(Image: Local Today)

Melbourne Spring Fashion Week (MSFW) opens tomorrow, with hundreds of events taking place around the city.

Since beginning in 1994, the annual event has grown and consolidated Melbourne’s reputation as Australia’s capital of fashion and style. In its 19th outing this year, the festival is bigger than ever, and invites visitors to “come on a colourful journey with us as we explore the diverse and creative industries that contribute to Melbourne’s unique culture-city status”.

The MSFW Hub at City Square features free lunchtime catwalk shows, engaging city workers and passers by. Themed sections of the festival include ‘Designer’ for fashion labels, ‘Industry’ for the wider retail industry, ‘Emerging’ for new designers, ‘Curated’ for fashion art, and ‘Mr’ for men’s fashion.

Local designers will display their wares at the New Designer Market in City Square next Sunday, while exhibitions include world fashion, men’s jewellery, theatre and ‘The Awakening’, described as “a fusion of style, fashion, art installation, new media, design and music”.

The David Jones runway at last year’s Melbourne Spring Fashion Week. This event will be held free from noon on Monday in City Square (ImageL MSFW)

Melbourne Spring Fashion Week 2013 will run for nine days until Sunday 9th September across five main venues in the CBD; City Square, Melbourne Town Hall, Melbourne Central, 234 Collins Street and 3 Southgate Avenue, as well as numerous other smaller venues. Check the Melbourne Spring Fashion Week 2013 website for further details and to make reservations for ticketed events.