Off with a bang

Lindsay Bennett, the maestro behind Brisbane's Mercedes-Benz Fashion Festival, has kicked off celebrations for the 2008 event by announcing a series of changes to this year's line up.

Existing design talent Easton Person, George Wu, Alex Perry, Lisa Ho and Gina Kim will be joined on-schedule by a host of new labels including swimwear label Flamingo Sands (pictured) and Nicola Finetti.

Other key highlights of the event, taking place August 24 to 29, include a fashion forum debating the topis of "cutting-edge design vs commercial reality" and a new menswear group show produced by GQ publisher Grant Pearce.