From Court to Catwalk: Forty-Love on the Runway at Brisbane Fashion Festival 2026

Wednesday night was one we will carry with us for a long time.

Forty-Love stepped onto the runway at Brisbane Fashion Festival 2026 as part of the Next Gen Group Show — a custom-built marquee in the heart of King George Square, filled with the kind of energy that only a room full of fashion lovers, media and industry can generate. To present a collection we have built from the ground up, in a space like that, was something quietly extraordinary.

Seven months. That is how long Forty-Love has existed. It is not lost on us how uncommon it is for a brand at this stage to find itself on a runway of this calibre — and we arrived with nothing but gratitude and a very full rack of garments.

The Collection

We presented 8 looks across two collections on the night.

Tournament 1.0 — our debut collection — led the way. The pieces that began everything. Designed for the woman who plays, engineered to move, and considered enough in their aesthetic to transition effortlessly from court to wherever the day takes her.

Photography by Richard Smith.

Then came the moment we had been quietly holding close. Wednesday marked the first public look at Tournament 2.0 — our next collection, currently in its final stages of refinement before it arrives in the world this Spring/Summer. A runway debut for work that is still becoming itself felt fitting. Not every brand gets that opportunity, and we did not take it lightly.

Photography by Nicolas Azar.

Tournament 2.0 moves into a new palette entirely: cherry, cream, pink and taupe. Richer. More tennis inspired off court pieces. The same DNA, expressed differently.

Backstage

Before the lights, there is the quiet before the storm.

Backstage at Brisbane Fashion Festival is a world unto itself — a controlled, focused energy that hums with purpose. Garments pressed and ordered, models being styled, shoes taped and labelled, the styling team moving with the kind of precision that only comes from doing this at the highest level. For a brand showing for the first time, absorbing that environment is its own education.

There is an intimacy to it too. Standing at the final garment checkpoint as each look goes out, watching something you designed walk toward a runway and an audience — that is a feeling that does not have a neat description. We will simply say it was worth every hour that came before it.

Photography by Nicolas Azar.

Brisbane — A Tennis City on the Runway

There is a particular resonance in a tennis apparel brand finding its runway moment in Brisbane.

This city has tennis running through it. Home to some of Australia's and the world's most celebrated tennis icons, Brisbane holds a proud and enduring relationship with the sport — from the passionate crowds at the Brisbane International and the Billie Jean King Cup, to the wave of new pickleball and padel courts reshaping the city's sporting culture. Racquet sports are not a trend here. They are part of the identity.

To see that reflected on the runway — presented to an audience of media, fashion creators and stylists across a week-long celebration of Queensland fashion — felt precisely right. Tennis belongs in this conversation. Forty-Love is here to make sure it stays there.

The Models

Our 8 looks were carried with extraordinary grace by a group of women who understood the assignment completely.

Luisa Dunn (Silver Fox Management), Bella Warr (Vivien's Models), Anna Haycock (Vivien's Models), Ella Allen (Vivien's Models), April Maccheron (Vivien's Models), Caitlin Sanderson (Chic Brisbane), Shantavia Davy (Glass Management) and Amanda Ware (Chic Brisbane).

With Gratitude

To Brisbane Fashion Festival — thank you for building a stage that gives emerging Australian fashion a genuine moment. The production, the people, the volunteers and the atmosphere across the week were a reminder of why this event matters.

Backstage photography by Nicolas Azar. Runway photography by Richard Smith for Brisbane Fashion Festival.

A particular thank you to the team who made the week run with such precision and warmth:

Lindsay Bennett (Festival Director)
Bryce Williams (Administration Director)
Kimberly Gardner (Styling Director)
Bernadette Bagley (Production Manager).

The level of care and professionalism from the entire BFF team was extraordinary — first-time runway or not, we never felt anything less than fully supported.

Backstage photography by Nicolas Azar. Runway photography by Richard Smith for Brisbane Fashion Festival.