LMFF locks March

The L'Oreal Melbourne Fashion Festival (LMFF) will forge ahead with its dates for 2013, in spite of a dust up with organisers of Mercedes-Benz Fashion Week Australia (MBFWA).

The core schedule will take place from March 18 to 24, with a full 'Cultural Program' and newly created 'Offsite Runway' component running throughout the entire month.

Earlier this year, MBFWA announced it would move to March 2013, leading to speculation LMFF would shift to February or later in the year.

LMFF organisers have released a report conducted by IER Research on the 2012 installment.

The report recorded a 60 per cent increase in interstate tourism as a result of its new 'Retail Tourism' strategy in partnership with Tourism Victoria.

Analysis by Media Measures also revealed the event generated more than $54 million worth of media coverage.

Digital integration was declared a success, with a number of initiatives resulting in 120 per cent growth online.

Over 380,000 delegates attended 126 officially programmed events and aligned activities throughout the month of March 2012.

Highlights included solo runway shows from Alex Perry and Toni Maticevski; a Target runway spectacle featuring Dita Von Teese and; a business seminar headlined by Aurora Fashions CEO Mike Shearwood.