Dress To Express Melbourne 2026

Dress to Express 2026 – Back for Melbourne Fashion Week

We're back! Dress to Express returns as part of Melbourne Fashion Week 2026, celebrating the power of fashion, technology, sustainability, diversity and self-expression.

This year, Dress to Express brings together two distinctive runway showcases, each exploring a different way fashion can contribute to a more inclusive, creative and sustainable future.

👗 Fashion, Diversity & Self-Expression Runway

Professionally styled by Styling Station Melbourne, this runway brings together a diverse community of women from different cultures, ages, backgrounds and lived experiences.

The runway will feature new garments generously donated by Thread Together, an organisation that redirects brand-new clothing from fashion partners to people and communities who need it, helping prevent excess clothing from going to waste.

Through thoughtfully curated looks and professional styling, the runway celebrates individuality, confidence, culture and self-expression, while demonstrating how fashion can be both stylish and socially and environmentally responsible.

It celebrates real women and the many ways fashion can help us express who we are.

💡 Wearable Technology, Sustainability & Innovation Runway

Presented in collaboration with Viewbank College, this runway brings fashion and STEM together through wearable technology and student-led design.

Students have explored technology, sustainability, fashion and creative problem-solving, developing garments and wearable technology concepts that demonstrate how innovation can shape the future of fashion.

Sustainability is embedded in the students' design process, including the challenge of upcycling existing products and giving materials new purpose. The designs are being further developed with a stronger focus on cultural expression and the sustainability story behind each creation.

With additional support from Banyule Nillumbik Tech School, students are refining and enhancing their designs, bringing classroom learning onto a Melbourne Fashion Week runway.

Two Runways. Many Stories.

Hosted at Donkey Wheel House in the heart of Melbourne, Dress to Express 2026 brings these two showcases together for an evening celebrating:

♻️ Sustainable and conscious fashion – from redirecting new garments from potential waste to upcycling and reimagining existing materials.

👗 Diversity and self-expression – celebrating women across cultures, ages, backgrounds and lived experiences.

💡 Wearable technology and innovation – demonstrating how STEM, technology and creativity can transform fashion.

🧵 Design and creativity – from professionally styled looks to student-created wearable technology designs.

🌏 Culture and identity – recognising fashion as a powerful way to communicate identity, heritage and belonging.

💚 Empowerment and future possibilities – creating a runway where women and young people can be seen, celebrated and inspired.

Proudly presented by STEM Sisters through the SWOP SIS platform, Dress to Express is more than a fashion event. It celebrates what becomes possible when fashion, technology, sustainability, culture, and people come together.