Former Billabong boss Launa Inman has retired as chair of the Australian Fashion Festival (AFF), with deputy chair Kallie Blauhorn elected to replace her.
Inman stepped down as chair and director at the not-for-profit’s annual general meeting this week, ending 16 years on the board, including five as chair. Blauhorn, an AFF director for seven years and deputy chair for the past two, becomes the festival’s sixth chair.
The handover comes as AFF, which owns and produces the PayPal Australian Fashion Festival (formerly Melbourne Fashion Festival), reported a surplus of $212,460 for FY26.
Inman became chair in May 2021, while the festival was navigating COVID-19, and steered it through its recovery and expansion into a national event.
“The past few years asked a great deal of the Festival, our designers and our partners,” Inman said. “The Festival is now national, with Melbourne still as its home, and it is entering a new era.”
Inman joined AFF after a long retail career, including seven years as managing director of Target Australia, as well as stints as managing director of Officeworks and CEO and managing director of Billabong International. She was named Telstra Australian Businesswoman of the Year in 2003.
Blauhorn has more than 20 years of leadership experience across Australian cultural and not-for-profit organisations. She helped establish the festival’s Foundation, which supports emerging and early-career designers, and was previously director of the Museum of Australian Photography, later chairing its Foundation until 2024.
She is currently president of the NGV Women’s Association, a board member of St Vincent’s Institute and a member of AMPLIFY’s Foundation Board. Her earlier career included roles with the United Nations Development Programme in India, Very Special Kids and the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation.
“Seven years on this board has given me a front-row seat to the brilliance and originality of Australian fashion,” Blauhorn said. “My goal is to continue building a Festival that celebrates our nation’s creativity, inspires our audiences and delivers real results for Australian designers and retailers.”
Blauhorn will work alongside AFF executive director Prue Mahar.
“Kallie knows this Festival well, and she knows what it takes to lead a cultural institution,” Mahar said.