The days of IMG’s Australian Fashion Week are over.

For nearly 20 years, Australian Fashion Week has paved the way for both upcoming and established designers, including Christopher Esber, Romance Was Born and Jordon Gogos.

Arguably the most exciting and significant event in the Australian fashion calendar, the Sydney-based event has played a pivotal role in platforming Australian designers in front of an international audience.

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Now, the future of Australian Fashion Week is in limbo following an announcement from IMG that it would no longer back the event. IMG Fashion and Events has owned and operated Australian Fashion Week since it first purchased the event in 2005. It’s currently unconfirmed whether Australian Fashion Week will take place in 2025, or whether a new owner is on the cards.

“The event has played a key role in ushering the industry forward,” IMG Fashion Events Asia Pacific managing director Natalie Xenita said in a press release. “We are incredibly proud of IMG’s many accomplishments leading Australian Fashion Week for the last 20 years.”

Australian Fashion Council Chair Marianne Perkovic and CEO Jaana Quaintance-James released a joint statement, announcing they learnt of the decision today, the same day news broke.

“Turning to the future, we know we need 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,” they said.

Jordan Gogos, designer and founder of Australian-based label Iordanes Spyridon Gogos has shown at Australian Fashion Week for the past four years.

“At the end of the day, it’s not IMG’s job to uphold the industry. It’s the government’s role to support an industry that’s struggling,” he told Fashion Journal. “Fashion constantly resets and this is another one of those moments.”

Jackie Galleghan, founder, creative director and head of sustainability at Madre Natura oversaw the label’s Australian Fashion Week debut last year, where it showcased a runway of entirely past season styles in a bold statement around consumption and sustainability.

“Madre Natura’s debut at Australian Fashion Week was a huge milestone, and we were so proud to be a part [of the event] and for IMG and Australian Fashion Week 2024 to facilitate our bold concept and shine a spotlight on our vision for an optimistic future for Australian fashion. I’m sure the news today will be felt deeply across the industry,” she told Fashion Journal.

The Australian Fashion Laureate, Australia’s highest fashion accolade, will take place on November 21 in Sydney. Marking IMG’s final Australian-facilitated fashion event, the event will award Designer of the Year, Emerging Designer of the Year and Indigenous Designer of the Year (among others).

As a media partner to Australian Fashion Week for the past three years, Fashion Journal has long embraced the creativity, talent and community the event is known for championing.

Although IMG’s Australian Fashion Week is over, it’s too soon to tell what exactly the future of Australian Fashion Week will be.

Read more about the closure of Australian Fashion Week here.