The four-day event kicked off on Wednesday night at its new home in the National Convention Centre Canberra.

On top of showing off some of the best local fashion designers, this year's event expanded to showcase interstate and international designers.

The evening opened with a bang, with an unseasonal collection of exotic swimwear by Ziyah, later followed by a collection of bright rash vests by Solar Bare.

Local visual artist Luke Chiswell made his catwalk debut showing off his very first fashion collection, alongside Little Jane Lane, That Bird Label, The Prodigal Daughter, Simone Perele, and Perpetually Five and Clare.

Also a newcomer was Mariska Thynne whose bright label The Professor's Daughter features a range of pieces covered in prints incorporating windows.

"It's inspired by Peranakan windows in Singapore. I lived there when I was a child – we lived in an old black and white colonial house," she said.

"I used to love the way the shutters work and looking out at the tropical view from windows so I started playing with the window designs and the colour toning that I remember from that environment then we started layering them."

The daughter of two professors, Thynne's prints incorporate 15 variations of shutters, which means no two pieces are the same.

Ahead of the show, the Melbourne-based designer, who went to school at Campbell High then Dickson College in Canberra, said she was excited to be part of Fashfest.

"I'm doing 20 full outfits so there's about 32 pieces hitting the runway. I think it'll just be great seeing the audience and actually getting an idea of people's response to the collection.

This year is the first time Fashfest has moved from its original venue at Canberra Airport, which was notoriously difficult to heat.

The new set-up's tiered seating system arrived in three semi-trailers from Melbourne during the week, which will ensure the whole audience can see all of the extra-long runway.

Tickets are still available for Fashfest from fashfest.com.au.