Toni Maticevski will return to Australian Fashion Week for the first time in a decade when the event relocates to the Museum of Contemporary Art Australia from 11-15 May, marking both the designer’s comeback and Fashion Week’s return to Sydney Harbour after 14 years at Carriageworks.
The venue change coincides with the event’s 30th anniversary and positions the showcase against the harbour backdrop that defined its early years at Circular Quay’s Overseas Passenger Terminal from 1996-2012. Twenty-nine designers are confirmed for the program including Carla Zampatti, Aje, and Bianca Spender.
Australian Fashion Council Executive Chair Marianne Perkovic said the MCA provides “an iconic Sydney backdrop that reflects the creativity, cultural relevance and global outlook of our designers”. The council took ownership of the event from IMG earlier this year.
Fashion Week Director Kellie Hush told Broadsheet that while “Carriageworks is an amazing venue, the industry for quite some time has wanted to do something different”. The MCA location spreads activations across multiple harbour-side spaces rather than Carriageworks’ consolidated warehouse format.
Free Fashion Pass registration opens public access to selected shows, industry talks, and live stream viewing spaces. Consumer runway tickets for designers including Carla Zampatti, Hansen & Gretel, and Mariam Seddiq are selling separately through the official website with limited capacity.
Two dedicated First Nations runway shows will feature Buluuy Mirrii and van Ermel Scherer. Designer and proud Larrakia woman Verity van Ermel Scherer described presenting her runway as “deeply meaningful for me, for my community”.
Fashion industry observers welcomed the venue change as strategic repositioning. Fashion journalists suggested the MCA location better aligns with international fashion capitals’ use of cultural landmarks, providing more compelling content creation opportunities than Carriageworks’ industrial setting.
NSW Minister for Jobs and Tourism Steve Kamper said there was “no better example of our city’s unique combination of natural wonder and cultural vibrancy than Fashion Week on the harbour”. The state’s fashion industry contributes $174,000 jobs to the NSW economy.
Fashion Pass registration has limited places and is filling as the May dates approach. The program opens with a Welcome to Country ceremony and runs through 15 May with runway shows scheduled across multiple MCA venues.
Quick Facts
Museum of Contemporary Art Australia
Sydney’s premier contemporary art museum located at Circular Quay, dedicated to showcasing living Australian artists. The harbourside institution features multiple exhibition spaces including Foundation Hall and Canvas, making it an iconic cultural venue for major events.
Australian Fashion Council
The national body representing Australia’s fashion industry, which took ownership of Australian Fashion Week in 2025. The AFC operates through its subsidiary AFC Fashion Events to deliver the country’s premier fashion platform and export opportunity for designers.