We were over the moon on Friday night to have four awesome Whitehouse students participate in Melbourne Fashion Week’s Student Collections Runway!

The show, titled The Swatch and styled by Stuart Walford, celebrated the humble swatch as a canvas for exploration, focussing on the hands-on processes behind the emerging designers’ work, trial techniques and creative breakthroughs. It was an exciting glimpse into the next generation of Australian fashion talent and Whitehouse was right in the action front and centre!

This year the show received more applications than ever before, with 120 fashion graduates applying for a place on the runway. What an amazing achievement for our students Arabella, Josephine, Samantha and Shannon! You can read more about their collections below!

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Arabella McColl - ‘Elegant Rebel’

‘Elegant Rebel’ is a bold, unapologetically maximalist exploration of art and fashion, created in collaboration with artist Jason Oates and milliner Ann Shoebridge. The collection is anchored in themes of emotional release, female empowerment and personal transformation. Vibrant colours, exaggerated silhouettes and experimental textile practices are used to encourage freedom, confidence and authenticity.

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Josephine Gear - ‘Reverie of Form’

‘Reverie of Form’ explores bohemian and boho-chic aesthetics with architectural forms. The collection celebrates the beauty of slow, intentional making by combining handcrafted construction techniques with textures from tactile deadstock materials. Handcrafted knitwear and paper-textured elements made from leftover pattern paper are also incorporated for depth and dimension.

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‍Samantha North -  ‘Down to Earth’ 

‘Down to Earth’ explores nostalgia as a powerful connection to identity, memory and belonging. Natural fibres are transformed through weaving techniques and artisanal construction methods to reflect a growing desire to reconnect with the environments that shape us. In a contemporary world driven by speed and disposability, this collection celebrates slow making as a meaningful act of preservation and storytelling.

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Shannon Chan - ‘Ephemeral’

‘Ephemeral’ explores girlhood, femininity and identity by reflecting on the pressure young women face to conform to traditional ideals. Drawing on the urge of some young girls to hide their changing bodies under oversized clothing, the collection argues that these oversized, exaggerated silhouettes can be just as romantic, elegant and feminine as the more body-conscious designs typically made for women.

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If you’re looking to see more of what Whitehouse students have been creating, our annual Graduate Exhibition and Runway is just around the corner! Keep an eye on our website for registration openings.

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