Central to this Programme is the PayPal Melbourne Fashion Festival x Mob in Fashion Pathways Programme, which creates paid placements for First Nations creatives and event professionals across the Festival. In 2026, these roles included: Hair Stylist, Amy Smith; Backstage Photographer, Wanala Firebrace; Videographer, Fletcher Johnstone; and Lead Style Team: Juanita Page, Grace Evans Craig, Renee Henderson, and Kimberley Keen.

Participants from the Pathways Programme were instrumental in delivering one of this year’s most powerful shows, the Beyond Blak Runway curated by Mob in Fashion, which also featured a one-of-a kind Godfrey Hirst runway carpet with Dreamtime Flooring and designer Josh Deane.

We proudly showcased 14 First Nations designers across our whole Premium Runways Series: By Josh Deane, Delvene Cockatoo-Collins, Corcorancorin, Ebony Noire, Flash1A, Grace Lillian Lee, KingKing Creative, Lazy Girl Lingerie, Lychee Alkira,  Maara Collective, Ngali, Take Pride Movement, Tarsha Davis and Yapa Mali.