From her sunlit hotel suite in Darling Harbour, Juanita Page is putting the final touches on her debut solo runway show.
The collection features 25 lofty streetwear looks and draws inspiration from Page's playful and lively family gatherings.
The 33-year-old designer is a proud Gooreng Gooreng and South Sea Islander woman and one of a relatively small pool of women designing menswear in Australia. Her label, Joseph & James, blends streetwear ease with refined tailoring.
It's a signature that's earned her a place on this year's Australian Fashion Week (AFW) stage.
"It's definitely a massive milestone," Page says.
"We have no-one else to hide behind. It's just us."
Juanita Page says she hopes her designs will spark conversation around men's fashion. Source: Supplied
Menswear: A 'blank canvas'
Speaking with SBS News ahead of her AFW debut, Page admits the moment is both daunting and an honour.
But what excites her most is the chance to challenge how Australians think about menswear: Who gets to define it and the conversations around masculinity and risk-taking.
"We don't call women eccentric or attention-seeking when they go bold or take risks with fashion. We call it 'a look'," she says.
We need to give men that same freedom.
Page's desire to push the boundaries of traditional menswear was seeded early in her career while studying fashion design technology at RMIT.
"When I first started studying fashion, everyone instinctively gravitated toward women's wear," she says.
"That made me wonder: who is designing for anybody else? It became this creative blank canvas for me."
That instinctive curiosity led her to explore silhouettes, fabrics and stories often overlooked in men's fashion in Australia — and a sense of play that is now central to her label's identity.
Each collection is rooted in an overarching narrative, which Page says is shaped in part by her Indigenous heritage and connection to her community.
"Storytelling is a big part of culture for me, and every collection starts there," she says.
"For this collection, I thought about what values I learned growing up, and what we loved doing as a family. It always came back to food, gathering, sharing, making people feel welcome."
Her AFW show is infused with those moments of connection: Kick-ons after a night out and backyard meals with family.
Page says the clothes are designed to embody those memories of feeling relaxed, elevated and joyful.
"There's something about gathering over food that breaks down walls," she says.
"I wanted the clothes to reflect that feeling of ease and confidence, like when you're really yourself with the people you love."
Joseph & James will debut their solo collection at Australian Fashion Week 2025. Source: Supplied
Permission to play
Beyond the AFW runway, that sense of ease and playfulness is also something Page hopes to bring to Australian menswear more broadly.
"I think men here tend to dress very understated, very functional," she says.
But what if dressing could be expressive too? What if we gave men permission to play?
For Page, moving away from functionality and towards expression doesn't have to come at the expense of sustainability.
While she doesn't loudly promote Joseph & James as a sustainable brand, ethics are embedded in every stitch.
From limited production runs that often fall below manufacturer minimums to her strict adherence to natural fibre use, Page says sustainability is foundational to the brand.
"We just think this should be the standard," she says.
"It costs more; it's harder as a small brand. But it matters."
Quiet confidence
On the eve of AFW, which opens this week at Sydney's Carriageworks, Page says she's feeling reflective.
The runway might be her debut solo show, but she says it represents much more: A quiet reshaping of who menswear is for, how it feels and what it can become.
"If someone wears something they wouldn't normally try, and they feel good in it, then that's the win.
"Confidence builds in those moments. That's what I want our clothes to do."
