PH5 spotlights Aboriginal Australians for New York Fashion Week

As New York Fashion Week is now taking a mostly digital approach, thoughthe thrill of in-person fashion shows can’t be replaced, designers now havethe opportunity to take unique approaches to presenting their collectionvia video. PH5’s debut collection from Zoe Champion in conjunction with WeiLin didn’t use your everyday models. Instead, this season the brand debuteda video highlighting the work of the Aboriginal Australian women behind theFiresticks Alliance in Australia, the group tasked with preventing andreducing the risk of bushfires through a cultural practice called coolburning.

The theme of sustainability also permeated throughout the fabric choices inthe collection. A fabric called eco-viscose was used to create the label’ssignature jacquard print. Technical fabrications were also key for thecollection with UV-reactive fabrics that changed color under the sun.

In addition to its approach to sustainable and representation of Aboriginalpeople, the collection also featured models of diverse sizes. This helpedemphasize that women of all sizes can comfortably wear these clothesregardless of body type. It’s easy for most fashion brands to placeclothing on a young, svelte model and have it look good, but consumerscould finally see how these clothes look on everyday women. It was adifferent approach from designers who were still using models, or evendesigners who opted to have company employees and family members modeltheir collections.

While the runway show world might be on hiatus in New York for the moment,designers have elevated their video campaigns. Putting fashion on thecultural and political pulse of what is going is one way to get theindustry and consumers attention.