(MELBOURNE, Australia, Feb 2, 2026) – PayPal Melbourne Fashion Festival has named globally acclaimed Nepalese American designer Prabal Gurung as its International Guest of Honour for its 30th anniversary, running from 14 to 28 February 2026.
Gurung will serve as a keynote speaker at the Festival’s Australian Fashion Business Lunch on 25 February. He will also attend several of the Festival’s Premium Runways as a distinguished guest and visit fashion students at a local university to share insights on building a global fashion career.
His appointment signals PayPal Melbourne Fashion Festival’s growing global influence and underscores Melbourne’s status as a major fashion capital in the Asia-Pacific region.
PayPal Melbourne Fashion Festival CEO Caroline (Ralph) Ralphsmith said welcoming Gurung as International Guest of Honour was “a defining moment for our 30th anniversary”. She added, “His global career and creative leadership bring enormous international focus to Australian fashion.”
She added, “His keynote at the Australian Fashion Business Lunch will be a major highlight of our 2026 programme.”
Prabal Gurung said it was “a true honour to be part of the 30th anniversary of PayPal Melbourne Fashion Festival”. He added, “The Festival’s ability to unite fashion, culture and community is incredibly powerful.”
He said returning to Melbourne, where he had lived early in his career, “feels deeply personal”. He added, “I’m excited to share my story and insights at the Australian Fashion Business Lunch and to connect with the next generation of designers.”
As the 2026 keynote speaker, Gurung will reflect on the role of global travel and cultural exchange in shaping his career, his humanitarian work with the Shikshya Foundation Nepal, and the release of his memoir, Walk Like a Girl.
Born in Singapore and raised in Kathmandu, Gurung began his career in New Delhi before relocating to New York to study at Parsons School of Design. His return to Melbourne marks a personal milestone, as he had lived there early in his career.
Gurung is Vice Chair of the Council of Fashion Designers of America and the founder of his New York-based label, which launched at New York Fashion Week in 2009. Known for his bold, socially conscious designs, vibrant use of colour, and outspoken advocacy for diversity and inclusion, Gurung is celebrated for challenging fashion conventions and reframing cultural narratives, bringing East and West into dialogue rather than always positioning the East to meet the West.
He has dressed global figures such as former First Lady Michelle Obama, Kamala Harris, Oprah Winfrey, the Duchess of Cambridge, Beyoncé, Lady Gaga, Zendaya, Margot Robbie and Anne Hathaway.
PayPal Melbourne Fashion Festival will run from 14 to 28 February 2026.
Tickets for the Australian Fashion Business Lunch (AUD 295) and Premium Runways (from AUD 69) are now on sale at paypal.mff.com.au/2026-programme.
About the PayPal Melbourne Fashion Festival
PayPal Melbourne Fashion Festival is Australia’s largest major fashion event, with the purpose of developing, supporting and showcasing local and emerging fashion talent and delivering growth to the entire Australian fashion industry. A not-for-profit organisation, the Festival joyously delivers an unrivalled world-class event that celebrates and elevates every aspect of fashion and creativity, and proudly reinforces Melbourne’s position as Australia’s fashion capital.