There’s been a lot of ‘firsts’ this year for FASHFEST, but from all the stunning gowns, gorgeous bridal wear, and everything in between we’ve chosen to review those that are a little bit different. The standard of wearable items this year was amazing, but we eventually went with labels we could, and would, wear ourselves, and perhaps more importantly, those with a community background to their fashion. By the LFW team.

Tiwi dress by Magpie Goose – photo by LFW

Our chosen designers include one label working with remote Indigenous communities in the Northern Territory, another that brings a range of artists from across Australia to work together in a visually exciting collection, and the third showcasing what you can do with someone else’s unloved clothing.

Magpie Goose Collection – photo by LFW

Magpie Goose is a new label founded in 2016 by Maggie McGowan and Laura Egan and named after a bird native to the Northern Territory. Based in Katherine, Magpie Goose works with four Aboriginal communities across the Top End including Palngun Wurnangat Aboriginal Corporation in Wadeye; Tiwi Design in Wurrumiyanga, Bathurst Island; Injalak Arts in Gunbalanya; and Bábbarra Women’s Centre, Maningrida. Through its clothing, the label aims to tell the story of people, place, and culture through fashion.. Magpie Goose is incubated by Enterprise Learning Projects, an organisation dedicated to fostering and supporting grassroots business development in partnership with remote Aboriginal communities. This was Magpie Goose’s first time at FASHFEST.

RAW Australia – photo by LFW

RAW Australia is part of an international community that brings together a range of artists including photographers, designers, visual and performing artists and musicians, film makers, and much more. For FASHFEST, RAW Australia brought together four fashion designers to show an exciting range of clothing including exotics from Bird Skin in Melbourne, gorgeous gowns from Bianca Pavlic The Label from Canberra, couture garments and jewellery from Ellavanna in Perth, and Adelaide’s Kiira showcasing a bohemian twist to their fashions. This was RAW Australia first showing at FASHFEST.

RAW Australia – image by LFW

SALVOS Stores. It’s fashion reinvention and serious eco chic. That’s what this unique FASHFEST 2017 show, presented by Salvos Stores, is all about. Salvaged is sustainable style at its best and this collection illustrates how fashionable high-end discarded and donated clothing can be. Curated by Salvos Stores stylist Fay De Lanty, this ingenious upcycling, dare we say even couture, transforms your perception of second-hand. It’s op-shop—but not as you know it! This is Salvos Stores first appearance at FASHFEST.

Upcycled fashion by Salvos Stores – photo courtesy Fashfest 2017

Salvos Stores Salvage Collection – photo courtesy Fashfest 2017