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Models displayed different collections from 4 fashion designers who won the Next Gen Prize during the Afterpay Australian Fashion Week (Photo by Cesar Ocampo/Ocampo Studio)

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Afterpay Australian Fashion Week’s Next Gen has made another history as the show launched sets of fresh talents in the fashion world this year.

It all started in 1996, intending to recognize next-generation designers. It also established fashion designers’ careers such as Akira Isogawa, Anna Quan, Kate Sylvester, and many more.

Each year, the committee will select the Next-Gen prize that supplied priceless retailing, advertising, and social media presence to relinquish a global audience.

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Let’s meet the Next Gen Prize Winners: 

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AAIZEL

First up is Aaizel, established by a Melbourne-based fashion designer Minhee Jo, who has an eccentric strategy in fashion, concentrating the attractions of romantic and detailed European Art and traditional East Asian dressmaking. She is also known for focusing on structured silhouettes and loosened styling, honed with an up-to-date point. Minhee Jo’s work encounters feminine silhouettes incorporating modern puff sleeves, strapless clothes, two-piece tailoring in beautiful shirts and pants with lively details. 

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Models walked the runway displaying Aaizel’s collection during Afterpay Australian Fashion Week’s Next Gen Fashion Show last June 1, 2021 in Sydney, Australia. (Photo by Cesar Ocampo/Ocampo Studio)

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ERIK YVON

Another emerging fashion designer from Melbourne is Erik Yvon, who has expertise in men’s and women’s wear, pulling influence from his Mauritian roots. Erik’s breakthrough in fashion as he won several national design competitions such as The Wool Awards and the Australian Fashion Awards, and earned experience within the Australian fashion industry alongside Romance Was Born and Neo Dia. His illustrations on repurposing clothing garments into the movie graphics on the runway was also a mind-blowing idea of uniqueness styled in a clean and subtle silhouette.

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Models walked the runway displaying Erik Yvon’s collection during Afterpay Australian Fashion Week 2021’s Next Gen Fashion Show last June 1, 2021 in Sydney, Australia. (Photo by Cesar Ocampo/Ocampo Studio)

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REPLICA PROJECT

Replica Project, created by Amanda Nichols, came from a design background in couture atelier and worked as a costume designer with films like Baz Luhrmann’s ‘Australia’ and ‘The Great Gatsby’ Ridley Scott’s ‘Alien: Covenant. Aside from that, Nichols was also a recipient of the Winston Churchill Fellowship. The headscarf was the highlight of Replica Project’s show, as the female models displayed elegance, confidence, and attitude while being fully covered from head to toe.

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Models walked the runway with class and elegance displaying Replica Project’s collection during Afterpay Australian Fashion Week 2021’s Next Gen Fashion Show last June 1, 2021 in Sydney, Australia. (Photo by Cesar Ocampo/Ocampo Studio)

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OUTFACED

And lastly, Outfaced, founded by Megan Taylor and a finalist at Melbourne Fashion Week last 2019, is a fresh graduate from a Bachelor of Design In Fashion at Whitehouse Institute of Design, Melbourne. She took the Student of the Year award at the Whitehouse Institute Graduate exhibition in December of 2019. Taylor designs a collection with a gender-neutral, non-conforming clothing concept with a brand-new style of printing, socks with lots of prints, bright pink color shade, and patterns on patterns worn in silhouettes of bike shorts, sweat style shorts, and double-layered tops.

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Models walked the runway displaying Outfaced’s collection during Afterpay Australian Fashion Week 2021’s Next Gen Fashion Show last June 1, 2021 in Sydney, Australia. (Photo by Cesar Ocampo/Ocampo Studio)

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Australian fashion’s next generation of designers also shared their struggles and opportunities of working during the pandemic and how they visioned the fashion industry’s future. DHL Express proudly powered this year’s runway show program.

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