A tale of two cities

At last, the speculation and (hopefully) the uncertainty are over. IMG Asia Pacific has announced that Melbourne will no longer host Rosemount Australian Fashion Week (RAFW) Transeasonal. Instead, Sydney is to take up the baton; that city's world-class "wow factor" and a new schedule from October 9 to 11 promising to lure buyers and media for a second snatch at the buzz of fashion week.

There's no doubt that in making the decision IMG Asia Pacific has dotted all its 'i's and crossed all its 't's, conducting industry consultation both in Australia and overseas. And undoubtedly there are sensible arguments in favour of the move. Sydney is an internationally renowned city and IMG's argument that staging both fashion weeks in one venue will present the world with a consistent message seems watertight. And while doubters claim transeasonal is a piddling event unlikely to grow regardless of which city hosts it, if IMG's defence is any indication they are missing the point; which brings me to the weather.

At this time of year Melburnians - by now used to chipping the frozen nose-drips off their snouts of a morning - might have difficulty agreeing, but let's face it; Australia, particularly as viewed from elsewhere, is a hot country for whom bikinis, thongs and frothy summer frocks are the rule rather than the exception. Spring Summer fashion is its natural strength.

For this reason, as IMG marketing and communications director Graeme Lewsey claims, "transeasonal has always been smaller than spring/summer and it always will be", a fact demonstrated by spring/summer's hefty budget, which far outweighs that of its younger counterpart. Furthermore, according to Lewsey, at only five-years-old transeasonal is still "a baby" that has nevertheless outstripped spring/summer's success at a similar age by a country mile.

Time will tell whether transeasonal will flourish in its new home, but as an adopted Melburnian, I must admit to experiencing a stab of disappointment on learning of its departure. As a fashion industry journo I shed a quiet tear for the perceived erosion of Melbourne's standing as a thriving fashion hub, and I also felt regretful on behalf of the city I call home; responses reflected by a number of the designers and commentators I spoke to. But for every one of them who claimed the news as a nail in the coffin for the Victorian capital there were those who saw it as a chance to re-invigorate RAFW transeasonal and give Melbourne a chance to shine in other areas.

That said, let's not forget that RAFW as a whole has a way to go before it reaches the status of the world's most renowned fashion weeks. This year's Sydney-based spring/summer offering was widely slammed as a disappointment, with the overwhelming number of emerging designers leading to phrases such as "waste of time and money"; not a good look for a fashion week that aspires to world renown.

In their defence both spring/summer and transeasonal fashion weeks are mere juniors compared to their European and US counterparts. Nevertheless, with the move of transeasonal to Sydney and a new time slot only a year after last-minute changes to the Melbourne transeasonal 2006 schedule left many designers unable to complete their collections in time to show, many will again be experiencing the same confusion as last year. It's time the tinkering came to an end.

Transeasonal's move to Sydney is an acid test for fashion week's credibility as a whole. If it turns out to be a fizzer, there'll be one less excuse to fall back on.