RAFW initiative in a cold snap
NATIONAL: The latest attempt to revive the floundering autumn/winter instalment of Rosemount Australian Fashion Week (RAFW) has already drawn criticism from industry.
Event organiser IMG last month announced it would repackage the trade show into a coordinated calendar of events. This meant the new initiative, dubbed 'Rosemount Australian Fashion Week Autumn Winter Collections Schedule', would have no centralised venue or formal infrastructure and place the production onus on designers.
As part of the $550 package, participants would be guaranteed a listing on the event's official schedule, coverage in an international fashion newsletter distributed by IMG, public relations support for the event and a one-year listing on its official website.
However many of the 20 designers who took part in RAFW's Transeasonal collections last year, a now defunct spin-off of the traditional autumn/winter format, said they had no intention of taking part in the latest event when contacted by Ragtrader.
Eveningwear designer and RAFW regular Alex Perry confirmed he had already launched his autumn/winter collection on September 9 - over a month out from the event's official schedule, which kicks off on October 13 and closes on October 19. "I believe [Alex Perry's] show was held then due to the sales schedule," a representative of the designer said. Perry has participated in Rosemount Australian Fashion Week since its inauguration in 1996.
Australian fashion designer Bowie Wong, who showed at RAFW's 2008 Transeasonal installment, also planned to flag the October event because it did not sit well with his sales strategy. Sydney-headquartered Wong is currently targeting buyers in the Northern Hemisphere and IMG organisers have admitted the new format would target "primarily domestic buyers".
Womenswear and bespoke designer Daniel Avakian believed the event was more suited to emerging designers as it offered them solid media, buyer and industry contacts. "When you start out in the industry, you don't have that database so it's a good way for new designers to get their name out there and know which people to approach," he said.
This was certainly the case for new generation designer Sara Phillips, who confirmed she would showcase her autumn/winter 2009 range at Redfern's Boutwell Draper Gallery on October 14. The young womenswear designer and Sydney Fashion Design Studio graduate also showed her spring/summer 2008 range at an RAFW designer suite earlier this year.
"There is a credibility that comes long with showing through [IMG]," she said. "It's an amazing opportunity for emerging designers to launch their collections."
By Assia Benmedjdoub