IMG Fashion Events & Properties has confirmed it will exit the Australian Fashion Events business, including Australian Fashion Week and the Australian Fashion Laureate.

According to IMG, the group will no longer operate Australian Fashion Week, with the Australian Fashion Laureate on November 21 in Sydney being IMG’s final fashion event in Australia.

The Australian Fashion Council (AFC) has since responded to the news, stating that Australia needs a platform to profile and celebrate Australian fashion.

“This moment signals an opportunity for the industry to reimagine and reshape how Australian fashion is represented, and provides us all with an opportunity to explore new ways in which to showcase emerging and established Australian talent,” AFC chair Marianne Perkovic and CEO Jaana Quaintance-James shared in a statement.

“The AFC, as the peak body for fashion and textiles in Australia, will lead this conversation. We will work with members, government and other stakeholders to consider the future platform needed to position and elevate Australian fashion internationally.”

PayPal Melbourne Fashion Festival CEO Caroline ‘Ralph’ Ralphsmith also weighed in, saying that the market for designers is tough and consumer confidence is low. 

“With the digital transformation in the global economy, and the local economic climate, the investment into an industry event like AFW is challenging for designers,” Ralphsmith said.

“The consumer-focused event model takes advantage of this evolution by connecting brands directly to consumers and facilitates purchases in real-time.”

In recent years, AFW has been gradually adding consumer runways to its programs, alongside invite-only runways and events.

According to Ralphsmith, PMMF offers free opportunities for designers to connect and sell directly to consumers through its runway models. IMG has been waiving designer participation fees for AFW since 2021.

“PayPal Melbourne Fashion Festival has been running for 28 years as a not-for-profit organisation, with varied and diverse revenue sources, and is squarely placed in the direct-to-consumer space,” Ralphsmith said.

“This consumer model is open to everyone to attend and in 2024 delivered over 10 per cent growth in attendance and highest customer satisfaction results on record, and planning is well underway for our 2025 Festival.”

The news this week follow reports in July that AFW was up for sale, with one publication claiming the asking price was $1 million. Ragtrader spoke with IMG in July to address the rumours, with IMG’s APAC fashion events and properties VP and managing director Natalie Xenita then saying that the events firm “doesn’t comment on rumours.”

When asked if the current situation is due to a sale, IMG refused to share further commentary. 

AFW has been in operation for the past 30 years, with IMG managing the event for the last 20 of those years. 

“The event has played a key role in ushering the industry forward. We navigated a changing industry by introducing new initiatives including the strategic refocus on Resort collections, a consumer integrated model that has been replicated globally, waiving participation fees to support designers since the pandemic, and hosting the first-ever Indigenous designer shows,”  Xenita shared in a press release today.

“We are looking forward to celebrating the industry at our last event together, the 2024 Australian Fashion Laureate, later this month.”

As part of this shift, IMG noted it will further focus its resources and expertise on its talent representation business. IMG Models in Sydney will not be impacted by this change and will continue to conduct business as usual.