Albus Lumen Kicks Of Australian Fashion Week With A New Look | ELLE

Australian designer label Albus Lumen has commenced Sydney Fashion Week with a bang thanks to its Rebellion runway.

The first show of an exciting week, Albus Lumen, created and designed by Marina Afonina, used its seventh show at Australian fashion week to debut a new direction for the maison. 

Famous for its elevated, minimal and elegant designs, the brand’s latest runway offered a ‘rebellion’ from its previous collections, which it reworked into new pieces for the Resort 2025 showing.

Taking inspiration from the concept of rebirth, Albus Lumen reinvented and reconstructed archived pieces with a new edge, including distressing the garments, dying fabrics, deconstructing past pieces and adding new elements.

Described by the designer as “apocalypse vibes”, fans of ‘old’ Albus would have been surprised to find themselves in an industrial warehouse amid metal scaffolding, tapping their feet to a catwalk soundtrack of hard-hitting techno.

But this runway is only the beginning of the brand’s new style.

We sat down with Marina Afonina to understand her latest runway and new direction for Albus Lumen.

Can you tell us a bit about the collection?

The collection is called Rebellion. It’s completely different from last year and from what we’ve done in the past. Basically, the concept behind it is we used all archived pieces. So, everything you see in the collection, it’ll be upcycled, redone, recoloured, reconstructed, dishevelled… Every single piece is being reused from archive pieces, which gives us a completely new look. 

How has Albus Lumen changed in this collection?

We’re bringing a new energy to Albus. Before, Albus Lumen was just, like, quiet luxury, we always had this soft look, it was a bit more quiet, a bit more elegant. For this one I felt more rebellious, more defiant. I wanted to bring out the rebel in me, because this is one of the hardest times in fashion. In a recession, stores are shutting down or you know, it’s really tough out there. So, I wanted to work with that dynamic and bring really strong, young energy into the collection. It’s a bit of apocalypse vibes.

What would you say inspired this collection?

When I knew I was going to do Australian Fashion Week, I knew I wanted to do something different, something more unique. I wanted to do something not-so commercial. Like, some pieces will be sold as a one-off, for example there will only be one of a certain jacket because it’s so intricate and so hard to develop. We also wanted to bring the reality of what fashion is now, but also make it inspiring, so people can not just follow trends but follow what they love to wear.

What’s your favourite piece from the collection?

It’s [drawn on] a piece we showed, I think in 2019. It’s a chiffon, long sleeve dress. Like very light and airy, fully embellished and the beautiful dusty pink colour. It’s all fully crystallised. It’s amazing. I also love all the denim.

Any collaborators or muses you would like to shout-out?

We always have the best team. We always work with this amazing jeweller, Ryan Storer, who always does the most incredible work, I think. They’re doing like a liquid metal, dripping jewellery that looks like it’s been melted and it’s dripping on your clothes or dripping on your skin – It’s incredible. We’ve got a great set designer in Felix Jerome Grech. We’ve got a great stylist in Tabatha Turner. We’ve just got a great team.

What would you like to see more of in the Australian fashion industry going forward?

I feel like I want to see more creativity in terms of like, less safe, more interesting and more individual. More, like different things. I’ve done it myself in the past, like sometimes you do things just because you know, commercially, it will sell, but it doesn’t really get you inspired, it doesn’t really give you that satisfaction. So, I feel like that just kind of stick to your DNA and just follow your vision.

Albus Lumen Resort 2025 Runway

Senior Writer

Rebecca Mitchell

Rebecca Mitchell is a senior writer at ELLE Australia. She graduated from Charles Sturt University in 2011 already with solid media experience under her belt. She started her career in broadcast news, simultaneously hosting the Never Talk Politics radio programme on 2MCE and as a reporter at WIN News. After returning to her hometown of Sydney, she worked as a journalist in lifestyle media, including at Mamamia, SheSaid, and Foxtel’s Lifestyle group. Formerly a freelance journalist, you can find her words at Refinery29, Urban List, Broadsheet, and more.