FASHION TALKS: PSYCHOLOGY OF DRESSING X MUSEUMS VICTORIA

WEDNESDAY 18 FEBRUARY
12:00PM

Our three-part Fashion Talks Series explores the integral role STEM plays in transforming the garments we wear and the stories they tell, encouraging you to move beyond traditional ways of viewing the fashion industry.

Clothing holds more power than we think. What we wear can shape our thoughts, feelings and behaviours from the moment we get dressed. How does someone perceive me now? What do I think of myself when I wear this outfit? 

Led by writer and thought-leader Maggie Zhou, this conversation explores how dressing can become a tool for supporting mental health, navigating neurodivergence and expressing personal identity. 

Attendees will gain insight into the emotional and psychological connections we form with our clothes and how getting dressed each day can be an act of self-expression that influences our mood.

Ticket inclusion: Your Fashion Talks ticket also includes free access to Melbourne Museum to explore at your leisure before or after the event.

Treetops, Melbourne Museum, 11 Nicholson St, Carlton

Tickets $25

• GETTING TO THE EVENT

  Treetops at Melbourne Museum
  11 Nicholson Street, Carlton VIC 3053
  Map

  Transport
  The Treetops room is located on the mezzanine between the Ground Floor and Level 1

  On arrival at the Museum Main Entrance, guests will be directed past the ticketing desk to the Treetops ramp, which is located on the right hand side of the Forest Gallery

  Guests are to make their way up the ramp to Treetops

  Visiting from Regional Victoria? Why not take a V/Line train

• PARKING

  Melbourne Museum
  Parking Located under Melbourne Museum, enter via Rathdowne Street or Nicholson Street

• ACCESSIBILITY

  Disabled access is provided via the main entrance to the venue.

  This event will be Auslan interpreted on request, please contact the Festival via ticketing@mff.com.au if required.

PANELISTS

MAGGIE ZHOU
Writer, fashion editor & Co-Host of Culture Club podcast

Maggie Zhou is a Melbourne writer, fashion editor, slow fashion advocate and the co-host of the Culture Club podcast. She's written for publications like The Guardian, Dazed, The Big Issue, Harper's Bazaar and Refinery29.

FOOT
Award-winning Queer Multidisciplinary Artist

The artist known as FOOT is an award winning queer multidisciplinary artist working on unceded Wadawurrung land in Naarm’s outer west.

Passionate about body liberation, sustainability and stupidity, their work is a rich tapestry of historical and cultural referencing that poses alternative questions to the ‘norms’ of this world through the use of colour, nostalgia and space.

DR ANNABEL CHAN
Clinical and Forensic Psychologist 

With 18 years of global clinical and leadership experience and President of the Asia Pacific Association of Threat Assessment Professionals, Annabel has been at the forefront of embedding inclusive and intersectional practices into systems of care and safety.

Beyond her clinical and consultancy work, Annabel is passionate about how self-expression can become an act of care, resistance, and joy. As a queer, neurodivergent Singaporean Chinese migrant, she speaks openly about identity, belonging, and the psychology of everyday rituals, including the way dopamine dressing can nurture confidence, creativity, and resilience.

MELANIE DALE
Content Creator, Let’s Get Layered

Embracing the mantra "If you're not living on the edge, you're taking up too much room," Melanie Dale injects color, energy, and drama into her daily life. Throughout her childhood years in country Victoria, Melanie always found solace in discarded pre-loved items, collecting and transforming them to regularly reinvent herself.

Known as Let's Get Layered on social media, her username serves as a double entendre, symbolising both her unique styling choices and her mental health journey. Through this online artistic outlet, she unpacks the reasons behind her identity, allowing her inner child to flourish.

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