Marie Claire Women of the Years Awards: restoring power suits and faith in humanity all at once

It’s safe to say that in the world of news, the past two weeks have been one hell of a rollercoaster. And events like the re-election of Donald Trump has brought about a whirlwind of emotions, spanning much further than US borders. These emotions have been mixed, and for many women, they have been deeply complex.

The Marie Claire Women of the Year Awards really couldn’t come at a better time. In the height of political tension, debates around reproductive rights, and discussions around gender roles in society, it’s about damn time we kicked up our feet for a hot second to celebrate each other.

And that they did.

On Wednesday night, Walsh Bay Pier opened its doors to play host to some of the most influential, inspiring and powerful women in the country. If attendees like Jesinta Franklin, Jackie O, Pip Edwards and Grace Tame are anything to go by, the guest list was seriously one for the books. What’s more? Instead of selecting one lady to take home the cake, there were ten major awards up for grabs.

Here were the winners from each category:

Eco-warrior of the Year – Emma Johnston
Champion of the Year – Saya Sakakibara
Designer of the Year – Liandra Gaykamangu
Powerhouse of the Year – Jennifer Robinson and Sam Mostyn AO (joint)
Icon of the Year – Emma McKeon
Changemaker of the Year – Vanessa Turnbull-Roberts
Advocate of the Year – Sarah Williams
Voice of Now – Lucia Osborne-Crowley
Entertainer of the Year – Celeste Barber and Asher Keddie (joint)
Creative of the Year – Kirsha Kaechele

Special shoutout to Designer of the Year, Liandra Gaykamangu. We caught her debut show at Australian Fashion Week this year and it was a total knockout. You can read more about that here. We also can’t leave without mentioning Vanessa Turnbull-Roberts, who took out Changemaker of the Year awards for her legal advocacy for Indigenous children. Both are incredible women, and now I feel very very warm and fuzzy.

As expected, the women of this year also have some serious bloody taste. As far as fashion commentary goes, I really have very few notes. Notably, we got quite a few power suits and sharp tailoring. Maybe not the most original, but it’s very on brand which I appreciate. Few notes to be noted, and I can finally sleep at night once again after the shit show that was Melbourne Cup. Seriously, that was the stuff of nightmares.

Anyway, enough of my yapping. Scroll down to check out some of the best red carpet pics from the night.