Following a 10-year break, Manchester Fashion Week is back. Kicking off on September 9, the new MFW isn’t just a reanimated version of its predecessor, however.  

Instead, it’s aiming to be something much bigger – a clear voice, cutting through the noise of the fashion industry, pushing vital topics like sustainability and accessibility to the fore and genuinely engaging with the city.  

Not just vague thematic concepts, engagement with these ideas touches every part of the returning event, from the panel talks on issues like plastic pollution to the choice of presenting designers.  

In terms of the latter, designer Mariusz Malon – a Polish-born graduate of Manchester Fashion Institute and a proud resident of the city – stands out as a clear example of what the rebooted MFW is working to achieve and the broader precedent that it hopes to set. 

He tells Eco Age “Having a show in my city is very exciting – especially to be one of the first designers involved. 

“I’m not a big brand, I don’t work with factories and I don’t mass produce garments. That, in itself, is sustainable, I don’t produce much waste and I rarely throw anything away as I know I’ll need it in the future on a different project. That seems to line up with what MFW is  aiming for.” 

Where other fashion week events have made cursory nods to sustainability, diversity and accessibility, the team behind Manchester Fashion Week has made them its tentpole priority.  

For Malon, this ethos is vital. Having become widely known for his work with stars like Doja Cat, it’s his practice and philosophy that are more noteworthy than his collaborators: his use of upcycled materials in particular marks him out as progressively-minded in terms of the planet, as well as in terms of aesthetic creativity.  

“Sustainability is not the core aspect of my work,” Malon notes, “But, unintentionally I’m quite sustainable when I create – I make do with what I have or find most of the time.”  

Pushed on how a focus on this ethos compares with other fashion week events, Malon is clear-eyed and keenly aware of the facts without looking to assign blame. “Being truly sustainable has its limits in terms of what you can create and I admire people who fully dive into that world. 

“I suppose it isn’t much of a focus in other fashion week events as – let’s be honest – a lot goes into putting on shows and that is just one less thing to worry about. Which, of course, is unfortunate.”  

Beyond the top line topics, it’s also clear that MFW is looking to open up other conversations, too, prioritising clarity of vision and artistic integrity over trends or pandering to the established order.  

Malon’s work in particular – which hinges on unexpected and exaggerated silhouettes with a palette of bold and powerful colours – is steadfast in its visual uniqueness, its total disregard for the trappings of gender, and for its framing as something closer to wearable art than clothing.

“Fashion is art and subjective,” Malon offers, asked about how this tallies with his own practice. “I don’t know what to take away from my own collections, so I don’t know what I’d like people to think, that’s the joy of it.  

“My emotions and thoughts translated into fabric on a runaway is an insight into my world. Whatever people take away from my show is how they see my vision from an outside world.”  

With less of the rigidity found at other big fashion events, Malon has found in Manchester not just a platform to show his work, but a space to approach it in a way that feels right. Room to breathe and to let his art do the same.  

“No one knows what this collection will look like – not even me, What comes out of me will not be complete till the day of the show and I’m as excited as everyone to see what I do. 

“I’m going to try and push my boundaries with silhouettes and textures, but what I hope people take away from it is that it really doesn’t take much to create something from nothing.”  

This, then, is the overall message of a renewed Manchester Fashion Week: that major infrastructure isn’t the be all and end all and that, in every sense, the status quo is only there to be shaken up as a move towards progress.