International buyers beware

Before last week's Mercedes Australian Fashion Week (MAFW), I knew of few local labels successful enough to be able to turn their backs on international sales.
I wrongly assumed that with retail conditions as tough as they are, each would be falling over themselves to secure new business.
While this may be the case in other markets, apparently business is so great here some Australian designers can afford to be a little more selective when deciding who is and isn't worthy of stocking their goods.
Yip, it would seem far from being polite to overseas-based buyers, some labels here in the lucky country of ringing tills needn't even bother returning phone calls of interest.
Why need they waste their time dealing with Indonesian, Thai or lesser-known London-based buyers when they could potentially have the likes of Browns and (XXXXX) beating a path to their door.
But don't worry - of those pesky international buyers that do manage to slip the net and actually speak to a designer's minion, our labels have a second and even third tier of defence at the ready.
According to some buyers - who dared hope the fact they had travelled half way around the world actually meant something - this involves being informed the chosen designer's schedule is already full. While the minions say they would like to help the buyers out and "sincerely apologise for the inconvenience", they confirm the bad news there is no space left in which to slot the bewildered buyer in.
If our designers are unsure about how big said buyer's budget is they'll graciously offer them an invite to their collection showing. But just to ensure they don't get ideas above their station, our designers bury the international delegates in the back behind the next-door neighbour's six-year-old kid, the pizza delivery boy and the D-list celebrities sure to generate them more column space in the local rags.
And for those buyers they really don't like...our guys and gals instruct their public relations teams to not even bother giving them general admission to their shows - let alone offer them a seat.
Whether it be ignorance, arrogance or both, I - as with many buyers spoken to during the course of the week - am absolutely flabbergasted by this type of attitude. I am sure every one of those labels showing in the New Generation show, The Source or East Sydney TAFE's Five would have leapt at the same opportunity.
Since when have the offerings of Australian's top designers been so great they can afford to turn away potential business? But more importantly when and how did our humble designers - only as good as their last collection after all - get their heads jammed so far up their own arses?
Aside from my own unease at this shameless display, the people I feel most sorry for after the buyers themselves is the Austrade minders assigned to look after the international delegates. Not only have they faced the unenviable task of fighting tooth and nail to secure seating for their charges, they have also been forced to somehow justify this poor behaviour.
While officially the trade organisation's response to the situation has remained diplomatic, behind the scenes it must be fuming.
Having invested what I can only guess is tens of thousands of dollars bringing international guests to the event, it must be wondering why it even bothered.
To my mind a London-based buyer - himself a true blue Aussie - put it best when he stated "Australian designers need to grow up".
Based on the above, I couldn't agree more.

Pull quote: "When and how did our humble designers . . . get their heads jammed so far up their own arses?