When you think of Australian fashion cities, Canberra doesn't come to mind.
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But two Canberra designers, along with vintage market Dirty Janes, are hoping to change that.
The Dirty Janes Fashion Runway Show aims to celebrate creativity and eco-consciousness in the fashion industry. Along with featuring local designers - including Haus of Kyami designers Jacquelyn Hockey and Ryan Fisher, who are spearheading the event - some of Dirty Janes' stallholders will feature their vintage wares.
"We're right in the middle between Sydney and Melbourne. It makes no sense that there isn't a fashion scene here," Fisher said.
"We've got quite an artisanal culture in Canberra in food and stuff like that so it just makes sense that fashion edges its way in. I think it'll take a little bit of consideration from the general Canberra area to figure it out. I think if they welcome it, we could have a unique Canberra scene. Melbourne is its own thing and Sydney is its own thing and Canberra could take more from its surrounding rural area."
The inspiration for the runway show stemmed from a family member of one of the Dirty Janes' stallholders. When Hockey - who also works at Dirty Janes - was told about the idea to turn the market's long walkway into a runway, she could immediately see the potential.
The building's industrial design, coupled with the glamour from the surrounding stalls, gave a great aesthetic for a fashion event.
"It was just sitting and percolating in my head, and a lot of our stallholders also have a lot of secondhand or vintage clothing as well," Hockey said.
"A lot of landfill is actually textile waste, and it really speaks to the ethos of Dirty Janes which is sustainability, reduce, reuse, recycle, upcycle. And we know people in the fashion industry that are also eco-conscious so it felt like this could fill the empty fashion scene space in Canberra."
The runway event aims to highlight the work of emerging designers, particularly those utilising recycled or upcycled materials, embracing slow fashion, or infusing their designs with a vintage flair. Canberra or regional designers are encouraged to submit their work for consideration.
"It was sad to learn that the fashion industry and textile waste is one of the biggest contributors to Australia's waste problem, and is responsible for an estimated 10 per cent of global co2 emissions," Dirty Janes owner Jane Crowley said.
"The Dirty Janes Fashion Runway Show is a fabulous and impactful way to encourage people to think differently about their consumption, and celebrate the talent of local designers."
The Dirty Janes Fashion Runway Show is on May 3. Doors open at 6.15pm and the show starts at 7pm.
"It's not going to be, what I would call, aggressively fashion. It won't be intimidating," Fisher said.
"It's still Dirty Janes so it's got this natural warmth to it. We're going to have food trucks and wine tastings, so it's half fashion and half event."