What Industry Leaders Want From Australian Fashion Week 2.0

Photo: Courtesy of Australian Fashion Week

Last week organiser IMG pulled the plug after 20 years running the annual festival. But could this change lead to a new and revitalised Fashion Week? Six industry leaders weigh in.

Since 1996, Australian Fashion Week (AFW) has been Australia’s premier fashion industry event. Last Wednesday, the media and culture company IMG – which has run AFW for 20 years – announced it was pulling out. The news has shocked the local fashion industry and left many wondering if AFW would continue at Sydney’s Carriageworks.

The Australian Fashion Council (AFC), the national industry body for fashion and textiles, is advocating for an industry-led and not-for-profit AFW and is currently creating an industry working body to help manage and run next year’s Fashion Week. The New South Wales Government has expressed support for this new era of AFW.

“We ask that everyone lean in and share what AFW could look like in the future,” Jaana Quaintance-James, CEO of Australian Fashion Council, tells Broadsheet. “We’re not just creating a fashion week. We’ll aim to build a future-focused event that aligns with our designers, consumers and global markets.”

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It seems IMG’s exit has given Australia’s fashion industry permission to reinterpret what our country’s leading fashion week could be like. This liminal space has allowed industry heads to join forces and usher in a new phase of AFW. Here’s what some of our key fashion creatives are saying.

Camilla Franks, founder of Camilla

“Twenty years ago, Australian Fashion Week gave me a platform to showcase my designs. No one in the industry knew who I was, and I had absolutely no idea what I was doing. It’s absolutely critical that Australia continues to have a platform to showcase new, exciting and emerging fashion and design.

“Australian fashion is exploding internationally because it’s unique. It stands out on the global stage. Fashion Week showcases are a huge part of that. AFW gave me the opportunity to break industry boundaries and immerse people in my brand through sight, smell, feeling and storytelling, and I will always be grateful for that.”

Jaana Quaintance-James, CEO of Australian Fashion Council

“We have had an immense amount of support from all sides of the industry for an industry-led Australian Fashion Week. It is a pivotal time – a once-in-a-generation opportunity to create a fashion week by industry, for industry.

“AFW is a significant event that beams Australian fashion around the world and we need to ensure that we keep stamping that rightful place on the global stage – our $28 billion industry and 500,000-strong mostly female workforce depends on it.”

Courtney Holm, founder of A.BCH and Circular Sourcing

“I think it’s worth looking at the model for fashion weeks in general. We cannot expect that the current model can continue on in an increasing climate emergency. Fashion weeks dabble in this stuff when it’s in the zeitgeist, but it’s usually fleeting.

“Imagine if the very purpose of a fashion week went beyond trends, selling clothes, and influencers. Imagine if they took a stance on inclusivity, diversity, innovation, kindness to animals, transparency, value chain equity, circularity and their own climate impact – and led by example. We shouldn’t be afraid to be ambitious with what we want for a circular, inclusive and fair future – fashion weeks included.”

Alex Schuman, CEO of Carla Zampatti

“Fashion is now Australia’s number one cultural export. At its heart, AFW is a trade show for the Australian fashion industry. I hope that we can re-focus and re-energise the format by making it more attractive to international department store buyers and international media.”

James Parr, model and disability advocate

“While there is an uncertain future for AFW, I think it allows changes to be made. Hopefully the government can step in to support an industry that is struggling. [Fashion] has created opportunities for diverse representation of communities both on and off the runway.”

Lilian and Katie-Louise Nicol-Ford, founders of Nicol & Ford

“We would love to see Australian Fashion Week evolve to an annual multi-site, city-wide event, supporting designers to embrace Australia’s manufacturing capabilities and unique cultural history. This approach would require substantial local, state and federal funding to support designers to make these kinds of grand gestures that are necessary to open pathways for young talent to build a vibrant local industry and have a meaningful global footprint.”

Stuart Walford, stylist and creative consultant

“AFW is the closest Australia has gotten to being recognised on the global fashion week circuit, with AFW runways reported and catalogued on Vogue Runway – a global resource and archive for fashion folk around the world.

“I cut my teeth volunteering [at] Melbourne Fashion Week and Melbourne Fashion Festival back in 2010, showing up each season for a few years to volunteer my time dressing models, seating guests [and] assisting stylists. Through this experience, I met so many important players in the local fashion industry that I was offered a full-time job after one of the runways. This is how the business works, it provides networking opportunities to artists and creatives that are trying to find their place in the creative world. It’s so much more than just displaying new season collections.”

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