part of that project which is something I am really passionate about
– to actually offer support back to designers,” Ms Churchill said.
Another aspect of the festival that has grown this year is the increase in conversation, including a talk at the Queensland Museum.
“Alongside multiple runways, we’ve got more conversation in this year’s program than we’ve ever had. We’ve got a couple of great talks at the Queensland Museum around a new exhibition they’ve just launched,” she said.
The event’s enduring success demonstrates its popularity within the Brisbane fashion scene.
“I think that Brisbane is just maturing so rapidly at the moment, and I think the next 10 years in Brisbane are just going to be so exciting,” Ms Churchill said.
“I’m really pleased that we’ve created something that really does offer a lot of benefit to designers, to a local audience, and to the city.”
The event officially begins on October 9 with the West Village runways, where numerous local designers will showcase their garments.
Tickets for all the events can be purchased on the Brisbane Fashion Month website at brisbanefashionmonth.com.au.
This article was written by By Indi Scott, Grade 12 student at St James College, as part of a student journalism project. Indi is passionate about creative writing, something she hopes to pursue after school. She is also interested in the arts, including painting, film, and fashion.
