An impressive line-up of alcohol brands partnered with Afterpay Australian Fashion Week (AAFW) this year, including Disaronno, Glenfiddich Whisky, Hendrick’s Gin, Wynns Coonawarra Estate and Champagne Pommery.

Carriageworks, AAFW’s official event hub, engaged and entertained attendees and guests between shows with food and beverage offerings including the Hendrick’s Gin Parlour, Glenfiddich’s Whisky Wanderer and Vittoria’s pop-up cafe, alongside bespoke partner activations.

Cucumbers on the catwalk

An unusual collaboration with Hendrick’s Gin and Sydney-based demi couture designers Nicol & Ford saw cucumbers on the catwalk at Afterpay Australian Fashion Week.

Three cucumber-inspired handcrafted handbags walked the runway at the designers’ debut surrealist show – La Pouffe. 

The Cucumber Couture Collection featured: 

Picnic Sip Pack – a chic netted picnic-pack complete with a cucumber-filled crystal bowl and bottle of Hendrick’s Gin. The handcrafted leather creation is inspired by manor homes of the eccentric aristocracy.

Couturier’s Cucumber Clutch – The Hendrick’s Gin perfect pairing, the cucumber becomes larger-than-life in this reimagination, taking the form of an oversized satin and diamanté embellished clutch. Drawing inspiration from the tradition of Fabergé Eggs and ornamental jewel caskets, the Couturier’s Cucumber Clutch embraces the beauty found in the most simple, fresh and essential cocktail ingredient. 

Titillating Tuft Tote – a renaissance-style tufted tote bag inspired by the iconic Hendrick’s diamond logo. The logo becomes the welcome mat to the world of La Pouffe, reimagined with a Persian carpet-inspired floral border and Hendrick’s signature cucumber rounds. Centuries-old traditional processes have produced lavish craftsmanship highly covetable by the Western elite, linked with the antiquarian trade and interiors of the 20th Century from which La Pouffe takes inspiration.   

Nicol & Ford said: “For Hendrick’s, the unusual and the luxurious are mutually intertwined, choosing to see the extraordinary as the everyday. ‘La Pouffe’ brings the unusual to the forefront to celebrate decadence with difference.  

“The collaboration has seen us interpret cucumbers and the elaborate world of Hendrick’s into inspired accessories across the collection. Each unique design celebrates the playful presence of sophisticated cocktails served in the decadent parties held in the Parisian penthouse apartment of Carlos de Beistegui from which ‘La Pouffe’ takes inspiration.”  

“Our fantastical collaboration with Nicol & Ford has seen Hendrick’s reach peak eccentricity. We love Nicol & Ford’s whimsical, wonderful and one-of-a-kind style – we knew they’d be perfectly placed to create a show-stopping spectacle with Hendrick’s Gin at the heart”, said Luke Sanderson, Brand Ambassador at Hendrick’s Gin. 

All accessories were part of an intimate display within the Hendrick’s Gin Parlour at Australian Afterpay Fashion Week.

Glenfiddich’s The Talks

AAFW’s series of informative conversations and panels returned with notable industry leaders discussing the most buzzworthy topics of the season. AAFW: The Talks, presented by Glenfiddich Whisky.

The whisky brand collaborated with designer Jordan Dalah, who was tapped last year to become creative director on a new campaign that would reimagine the distiller’s Grand Cru. The result is an unexpected twist on presentation, a box-within-a-box trompe l’oeil stamped with a pattern that was inspired by one of the prints that featured in Dalah’s collection.

After Dalah’s show, guests enjoyed a series of signature cocktails made with Glenfiddich’s single malt whiskey, to signify the designer’s partnership with the alcohol brand. 

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