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The Best PayPal Melbourne Fashion Festival 2026 Events to Book Now
The PayPal Melbourne Fashion Festival 2026 programme is turning up the heat, proving that fashion isn’t just a runway show — it’s the ultimate spectator sport.
Melbourne’s biggest runway moment returns in 2026 — and it’s celebrating 30 years in unapologetic style.
From 14th to 28th February, the PayPal Melbourne Fashion Festival takes over the Royal Exhibition Building and beyond, delivering a 15-day programme of Premium Runways, industry talks, independent showcases and city-wide activations that cement its place as Australia’s largest fashion event.
This milestone edition leans into its coined theme, Fashion as a Spectator Sport, transforming the city into a live stage for more than 100 emerging and established designers across six evenings and 12 runway shows. Beyond the catwalk, the Independent Programme brings grassroots creativity to the fore with workshops, exhibitions, film screenings and thought-provoking conversations, while the Fashion Forecourt returns as the festival’s social heartbeat — a free, open-air hub of DJs, drinks and street-style energy on Museum Plaza.
Here’s what to book, see and wear to the PayPal Melbourne Fashion Festival 2026.
Joywear Runway
Opening night, dialled all the way up. Joywear sets the tone for the Festival’s 30th anniversary with a riot of colour, maximalism and unapologetic self-expression. Camilla, Romance Was Born, Gary Bigeni and Leo Lin lead a line-up that refuses subtlety, proving that fashion can shift a mood in seconds. Expect statement silhouettes, bold prints and energy you can feel from the front row. Royal Exhibition Building, Carlton. Tickets from $109.
Book tickets here
Monday 23rd February, 6:45pm
Melbourne Noir Runway
The Noir Runway honours the city’s enduring love affair with its unofficial uniform — sharp tailoring, layered texture and silhouettes that speak in understatement. With Akira, Gail Sorronda and Strateas Carlucci x AFL on the line-up, expect mood, precision and after-dark edge. Royal Exhibition Building. Tickets from $109.
Book tickets here
Monday 23rd February, 8:30pm
National Graduate Showcase
Where the future walks first.
The National Graduate Showcase spotlights 12 emerging designers at the very start of their ascent — raw talent, big ideas and collections that challenge the expected. Consider this your preview of what’s next in Australian fashion. Tickets from $89.
Book tickets here
Tuesday 24th February, 8:30pm
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Beyond Blak Runway
Fashion shaped by story and grounded in Country.
Beyond Blak showcases First Nations designers pushing contemporary Australian fashion forward with strength and clarity. Curated by Mob in Fashion, this runway honours legacy while presenting bold, forward collections from Delvene Cockatoo-Collins, Ebony Noire, KingKing Creative and more. Tickets from $69.
Book tickets here
Wednesday 25th February, 7pm
New Again: Metamorphosis Runway x Savers
Secondhand, reimagined. This runway hands experimental designers the Savers® archive and asks them to make it new. Amy Cottrell, Cakey Sportsman, Shiyo and more respond with reworked silhouettes, sharp tailoring and pieces that feel entirely of now. It’s inventive, directional and refreshingly unpolished — proof that pre-loved can still hit with impact. Royal Exhibition Building, Carlton. Tickets from $109.
Book tickets here
Saturday 28th February, 7pm
Loved our guide to the PayPal Melbourne Fashion Festival 2026 programme? Now that your calendar is full of activities, why not book a restaurant in the CBD to eat at before or afterwards? Or, catch a post-work, pre-runway show happy hour.
