This Is Where The Fashion Crowd Stays During Australian Fashion Week

By day one of Australian Fashion Week, it was obvious where the fashion crowd was staying.

Across my Instagram feed, the same sage green backdrop and white archways kept appearing behind designers and models getting ready between shows. The EVE Hotel seemed to have become one of the go-to Sydney hotels during AFW this year, and I was among the crowd checking in for the week too.

Wunderlich Lane

Between runway shows, fittings, coffee meetings, after-parties and late-night dinners, the hotel acted as a home base throughout the week for both myself and guests moving across the city’s busy Fashion Week schedule. After staying there during AFW myself, it’s easy to understand why.

Tucked inside the Wunderlich Lane precinct between Redfern and Surry Hills, The EVE has quickly cemented itself as one of Sydney’s coolest boutique stays since opening in February 2025. And during AFW, the story was no different.

Australia supermodel Shanina Shaik was among the crowd staying at the hotel during her busy week between walking the shows, while Melbourne-based designer Effie Kats also made the hotel her home throughout Fashion Week. The hotel suited the pace of the week perfectly.

The iconic archway

Upon arrival at the hotel, you immediately get a sense of luxury. Walking into the lobby, it’s clear The EVE knows exactly who it’s designed for. The lobby sets the tone for the whole experience. It’s bright and calm yet impressively layered with deep burgundy and rich blue sofas, silver accents, natural stone, sculptural furniture and playful artworks throughout the space. One piece that immediately catches your attention in the lobby is The Moon by Perth-based artist Tarryn Gill, a sculptural installation made from Lycra, sequins, foam and light that adds another layer of personality to the space.

Soft lighting welcomes you in, while guests move back and forth through the iconic archways between outfit changes, fittings and meetings across the day. I noticed people working from corners of the lobby, while others stopped downstairs at Bar Julius for coffee meetings between shows.

The hotel sits inside Wunderlich Lane, a chic new precinct connecting Redfern and Surry Hills that now houses restaurants, bars, wellness spaces, retail and hospitality all woven together within the historic site. It’s one of Sydney’s best new precincts — design-led, walkable and enjoyable to spend time in.

The Sunset Balcony Suite

One of the things I noticed most during my stay was how easy everything felt. The service was exceptional. The team accepted Fashion Week parcels for me throughout the week, helped arrange returns, remembered my name every time I walked back through the doors and made the whole stay run smoothly from beginning to end.

My room was the Sunset Balcony King, which quickly became my little reset point between runway shows, fittings, coffees and late-night dinners. The interiors balance earthy tones with elevated finishes, while the oversized bed, soft lighting and plush rugs made it incredibly easy to switch off at the end of the day. The bathrooms were equally chic, with natural stone finishes, generous space and Saardé amenities throughout. Even in-room dining felt elevated and seamless during the stay, especially after long days moving across the city during Fashion Week.

The EVE was designed by Sydney creatives including SJB’s Adam Haddow and George Livissianis, and you can see that design thinking everywhere throughout the hotel. Sculptural furniture, glazed terracotta, leather detailing, huge artworks, bespoke lighting and soft architectural curves give the hotel a warm, gallery-like atmosphere.

The bathroom in the Sunset Balcony Room

Even the soundtrack has been carefully curated. Sydney creative Harry Staub developed the hotel’s entire musical identity, with the mood subtly shifting throughout the day depending on the light and energy of the space. It sounds minor, but it completely changes the atmosphere of the hotel across the day.

Then there’s Bar Julius downstairs, which became one of my favourite places to stop throughout the stay. It has this old-world European energy mixed with New York hotel bar vibes — burgundy leather seating, marble tables, silver accents and a huge Louise Olsen artwork stretched dramatically across the ceiling overhead. In the mornings, it’s filled with coffees and people setting up laptops between meetings, while at night the space becomes busier with hotel guests, locals and Fashion Week crowds all packed into the bar together.

Fashion week essentials

Upstairs, the rooftop pool is just as good in person as it looks online. Lush gardens, retro umbrellas, imported green Sukabumi tiles and an incredible soundtrack playing quietly in the background somehow make you forget you’re still in Sydney. The space is calm, tropical and slightly removed from the city.

And then there’s Lottie upstairs beside the pool, which quickly became one of the hotel’s standout spots during the stay. The rooftop restaurant serves contemporary Mexican-inspired dishes and mezcal cocktails overlooking the skyline, and the space stays busy from afternoon drinks through to dinner.

A highlight of the trip was a banquet dinner at Olympus, located just steps from the hotel lobby inside Wunderlich Lane.

Olympus Dining

The restaurant has already built a huge reputation in Sydney, and after eating there, I completely understood the hype. Inspired by Greek village dining, the space is warm, lively and designed around sharing food with friends. There’s a huge bougainvillea tree growing through the middle of the restaurant, an open charcoal kitchen and a constant buzz throughout the space.

What impressed me most was how well the team accommodated everyone at the table. I’m vegetarian, one of my friends is gluten-free and the other happily eats absolutely everything, and the menu worked effortlessly across the group. There were plenty of options for everyone, the staff handled dietary requirements confidently and the entire experience ran smoothly from start to finish.

Too often restaurants still make dietary requirements complicated in larger group settings, but Olympus handled everything seamlessly. The food was incredible, the service was warm and relaxed, and it ended up being one of those dinners where nobody wanted to leave. That same ease carried across the entire stay at The EVE too.

On the go

You never really need to leave the precinct if you don’t want to. Within a few minutes you’ve got Island Radio for noodles and cocktails, Gelato Messina downstairs when you inevitably want dessert afterwards, rooftop drinks at Lottie, coffees at Bar Julius and some of Sydney’s best restaurants all within walking distance of the hotel.

What I liked most about The EVE is that the hotel has a really strong point of view. From the architecture and interiors through to the restaurants, soundtrack and overall atmosphere, every part of the experience connects naturally to the energy of the neighbourhood around it.

A year on from opening, The EVE has properly found its place as one of Sydney’s best stays. And if you’re heading down for Fashion Week, a creative weekend away or honestly just want a hotel that actually feels inspiring to spend time in, this is absolutely where the fashion crowd stays.