Top designer's runway return at Australian fashion week

Celebrated designer Toni Maticevski is returning to the runway at Australian Fashion Week, with his first show since 2019.

It's hard to believe one of Australia's most successful fashion labels has been absent from the international runway circuit for so long - Maticevski's to-die-for gowns have been worn by the likes of Taylor Swift and are stocked in stores across more than 35 countries.

But after Paris Fashion Week 2019, the designer said he was no longer feeling the thrill of a triumphant runway show.

"I had a bad run of doing beautiful shows, but just not getting the enjoyment out of it," Maticevski told AAP.

"It had become a process of doing things because it was expected, or it was part of the cycle in the system of fashion."

Following a break in 2025, Maticevski's first in almost two decades of running his eponymous label, the designer decided the time was right to return to the runway - and he wanted to do it in Australia.

The brand's sculptural garments, more wearable art than fashion, were a highlight of the first day of Australian Fashion Week in Sydney on Monday.

Unlike the majority of Australian fashion brands, the Maticevski label does 95 per cent of its production in its home base of Melbourne - everything except fine embroidery and beading.

"The whole thing about coming back is really doing things to be part of the industry, the local talent that is delivering some amazing work," he said.

"It's all about us really backing and supporting each other."

Also showing on day one of fashion week are Carla Zampatti, First Nations label Buluuy Mirrii, Beare Park and swimwear label Van Ermel Scherer.

Maticevski first showed at what was then known as Mercedes-Benz Fashion Week in 2002, and in 2016 he won the prestigious Australian Fashion Laureate Award.