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Melbourne Fashion Week has a new addition this year: ATELIER COLLARTS: COLLCEPT, our sustainable fashion concept store, exhibition and live atelier all in one space.
A lot of clothing ends up in landfill long before it's worn out. Designers and nonprofits across Melbourne are working to keep those garments in circulation for longer, and our event, held at Fractal Gallery as part of the festival's Independent Program, puts that work on show.
How Fashion Retail Can Help Clothes Last Longer
Conversations about ethical fashion tend to focus on materials and manufacturing, but how clothing is sold matters too.
In most stores, the relationship ends at checkout, and shoppers are left to figure out how to care for what they've bought. When retail includes workshops and advice from designers, people leave with the skills to keep wearing their clothes instead of replacing them.
What Is Visible Mending?
Visible mending repairs clothes in a way that leaves the stitching or patch on show, instead of hidden. It's one of the simplest ways to get started with circular fashion, since all you need is a damaged garment and a needle and thread.
Callum Amor, a 2026 Australian College of the Arts graduate and founder of Amend Amor, has built his practice around it. Asked what sustainability means in his work, Callum says:
Sustainability is a huge aspect of my practice, to be able to repair clothes means that we have worn a garment and loved it enough to continue to wear, and even more loved it enough to repair it. Showing this love for our clothing is the most sustainable thing we can do.
What Happens to Unsold Clothing?
Unsold clothing creates a different kind of waste, and it's the problem Thread Together works on directly. The nonprofit redistributes brand new excess stock to people who need it, and through ATELIER COLLARTS: COLLCEPT, it's also exploring upcycling and repair for garments that can't be redistributed.
Thread Together CEO Anthony Chesler explains:
Being part of ATELIER COLLARTS: COLLCEPT during Melbourne Fashion Week is a great opportunity to bring people together to think differently about the future of fashion and what happens to clothing throughout its lifecycle. We're excited to also explore what's possible for garments that can't be distributed through that pathway, giving them a new purpose through repair, creativity and reuse. It's great to be part of this conversation and to showcase what's possible when we work together to create a more circular fashion industry.
A New Model for Sustainable Fashion Retail
COLLCEPT turns Fractal Gallery into a hub for slow fashion in Melbourne for two days during this year's festival. Work by Collarts Fashion students, alumni and staff will be featured through installations and designer retail activations.
You can also book a consultation with a designer or join a hands-on workshop. It's a working example of what fashion retail looks like when craftsmanship and learning sit alongside the clothes on the racks.
Collarts Fashion Program Coordinator Tamara Leacock says:
Events like this create a community minded, elevated space for current and future sustainable fashion designers, entrepreneurs, advocates, and experienced designers to cross-pollinate and exchange ideas.
How To Attend Atelier Collarts: Collcept At Melbourne Fashion Week
COLLCEPT runs for two days, Friday 23 and Saturday 24 October, at Fractal Gallery in Docklands.
Friday evening is ticketed only. Running from 5pm–8pm, it opens with short films on sustainability, circularity and inclusive design, followed by an industry panel on scaling sustainable fashion with ELK, Thread Together and the Collarts Fashion & Sustainability team, then the exhibition launch, open retail and networking.
Saturday is free and open to everyone for retail trading and designer consultations. The two workshops running that day need a separate ticket:
Healing Stitch Mending Workshop, 11am–1pm: Callum Amor leads this hands on visible mending session, part of Collarts' Healing Stitch series. Bring a garment from home, or work from a rack of donated and deadstock clothing from ELK and Thread Together.
Creative Wearable Workshop, 2pm–4pm: Collarts Fashion & Sustainability faculty show you how to turn an unsold men's shirt donated by Thread Together into a one of a kind top. No sewing experience needed, everything's provided.
If you'd like to build a career in sustainable fashion, Collarts Fashion & Sustainability courses teach the design skills and thinking you'll see across COLLCEPT.
Book your tickets to ATELIER COLLARTS: COLLCEPT here, and see what Melbourne Fashion Week's circular fashion program looks like up close.