ADL Fashion Week returns from 7 – 11 October for a fifth year, unveiling a new creative campaign that celebrates the people, places and connections that shape Adelaide’s fashion culture.

Five runways. Five connected icons. ADL Fashion Week 2026 explores design and artistry up close as a creative city sharing The Threads Between Us. The campaign celebrates the idea that fashion in Adelaide extends far beyond the runway – it connects designers, artists, venues, makers and the people who shape the city. ADL Fashion Week is where those threads come together and where connections between people, places and creative communities become visible.

The iconic centerpiece runways make their return, presented by Adelaide Economic Development Agency (AEDA). In 2026 the historic Adelaide Town Hall acts as the backdrop to inspired designs from South Australia and around the world.

ADL Fashion Week 2026 features icons within and beyond the fashion industry. Pat and George Georgiou, Bel Sloane, Duncan Welgemoed, Vanessa Pearce and Rachel Van Brussel reflect their personal story and connection to fashion in this year’s campaign.

Adelaide Economic Development Agency Executive Marketing and Tourism, Michael Rossi, says ADL Fashion Week’s strength is its intimacy as an event, not overwhelming to those curious about fashion.

“ADL Fashion Week provides opportunities to discover local designers, the creative process behind their work and experience Adelaide fashion up close. In Adelaide, we know that fashion goes beyond the runway and highlighting this is testament to how the city operates with multiple creative industries side by side.”

ADL Fashion Week extends from insider access to recognizing new South Australian talent and nurturing it, with sustainability front of mind. How this emerges is easy – Adelaide’s scale is its advantage where audiences engage directly with the people behind the clothes.

ADL Fashion Week’s Icons are influential – their creativity embedded between fashion, food, culture and nightlife. Styled by ADL Fashion Week Creative Director, Chris Kontos, The Threads Between Us campaign reveals the Icons, each presented in a location synonymous with Adelaide. Together, the five stories offer a closer look into Adelaide’s connected fashion culture not only through the clothes, but through the people, relationships, places and creative practices behind them.

For each of them, individual ideas are connected to common ground of inspiration.

While dressing celebrities like Kylie Jenner and Hilary Duff, Vanessa Pearce, The Wolf Gang Founder and Creative Director, embraces Adelaide as part of her collection’s identity. “Adelaide gives me room to breathe, to be creative in my own time, to find the brand’s voice without rushing it,” says Vanessa.

VAN BRUSSEL, winner of the 2026 National Designer Sustainability Award, creates every piece on Australian shores, and Adelaide Founder and Designer, Rachel Van Brussel says her collection never has to answers to trends.

“Every piece is cut from designer deadstock… I see it as something beautiful waiting for the right form,” Rachel says. “My garments are made by people I know by name.”

Bel Sloane has established her own identity as an SAFM radio breakfast co-host, and says moments alone spark confidence to be the everyday woman with a unique style.

“I actually love my quiet mornings – that little bit of time is mine,” says Bel. “Then I start putting myself together. Lip liner, denim, the things that make me feel ready, but still like myself.”

Africola Owner and Head Chef Duncan Welgemoed is fashion beyond the runway embodied; oozing cool as a hospitality creative where being seen is fashionable.

“Six o’clock is showtime… it’s loud, hot, with everyone performing a little,” says Duncan. “We get excited by things that mean something to us – for me, the East End is the heart of that.”

Couture royalty George and Pat Georgiou, Creative Directors of Alexis George, have dressed the likes of Nicole Kidman and Kylie Minogue with their handmade gowns.

From 1980 to today, they say their story crosses intergenerational craftsmanship, history and beauty.

“The creative parts, the mundane parts, the family parts – we shared all of it,” says George. “Sewing has been in my family for generations.”

“Our children grew up around gowns being made,” says Pat. “In the workroom, there are paper patterns made by hand… pieces of every era.”

Adelaide Town Hall matches ADL Fashion Week’s bold ambition as it grows into its fifth year. As a grand heritage venue, it provides a strong sense of place and links fashion to history.

ADL Fashion Week is presented by the Adelaide Economic Development Agency, a subsidiary of City of Adelaide, in partnership with the designers, retailers, venues and hospitality partners that bring the week to life. The five-day event (7-11 October) is supported by the industry’s peak body, the South Australian Fashion Industry
Association (SAFIA).

ADL Fashion Week newsletter subscribers will receive exclusive first access to purchase tickets through a 24- hour presale, running from 10am Monday, 7th September until 10am Tuesday, 8th September 2026, ahead of public ticket sales opening via ADLFashionWeek.com. The full festival program, including the 2026 runway line- up, will be unveiled on Monday, 7th September.