So I begin with the opening act.

Now when I say opening act, I by no means the opening act of the AFW25. As a Melbourne based fashion photographer/blogger and juggling full time work amongst fashion weeks. I was only able to attend the last two days of the event. 

However! Two days are certainly better then none and boy did it end up being an amazing two days. 

Event & Backstage

So this leads me to the first runway of the Thursday morning: Hansen & Gretel Australian Fashion Week Sydney 2025. 

Fortunately for me, I had the opportunity to cover the backstage MAU before the runway. It was a very brief 15 minutes but a amazing opportunity to see the workings behind what make a runway show so memorable to the audiences that attend. 

Who is Hansen & Gretel?

Hansen and Gretel has been a label working out of Sydney since 2012, but it didn’t start there. The designer, Ainsley Hansen. Had began her designing journey after 2009 when she exhibited her first graduate collection at the 2009 Mercedes Benz Fashion Week held in Bryant Park, New York.

Subsequently. Due to her graduate debut success, She quickly began working alongside designers such as Gary Bigeni and Josh Goot. Then in 2012, Ainsley started up her own label and debuted her first show at the Virgin Australia Melbourne Fashion Festival.

The Runway

Looking at Hansen’s designs, Im struck by its minimal, clean and colour palette designs. There wasn’t a outfit shown in this collection that was completely devoid of some sort of colour.

Every dress, skirt or shirt had a least one shade of colour it was working with. Giving the collection a lovely optimistic vibe that would complement whoever decided to wear it. 

We also had a fantastic array of models for this runway. You’ll hear me say this a lot, but we really are lucky to have such amazing talent that work behind the scenes and on the runway for these events. Without these people, events like these would be none existent. 

Blues, greens and purples where definitely a theme with this latest collection from Hansen and Gretel. Scrolling through the photos in quick succession really highlights that fact. I wonder if this is a decision made by Ainsley to give a more vibrant look to the new collection with its bold choice of mainly single bright colours. Is it showing a more optimistic look for the future and are colour trends moving away from pastels? We will only know looking back.

Moving on, I’d like to address my favourite outfit from the show. This beautiful boho inspired, co-ord set consisting of a smocked skirt and loose v neck blouse with neckband really was beautiful to capture. 

The red base colour underlying the violet floral pattern was a amazing combination, the whole choice of colour and style allowed me to capture some great shots! 

Credit to the model (who for the life of me I have not been able to track down to credit), She worn the set perfectly and gave it the grace and poise needed for a piece like this to truly stand on its own. it was giving relaxed weekend vibes, complementing the design perfectly, Amazing styling team on this one for sure.

White shirts where “in” for the male category, giving summer beach vibes with shorts and thongs

We then for the finale have the evening dresses to finish off the show. The brown dress worn by Montanna Cox was a contrasting outfit from the rest of the collection but had a lovely flowing nature to it. It complemented the models completion which was a great decision by the styling team. 

Closing

In finishing. The runway in my opinion was a great success and congratulation to Ainsley and her team for putting together a very sleek, clean runway experience. Top marks for the music vibes too. 

Having the opportunity to not only see the behind the scenes but also cover the runway was definitely a highlight. Photography wise, the runway choreographer did a good job leading the models down the centre first and subsequently through each side aisle after that. 

Hansen’s designs are becoming a staple in Australian fashion weeks and she has building from strength to strength, from her opening show in 2009, to participating in a new era of the Australian Fashion Week in Sydney. I look forward to seeing what she may have in store for us at the next one.  

Words By Aidan McCorry 

Shot on Canon R6 

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