A Celebration of Culture: Asian Fashion Festival's Heritage Runway - En Route

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A Celebration of Culture: Asian Fashion Festival’s Heritage Runway

And, the designers who are leading the 2025 trends

06/25

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Written by Rosemary Lennon

If you’re anything like me, you’ve been fawning over the illustrious beauty of runway shows ever since you could walk, and with the fashion scene in Australia only becoming greater and grander every year, it’s no wonder that runway shows continue to inspire us with their eclectic designs.

This May, we celebrated the beauty of cultural diversity in fashion with this year’s annual ‘Asian Fashion Festival Heritage Runway’, a chance for talented designers to embody in their looks the rich tapestry of Asian and Australian cultures, and pay homage to their ancestry in a bold and exciting fashion.

Admist the scenic backdrop of the Crowne Plaza and the Blue Mountains Botanical Gardens, designers presented their boldest, most vibrant collections to date, with a champion cause to promote inclusivity and innovation within the Australian fashion industry, spotlighting Asian designers.

Featuring a VIP guest panel on the day of with talks from renowned Hollywood casting director Paul Weber and beauty queen and cancer advocate Robbie Canner, the Asian Fashion Festival dived deeper into the intricacies of a Fashion runway show, it’s links with cinema, TV and entertainment, and exactly what it takes to work and succeed in the fashion industry in 2025.

Hosted by Regal Star Productions, the show is dedicated to promoting cultural events that celebrate diversity through art and fashion, with a mission is to provide platforms for emerging talents while fostering connections within the creative community.

“This event is a fantastic opportunity to celebrate diversity and creativity in fashion”, said Lovely Bandal, CEO of Regal Star Productions.

For a full overview of Asian Fashion Festival Heritage Runway’s designers, keep reading below.

Marissa O’Donnel

Originally from Sydney, Marissa is an esteemed photographer, designer and artist who champions environmentally sustainable fashions by turning trash into ready-to-wear couture. With an emphasis on the growing culture of overconsumption and micro-trend culture, Marissa O’Donnel’s mission is to create a collective mindset shift where we can appreciate what was once trash as now something important. All designs are made from repurposed and recycled materials.

“I address the issue of fast fashion clothing that is designed to be thrown away,

With this piece, i hope to highlight the need for more sustainable practices within the fashion industry. We need to reconsider trash as treasure.”

Follow Marissa on her socials at @marissaod.

Mr Gino-o

A recreation of classical Barong Tagalog to the contemporary man, Mr Gino-o’s looks are all collaborations made in the Philippines with local designers, making each piece a unique work of art whilst paying homage to the culture they came from.

Mr Gino-o’s latest collection, Made for Men, was created to promote Philippine local products and materials, including abaca, jusi, pinya, banana fiber, inaul, inabel and tinalak hand-woven cloths, designed and crafted by Filipinos tailored for the International market.

In turn, Mr Gino-o’s sourcing of local materials and designers platforms the artistic abilities of Filipinos, with a goal to provide jobs and sources of income for the unemployed and unprivileged families.

venEyes

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