A hard act to follow...
There was an exchanging of shoes during the latest installment of Rosemount Australian Fashion Week (RAFW). Not just the vertiginous, four-inch sort industry delegates saw meandering down the runway; nor the kind ordered in the dozens by eager buyers at exhibition area, The Source. No, as many fashion pundits duly noted, there was an exchange of the figurative sort too.
Early last year, racing around a mid-week day of remembrance, it was fashion week organisers who were negotiating their first, tremulous steps under new management giant IMG. The firm that also has a stake in New York's Olympus Fashion Week and London's Fashion Fringe festival had its thumb in its mouth, so to speak, as it attempted to accommodate the nearly 100 Australian, New Zealand and Asian designers vying for space on its first official spring/summer 2006/07 schedule.
This season's event however - kicked off in spectacular style by a lipstick straddling Dita Von Teese - marked somewhat of a shift in affairs. This time it was the designers who were clutching the proverbial dummy and playing, what would ultimately turn out to be, the unnerving role of the baby.
As the industry's biggest names - including Bettina Liano, Wayne Cooper and Alannah Hill - opted off the catwalks and into showrooms, it was up-and-comers who inevitably swamped the collections in a cracking five day blitz over late April and May. In fact, as one Sydney metropolitan paper noted, of the 16 designers to take to the runway on day one, 12 were "virtually unknown".
As honourable as the gesture first seemed - after all, industry questioned, we want to support the little guys, don't we? - the sentiment towards the cradle of participants this year eventually found itself in some pretty murky waters.
On the one hand (or fighting corner as it were), respected fashion blogger Patty Huntington downright blasted group showings - the preferred choice of cash strapped new designers - as "energy vampires". Then there was Sydney Morning Herald journalist Glynis-Traill Nash who seconded that by adding many of those who took part would "not become household names anytime soon".
Then, on the other side of the boxing ring, there were the more positive reviews to emerge from some of Australia's biggest (and chequebook laden) retail players. David Jones executive David Bush for one, cried foul, saying that industry should not compare the new designers to more established names like Lisa Ho.
Myer's latest top gun Judy Coomber surprisingly agreed with his sentiment, commenting that it offered her "a great introduction" to Australia's next breed of international designers.
Many of the smaller boutique buyers, however, voiced less than thrilling reviews.
Anne-Marie Gaganis, the director behind designer chains Whistles and WO+Man in Adelaide, admits she was generally disappointed with the standard of collections on show this year. The regular fashion week attendee explains that when compared with previous installments, spring/summer 2007/08 was "very average".
"I attended every group show with new designers and there was not one that interested me. I usually Instead, Gaganis says she was forced to opt for the more commercially viable and conceptually driven collections like Nevenka, Lisa Ho and Shakahauchi.
Gaganis says in the long run, the lack of "quality" participants posed a major concern for boutiques such as hers, which sources close to 90 per cent of its stock from Australian designers.
"They are the core of my business and Whistles stores are known to stock all the leading Australian designer labels in South Australia. I would like to see more wearable collections that are targeted to our customers, after all, that is what sells. There needs to be more variety."
International buyer Kelly Hobbs, who owns and operates Kelly's Closet in the United States, agrees with Gaganis and says her only new purchases at RAFW - Anna Thomas and Wayne Cooper - represented some of the more established names in the Australian fashion scene. Other local designer brands that Hobbs topped up on included Alannah Hill, Lisa Ho, Camilla and Marc and Nicola Finetti, whom she describes as "fresh and interesting" but also very "sellable".
"It would be easier on the buyers if they edited a bit more with who put on shows. I think designers always have to think about commercial viability and making things that are sellable and wearable, but there seemed to be a total lack of runway looks. [It was] just a little predictable."
Both seasoned buyers claim long show queues and poor scheduling only added to their growing frustrations. Gaganis explains:
"Most of my day was spent in lines waiting to get in to the shows then once in, I would have to wait again for the show to start. This would take approximately one hour for each show and when you attend six shows a day a lot of time is wasted.
"It's a crazy week trying to attend shows and appointments as it is, it would be great if this could be improved."
Hobbs was a little more succinct with her account: "It was tiring".
But in the same way a story has two sides, it wasn't a complete case of sour grapes on the boutique buyer front either. Another fashion week regular, Elizabeth Charles, who has a namesake store in New York and San Francisco specialising in Australian and New Zealand labels, says a variety of designers is good for business.
"My goal is to buy thing I would like to wear whether it's by established, highly regarded designers like Akira and Collette Dinnigan or new up-and coming designers like Nevenka and Ellery. I think it was very strong and many of the designers I already stock [35 in total] did their best collections yet."
Charles does admit, however, that Australia's big designers are a major drawcard for international buyers and advises organisers to better adapt their approach in future.
"It would be great to see all our top designers involved but until fashion week gets more international buyers and press to attend, our best designers will travel overseas to get exposure and orders.
"I would have liked to be sponsored as I have in previous seasons. It would show their support and appreciation for the exposure I'm getting Australian designers in the US."
A point IMG would almost certainly find understandable, given that was the biggest playing card it laid down when negotiating its new approach to exhibition area, The Source. Unlike previous years, when exhibitors were squeezed behind the main registration desk, this year they were placed at the centre of the event, with delegates having to pass their stands to attend all catwalk shows.
For up-and-coming label Juicy Bear Tees, this kind of exposure was "priceless". Co-owner Lucy Sherman says she was inundated with enquiries from both media and domestic and international buyers.
"At one point Elizabeth Charles was introducing us to other international buyers and telling them they had to come and visit the stand. It worked out even better for us because we were able to show everyone our newest merino wool line plus our homewares range, which we're launching in November."
While the company is still in negotiations with key buyers and thus declined to reveal the financial worth of its transactions, Sherman estimates six new clients came on board this year with additional revenue flowing in from existing accounts.
Swimwear designer Bec Cooper, of the brand Mr Julius, was also thrilled about the changes made to The Source. Well received by national and international delegates, including David Jones, a French importer and buyers from UK and America, Cooper says the new layout helped to bolster business.
"It's a very busy time for me and I'm already working on my next collection, [though] the response to this season has made it all worth while."
But was the new experience equally worthwhile for buyers? Elizabeth Charles, who was integral in garnering some extra attention for Juicy Bear Tees, wasn't entirely glowing in her review.
"It was annoying to be detoured and have to walk through The Source unnecessarily, especially after a hectic week. The Source should be able to stand on its own merits and not require the organisers to herd people like cattle past their stands."
According to many of the designers who participated in The Source this year, however, the changes should remain a permanent feature of the event. Lucy Sherman says the benefits are just too valuable for smaller brands showing there.
"The co-ordination, for us, was just perfect. You literally had all the great buyers and media walking past your stand."
The rest, as they say, came down to pure business.