The Gallery of Australia Design (GAD) presents exhibition Fashionably Early: Designing Australian Fashion Futures. The exhibition is national and brings together graduates and students from six Australian design schools in vibrant discussions about innovation, ethics, sustainability and the future of Australian fashion design. The exhibition officially opens on Wednesday 8th August and runs until Saturday 15th September 2012.

A live fashion parade will occur on the spring evening of September 1 and will showcase seven experimental ranges from gold and silver smithing students from the ANU School of Art and up and coming Canberra fashion designers. The collections explore the relationship between fashion and jewellery design.

This a fantastic opportunity for these young designers to showcase their designs and build creative partnerships. Canberra labels include:

  • – Edition by Alice Sutton collaborating with Nell Peoples
  • – Eternal Safari by Gemma Jameson collaborating with Rebecca Hinwood
  • – Sebastian’s Sister by Francesa Aletnberg collaborating with Kat Circuitt
  • – The Lied We Can Fly by Cailteen Moloney collaborating with Nicola Stephanie Cooper and Ute Roseler
  • – Mishka and Milka by Belinda Armstrong collaborating with Sally Howes
  • – Corr Blimey by Louisa Desmet collaborating with Alicia Wing Yip
  • – HUHO by Penina Huho.

Buy tickets to the fashion show by clicking here

This year a new concept has been added to the exhibition – Consider What You Wear. It is an invitation for you to become a part of the exhibition and is occurring on two Saturdays only – 11th August and 1st Sepetember. It allows you to dress up in the garment for yourself and to contribute to the evolution of a more inclusive and real fashion image. You can also participate in a photo shoot.

The students were given a national design brief for the garments and were asked to look beyond the fashion image, to reconsider the design of fashion from first principles; its materiality, systems of production and relationship to the wearer.

Photographer Andrew Sikorski will shoot a collection of images that expand the way fashion is conventionally represented into a more inclusive wearer centered image. Sikorski is very good at drawing our people’s confidence.

Book in with a group of your friends by clicking here

You can also listen to a fashion forum presented by Australian Fashion Researchers Network on Thursday 9th August between 9am-5pm at the National Library of Australia.

Click Here to purchase tickets.