14-05-2025
AFW DAY 2: Lee Mathews, Joseph & James, Beare Park Make Their Mark
SYDNEY, AUSTRALIA – MAY 13: Models walk the runway during the Lee Mathews show at Australian Fashion Week (AFW) 2025 at Carriageworks on May 13, 2025 in Sydney, Australia. (Photo by)
Day two of Australian Fashion Week 2025 was packed with homegrown fashion talent in their element.
Leading the schedule was Lee Mathews, who celebrated 25 years in business with an intimate show at Sydney's Carriageworks, while other favourites, including Beare Park and NAGNATA, presented new collections in grand and moody settings.
Elsewhere, menswear label Joseph & James effectively stole the show with its solo debut, with an exceptionally refined approach to casualwear and a joyous colour palette we haven't stopped thinking about.
For the full collection dispatches from on the ground at AFW, read on. Lee Mathews
At AFW, Lee Mathews marked 25 years with a Resort '26 collection that was inspired by the art of ballet: intimate, disciplined, and softly powerful. 'There's a tension I love,' said Mathews, referencing the contrast of strength and softness in Pina Bausch's choreography—her point of inspiration. 'That contrast of strength and softness.' That tension underpinned the show, where diaphonous fabrics met solid and structured tailoring, corsetry lines met relaxed silhouettes, and every layer moved with an enchanting restraint.
Set against draped calico—a raw canvas evoking the brand's enduring love for natural fibres—in Carriagework's mezzanine, the runway felt deeply grounded, with models gliding to a René Aubry score, composed for dance and theatre. After two decades, Mathews' philosophy remains: 'make good things,' and here, good meant garments that live with you—ageless, beautiful and always useful.
The tonal palette—stone, skin, water, light—allowed form and fabrication to shine. Subtle stitchwork, custom fabrics, and Nina Walton's rhythmic prints brought a natural serenity to pieces. Behind the scenes, collaborations with artisans and heritage mills were matched by a fresh partnership with Delta Global, underscoring Mathews' enduring commitment to sustainability.
Community took centre stage at the show as friends like Saskia Havekes and Alexia Spalding walked the runway, while Nigella Lawson, Maggie Beer and Miranda Otto watched from the front row. The natural, sun-kissed skin look—courtesy of RATIONALE and Linda Jefferyes—mirrored the garments' bucolic lightness, as did the tousled hair by Kevin Murphy.
Resort '26 is a love letter to where Lee Mathews has been and where it's going: an evolving practice in thoughtful design and artistic integrity. At its heart is the radical commitment to design that is at once simple and significant—an art that lives on long after the show.
Beare Park
In a darkened room pierced by a dramatic light on the runway, Beare Park's AFW '25 show unfolded with cinematic drama. The presentation, soundtracked by a haunting original score by Gary Sinclair of Tactile Music, marked a confident evolution for the Sydney-based label, known for its cerebral approach to modern femininity. 'A continuing theme with Beare Park collections from day one has been the duality of structured tailoring and fluid silk pieces—high-quality fabric is always at the centre of each collection,' founder Gabriella Pereira tells GRAZIA. 'This collection was no exception in that sourcing fabrics was my starting point, and the consideration of the intersection of intimacy and power through fabric.'
This season, this consideration became bolder, with silhouettes and cuts that laid bare the material, enabling garments to shine. From precision-cut double-breasted coats and sculptural culottes to sheer slip dresses and dupion silk track shorts, there was a clarity to each look that emphasised the craft behind it. The collection's palette—a moody blend of burgundy, mottled charcoal, deep chocolate and chartreuse—reflected this duality of fluidity meeting solid forces.
Pereira's partnership with Chopard added luminous punctuation: stacks of Ice Cube bracelets in ethical gold and L'Heure du Diamant watches worn as jewellery gave the collection a subtle flash of heritage glamour. 'Their craftsmanship and respect for form mirrors our ethos,' Pereira noted.
The set may have been pared back—black walls, no distractions—but there was a weight to the simplicity, a clarity of intent that echoed throughout the 30-look show. Styled by Nichhia Wippell, with beauty by Emma Lewisham led by Isabella Schimid, the mood was confident, sensual, and sharply modern.
'I think of myself as a customer before a designer,' continued Pereira. 'The purpose of a Beare Park garment is to be comfortable, functional and give the wearer a newfound sense of power.'
JOSEPH & JAMES
At this year's AFW, a new chapter in Australian menswear was written as JOSEPH & JAMES, helmed by Juanita Page—a proud Gooreng Gooreng and South Sea Islander woman—made a grand solo debut. With her inaugural show, Gathering, the designer made a powerful entry into the schedule, with a collection rooted in emotion, memory and connection. 'This collection is a celebration of togetherness—of what it means to gather, to connect, to be present,' said Page.
From the moment a soundtrack of laughter, conversation and music filled the space, along with a warm, custom fragrance by Scent Australia Home, the show promised sincerity and soul—and delivered in spades. Relaxed tailoring met intricate knitwear; refined suiting in brushed herringbone and lightweight linen flowed alongside joyful bursts of colour—bright green, cabernet red, pastel purple—each hue coming together in a highly satisfying array of combinations that spoke to Page's deep understanding of balance.
The 20-look, 58-piece collection was walked by a cast and styling direction powered by Mob in Fashion, the First Nations-led initiative by model Nathan McGuire. 'Mob in Fashion is about creating real, tangible opportunities for the next generation of Indigenous creatives,' said McGuire.
From the streetwise elegance of Reebok footwear to the undone ease of ELEVEN Australia's textured hair and Clarins skin, the styling echoed the collection's guiding sentiment: ease, authenticity, and care.
'Every piece is designed with that spirit in mind, drawing on moments around the table with belly full and heart happy,' said Page. '[It's] places where stories are shared and memories are made.'
topics: AFW 2025, Australian Fashion Week, AFW, fashion, Fashion news, fashion week, Fashion Shows, BEARE PARK, lee mathews, Joseph & James, australian designers, Resort 26, Trending
