A brand to be reckoned with

Despite criticism of its showing in Melbourne last month there's something about Australian Fashion Week that just keeps bouncing back, as Belinda Smart reports
There?s no denying the past few months have been significant for Australian Fashion Week.
Just prior to the Melbourne edition -? scheduled from September 4 to 6 -- organiser IMG Asia Pacific clinched a new sponsorship deal with wine label Rosemount and a new venue in the form of the St. Kilda Sea Baths.
The timetable -- brought forward from its former late October slot to play better into the international buying cycle ? was also spanking new, as was the trans-seasonal profile of the once autumn/winter event.
Somehow the novelty factor was not fanfared loudly enough to drown out grumblings about scanty turnout and parades ? half the usual number -- once Rosemount Australian Fashion Week (RAFW) ambled into being, however.
IMG pressed ahead, citing government-driven due diligence as the reason for a tardy announcement of the revised schedule and the anticlimax as designers -- unable to assemble their collections within the contracted time frame -- jumped ship.
And for some, RAFW?s profile remained powerful enough to launch labels into the stratosphere, as Melbourne designer Dhini Pararajasingham attests.
Having launched her womenswear label Dhini at London Fashion Week last year, Pararajasingham wanted to introduce it to the Australian market and claims to have been ?blown away? by RAFW, adding that she was ?not affected at all? by the reduced attendance.
Forming part of the New Generation parades, Dhini?s ?Reconstructed Tailor? show -- a play on the principles of tailoring -- sparked interest from two boutiques each in Melbourne and Sydney, three from Western Australia and several from overseas, as well as press coverage in Vogue online.
Ashley Harrison and Peggy Nomikos, the names behind ShowOff ? the only Queensland label to take part in the New Generation shows ? were also full of praise.
?The media coverage through magazines including Vogue, Cream and Oyster was fantastic. We didn?t sell at the show but when we got back to Queensland our inbox was overflowing with enquiries,? says Nomikos.
Melbourne designer Chitra Mangma ? whose standout womenswear label Chitra?s Closet paraded on day three ? cites stormy weather as a possible reason for a poor turnout; but, describing IMG as ?exceptionally well organised? her view of RAFW is anything but tainted.
Participants in The Source were less flattering; at best, handmade bag label Eliza Claire and jewellery label Firinn by Chloe Elizabeth were grateful for the exposure; at worst, jewellery designer Alana Tozer describes the event as ?not at all worthwhile? for her Alana Stardust label, while Tovia Blusztein ? who showed her DJ and Lane jewellery label ? is more direct.
?It?s been an absolute waste of time and money. Nothing could tempt me to participate again. I feel like asking for a refund.?
Responses from Designer Suite participants were equally mixed, with Brisbane designer Katie Pye describing low buyer attendance as ?worse than disappointing?, while Zaheda Wadan, co-founder of womenswear label Papershaker, was philosophical, claiming media exposure as her main objective.
From buyers? perspectives, London based agency Boutiqueye?s buyer Karen Harries enthused about the Mad Cortes, Tina Kalivas and Dhini collections, while Requel Saint of Perth boutique was underwhelmed by the lack of variety.
?It?s a joke. I had to take time out of my week and it?s not cheap to travel from Perth.?
As the event wrapped, IMG managing director Simon Lock swung into action, announcing further enhancements to next year?s edition.
The schedule will be revised again ? to August 29 ? 31 2007, creating a more comfortable gap before New York fashion week in September, while a bundled designer participation package across both Sydney and Melbourne RAFWs ? details to be unveiled ? promises to reduce costs.
Notwithstanding this year?s Melbourne hiccup, Lock gives the impression that the Victorian capital?s RAFW 2007 will impress.
No doubt hopeful designers everywhere sincerely hope he?s right.
Despite anticipating around 15 buyers and seeing only two, Designer Suite participant Kanchi Williams typifies the prevalent quasi-religious belief in RAFW?s career-making clout.
?The association with the Australian Fashion Week brand has been invaluable; just being featured on the RAFW website will be fantastic.?
Clearly for Williams and others like her it takes more than one wet week in St Kilda to dent RAFW?s brand credibility.