STREET STYLE Five By Flynn didn’t need a runway show to create one of fashion week’s most recognisable moments

It’s the unofficial fashion week event everyone seems to want an invite to.

No, we’re not talking about a runway show. We’re talking about Five by Flynn’s annual fashion week afterparty. Something that has become increasingly mythologised, this off-calendar gathering feels more like the point of the week than half the things actually on the schedule.

This year, the local Sydney label took over the old Verona cinema in Paddington, transforming the space into a one-night-only club in collaboration with Puma.

What it takes to create a recognisable moment…

When So Sydney! interviewed founder Louie Collins roughly five hours before doors opened, the space was still very much in its WIP phase. Speakers were being tested, bars were being built, Puma shoes were waiting to be arranged. Somewhere in the background the air conditioning situation was being solved in real time.

“We’re turning one of the actual cinemas into a club for the night,” Collins says casually, despite there being enough last-minute construction to make anyone with a basic understanding of event logistics quietly reach for a beta blocker.

When asked why Five by Flynn would tackle such a large project during an already busy fashion week, Collins replied, “Sydney doesn’t have heaps of venues that are original or that haven’t been used before.” 

To be clear, there was a moment where we were not entirely convinced they were going to pull it off.

But then, of course, they did…

By the time the party was in full swing, the old Verona was heaving. We were sensible enough to get in early, but rumours quickly circulated that guests were waiting far down the road just to collect their wristbands. Generally, it’s a sign of a good party, and probably a mildly stressful sign for anyone running one.

Five by Flynn parties may have once over-invited out of fear that no one would show up. But after five years of throwing them, it may be time for them to accept that people do, in fact, show up. A lot of them, for that matter.

And there’s a reason for it…

“I’m not a designer by trade,” Collins tells us, “but I really like brand and marketing. I really like what makes people buy into brands”. It’s clear that for him, Five by Flynn has always been about more than product alone.

“People want to feel a part of something,” he says.

That thinking was everywhere. Guests took old-school polaroids instead of posing against a standard media wall. Custom Studio Suede caps were made for the night, not for sale. The crowd felt loose, stylish, crowded and just messy enough to know you were at the right party.

It wasn’t ‘brand activation fun’…

It was actual fun. The kind where people stay too long, talk to strangers, smoke where they probably shouldn’t, and leave convinced they were at the right thing. It also had you briefly second-guessing whether you were still in Sydney.

Perhaps the most interesting part of it all is that Five by Flynn has built this presence without ever having relied on a traditional fashion week show. Because while the official schedule still runs on runways, seating charts and industry approval, the label has created its own annual side quest.

Collins may have joked earlier in the day that this could be the last one, however, it’s difficult to imagine the brand retiring the highly successful format anytime soon.

After all, the crowd alone makes a rather compelling argument against it.