Melbourne no longer centre for creativity?

MELBOURNE: Rosemount Australian Fashion Week (RAFW)'s decision to move its transeasonal edition to Sydney with a new timetable has drawn a mixed response from designers and industry bodies.

Late last month RAFW organiser IMG Fashion Asia Pacific confirmed RAFW Transeasonal 2008 would ditch its former Melbourne home and September time slot to take place at a new venue in Sydney's Circular Quay from October 9 to 11.
The move follows criticism of the 2006 installment of the bi-annual event where the three-day show was lambasted by media for its lack-lustre crowds and light schedule.

While event organiser IMG claims the move to Sydney was an internal decision resulting from detailed discussions with industry, it agreed "commercial considerations" played a significant part in the decision, driven in part by the Victorian Government refusing to renew its funding commitment to the event.

Sydney designer Justine Davies - whose label Davis Eyes took part in Melbourne's final Transeasonal event last year - said while changing the location from Melbourne to Sydney would be beneficial for Sydney attendees, she was not convinced it would "make a big difference" to the overall success of the event.

"Transeasonal will always be a smaller event and I don't know if buyers will be persuaded to travel to Sydney twice a year. I probably won't put a collection in this October as I'm not yet sure it's really worthwhile, although I wouldn't rule it out in future."

Melbourne designer Anna Thomas had a conflicting view. Thomas, a regular at both RAFW Spring Summer and Transeasonal, welcomed the move, noting while the change could prove inconvenient to some Melbourne-based designers, it would also make the event more consistent with other global fashion weeks.

"You don't get a Milan fashion week and a Rome fashion week in Italy, so why should Australia be different, particularly when most of the fashion magazines are based in Sydney? The cost to Melbourne designers is unfortunate, but there are advantages in they will get a chance to put themselves under the noses of Sydney-based media as well as local and international buyers."

Melbourne designer Dhini designer Dhini Pararajasingham was much more emphatic. "As a Melbourne designer I'm disappointed. The move seems to take away from Melbourne as a centre for fashion creativity. For me it also clashes with [trade fair] Paris Rendezvous, which takes place the first week of October as part of Paris Fashion Week. It's going to be tricky for buyers. I can't imagine them rushing from Paris to Sydney in such a short space of time."

While IMG was "doing great things", RAFW was still a work in progress, particularly in terms of its schedule, she added.
"I wish them luck as I think it would be great if they could get the formula right. More established events like London Fashion Week have a fixed schedule that's released eight months in advance, which makes it so much easier to plan for."

Meanwhile Victorian-based Australian Fashion Council (AFC) head Zoe Edquist also supported the move north.
"Sydney is the natural home for fashion week because it has such a strong profile internationally. While it's a shame that Melbourne will no longer host the event it's important to look at the bigger picture. Fashion week never really worked in Melbourne and as a result it did little to enhance the city's image."

In response, IMG Asia Pacific managing director Simon Lock said extensive industry consultation had validated IMG's decision.

"[Moving RAFW Transeasonal to Sydney] sends out a very consistent message - come to Sydney and see the many fresh and innovative talents the Asia Pacific has to offer," he said.

IMG marketing and communications director Graeme Lewsey emphasised commercial imperatives had also played a strong part in RAFW's new host city.

"The five-year funding for the event from the Victorian Government came to an end last season and the reality is that we had been spending a lot of that funding on attracting fashion media - most of which is based in Sydney - down to Melbourne. It's time to get over the age-old comparisons between Melbourne and Sydney and start focusing on promoting Australian fashion as a whole internationally."

By Belinda Smart