HAVING ATTENDED EACH DAY OF ROSEMOUNT AUSTRALIAN FASHION WEEK, RAGTRADER REPORTER ASSIA BENMEDJDOUB OFFERS HER THOUGHTS ON THE EVENT'S HIGHS AND LOWS.
Day four of Rosemount Australian Fashion Week (RAFW) and an age-old question beckons over the babble of who's put on weight, who's seated in the front row and who's the next darling of Australian fashion.
Is all publicity really good publicity? More importantly, is every whisper worth its breath, even when it detracts from major movements on the business front?
Take Alex Perry's cracking spring/summer collection launch on Tuesday evening. Barely a peep was heard about the designer's recent move into the domestic wholesale market – thanks to the solid selling power of fashion agent Susie Sharrock – and it was bated breath I waited to see whether he'd continue the bold move into the spring/summer season. A quick phone call to the agency yesterday confirmed it would be the case with Directions in Sydney's Double Bay, Pisces in Mona Vale and Something Nice in Kograh listed as some of the key stockists.
But audiences would have none of it. At least, in the lead up to the parade.
Besides the usual humdrum banter of "I can't wait to see what he does next" and "I love a Perry show", brows were raised at the sight of MTV VJ Ruby Rose and Veronicas' crooner Jess Origliasso holding hands in the front row. For the uninitiated, the two locked lips at a social event earlier this month. While this was largely brushed aside by the fashion press, it was enough to generate steady conversation among guests over the course of the evening. Was all that gossip good for Perry's reputation as a celebrity stirrer or an unfair detraction on his night of nights?
Then there was the headache over some nasty comments Nicholas Huxley allegedly made in the lead up to RAFW. The Sydney Fashion Design Studio head was recently quoted as saying that female designer collections were "cheap and nasty" when compared to their male counterparts. As media outlets throughout the country latched on to The Daily Telegraph's lead, quoting and requoting Huxley's rant – which he thoroughly denies – designers in the studio's annual RAFW show were left lurking in the shadows. Commentary on the collections of Dion Lee, Guy Hastie, Christopher Eber and Spencer Webber were relegated to the last few paragraphs of editorials, in spite of early indications "the boys" had bright futures ahead. But had those now infamous comments not been quoted, would the show have garnered any publicity at all? Given the pre-RAFW hype over the phenomenal designer schedule – which included a return of the very popular Michelle Jank and the launch of sass & bide's diffusion line – would four fresh-faced graduates have really garnered any column inches?
Even industry stalwarts weren't immune to the good publicity/ bad publicity conundrum. The launch of New Zealand designer Kate Sylvester's menswear and eyewear line on Tuesday took second place to the fact she'd insulted RSL heads over her use of war medals in the collection. RSL national secretary Derek Robson described the use of medals in her spring/summer collection launch as "appalling" and "sickening" in an interview with the Sydney Morning Herald.
"I am appalled on behalf of those who have committed so much. To do something so flippant and dismissive is unfathomable," he said.
In the same way that Huxley's comments went from one paper to the next, Sylvester's supposed fashion faux pas was reported across newspapers and radio stations in Australia and New Zealand. Decent airtime and column inches - if you can get it - but at what cost?