Australian surfing icon Layne Beachley stole the show at the Melbourne Fashion Festival on Friday.
The 53-year-old seven-time surfing World Champion made her runway debut at the F*** The Invisible Runway event at Melbourne’s Royal Exhibition Building.
Some of the world’s best designers, including Effie Kats, Farage and Julie Goodwin, were all in attendance at last week’s festival, which strives to empower women to dress however they like.
F*** The Invisible Runway event organisers described the show as ‘an industry-leading runway that rejects the notion that women become invisible as they age and fearlessly showcases fashion that is fabulous, edgy, sexy and highly visible – all with the purpose of inspiring and empowering women in their 50s, 60s, 70s and beyond to dress however the f*** they want!’
Beachley dazzled as she stepped onto the platform, wearing a piece by Melbourne-based designer Lisa Barron.
The Australian Sports Hall of Famer, who was honoured with the Dawn Award in 2025, swapped her wetsuit for a see-through black dress and beamed as she walked down the runway.
Australian surfing icon Layne Beachley stole the show at the Melbourne Fashion Festival on Friday
Beachley stepped out in a Lisa Barron-designed sheer dress, and lit up the F*** The Invisible Runway event
F*** The Invisible Runway event organisers described the show as ‘an industry-leading runway that rejects the notion that women become invisible as they age’
Around her neck, the 53-year-old wore a necklace of black petals, from which the dress’s sheer material hung.
An embroidered pattern, littered with glittery sequins, had been sewn into the front of the dress. Meanwhile, strings of black fabric also draped from the material and flowed around Beachley as she gracefully walked down the runway.
The surfing legend wore a pair of shorts underneath the dress, and completed the outfit with a black pair of heels.
Beachley gave a behind-the-scenes insight into what goes on backstage at the Melbourne Fashion Festival on Instagram and also revealed that she was a little nervous before stepping out onto the runway.
‘This is a little nerve-racking,’ Beachley said in a video published on her Instagram account, prior to the event.
Despite that, she proved to be a natural and afterwards admitted that she had felt great ‘joy’, noting the atmosphere inside Melbourne’s Royal Exhibition Building.
‘From the beach… to the runway. Well that escalated quickly!’ she wrote on Instagram.
‘Last night I swapped my bikini for a very see-through dress and found myself strutting the catwalk for Lisa Barron at Melbourne Fashion Festival as part of the unapologetically bold F*** the Invisible show.
While Beachley said she was a little nervous before the event, she added that walking out at Melbourne’s Royal Exhibition Building filled her with ‘joy’
Beachley said: ‘The crowd cheered, the energy was electric, and my favourite compliment of the night? “I have never ever seen someone bring so much joy to the runway!”’
‘I loved every minute of it!’
Beachley also shared clips of herself getting ready for the event. She and other models were also seen practising walking up and down the runway prior to the beginning of the show.
‘Did I feel fabulous, edgy, sexy and highly visible?’ the surfing great wrote.
‘Let’s just say… the transparency of my dress ensured that.
‘But what I felt most was JOY. Pure, unfiltered, slightly nervous, wildly grateful joy. The crowd cheered, the energy was electric, and my favourite compliment of the night? “I have never ever seen someone bring so much joy to the runway!”’
She added: ‘Considering I am clearly not a professional model, I decided if I can’t master the smoulder, I’d just bring the whole of me… the surfer, the giggler, the Shaka, the grateful human, to this once-in-a-lifetime moment.
‘Because here’s the truth: We don’t become invisible with age. We become more ourselves.
‘And that is always in fashion.’
Last year, the Sport Australia Hall of Famer was honoured with the Dawn Award, which recognises a person’s bravery and courage to change sport for better
During her professional career, Beachley won seven surfing World Championships and was inducted into the Surfing Hall of Fame in 2006. She retired in 2008
Beachley went on to issue her thanks to Barron.
‘Thank you @lisa_barron_designer for believing in me, elevating me and presenting me with this most wonderful opportunity. I love you.’
The surfing icon, who became an Officer of the Order of Australia in 2015, retired from professional surfing in 2008.
Beachley told The Guardian last year that pushing herself to compete for so many years had taken a huge toll on her body.
‘I’ve flogged my body and I never really, until I got older and wiser, so to speak, allowed myself to heal,’ she said.
‘I’m now in my 50s and in constant pain management. That comes through a variety of different modalities, such as meditation, breath work, yoga, massage, chiropractor, physio and acupuncture. It’s a lot.’
But that isn’t stopping her from continuing her passion.
While she no longer competes on the pro circuit, Beachley told The Guardian that she ‘prioritises surfing over most things.’
She added: ‘It’s my happy place. It’s where I decompress. It’s where I fill my own cup. And it helps me feel inspired and motivated, which helps me inspire and motivate others.
‘I have an all-or-something approach to it. If I don’t have time to surf then I’ll take five minutes to run and jump in the water, immerse myself, ground myself and cleanse my mind.’
