Pal Melbourne Fashion Festival and Melbourne Fashion Week has led some to question the relevance of a closed industry-only event.

Yet there is still a cohort of professionals who see the need for a traditional international trade event – presenting a consumer versus industry tightrope that IMG may have tried to walk for too long. 

“Originally the event has always been based on trade with a consumer event later, and in the last few years we have seen them merging this and not investing in getting overseas buyers to come to Australia,” Phoebes Garland, co-founder of Garland & Garland, a fashion and lifestyle brand management agency, told Inside Retail. 

“For those in the trade, we go to do business, assess collections from an industry perspective, meet with our colleagues,” she added. “We don’t attend to sit next to a suburban person who has bought a ticket who just ‘likes fashion.’” 

The shift in focus at AFW from industry insider to mainstream audience is palpable for many fashion veterans beyond just the seating charts being adjusted to prioritise influencers and media outlets focusing on street style happening outside of the runways.

Rosanna Iacono works with many of Australia’s leading fashion brands and says the shift has been happening at fashion weeks around the globe since the pandemic.

“A key factor has been the decline in attendance of international delegates,” Iacono, CEO of strategy and sustainability transformation consultancy at The Growth Activists, told Inside Retail.

“What was once a forum mostly aimed at international buyers and press morphed into a hybrid industry and consumer event,” she added.

A global stage 

However, Australian brands say AFW remains vital to launching local designers and brands into stardom, if not, profitability.

“Participation has definitely lifted our brand profile as we continue to grow our brand and to explore our options overseas,” Denni Francisco, founder of Ngali, told Inside Retail.

“Given the event represents ‘Australian’ fashion it has more impact when promoting our brand and gives us credibility,” she added.

“I think it helps [others] to see Ngali as a serious Australian First Nation fashion brand, the calibre of which saw us be able to present a solo runway in 2023.”

This sentiment was also echoed by Emma Clegg, co-founder of Jam the label, whose runway at AFW 2022 broke the Melbourne-based brand into the fashion mainstream and put a necessary spotlight on ‘adaptive clothing’. To this day, Jam’s AFW runway is a discovery reference for many customers.

“Telling people we were the first-ever adaptive clothing runway at AFW makes a real statement about the recognition of our brand and reiterates that we belong on such a platform,” Clegg told Inside Retail.

“Participating in AFW with nearly all of our models having disabilities and wearing products that considered their dressing needs, also had a great impact on the disability community and really showed how true inclusion does matter to the Australian fashion industry,” she added. 

Dollars and sense 

While it’s unclear who if anyone will take over AFW, Garland believes it would be better able to serve the industry if it was owned by the government as a not-for-profit organisation – promising an inclusive program that doesn’t exclude designers based on their marketing budget alone.

“I think many designers have found it increasingly difficult to be able to afford the event. Retail sales are extremely patchy and discretionary spending is down,” stated Garland.

“The ones that can afford it really don’t need it as they are established brands with strong distribution, retail and PR already put in place,” she added.

“Under IMG, the average cost of the show is over $100,000 so when retail sales are down, designers and brands are really questioning return on investment and value.”

Despite its triumphant debut at AFW, Jam the Label has not been on the schedule for the last two years and Clegg confirmed that the exorbitant costs are a roadblock for many Australian designers. 

“It would be amazing if AFW provided opportunities for smaller brands and designers to be included in the event at a lower cost,” shared Clegg.

“By being more accessible to more designers, AFW will be able to showcase the wide variety of talent that is found within the Australian fashion industry, and not simply those that can afford to showcase themselves on the runway.”

Future in fashion

Despite not having any plans to be part of next year’s program, Clegg is hopeful that AFW will continue to be a leader in the Australian fashion industry and use its platform to prioritise inclusion and diversity.

“I hope they are authentic in this inclusion, and consult with experts from diverse communities that can assist with their lived experience,” said Clegg. 

“The Australian fashion industry is so much more than the big brands that have often been a staple at AFW, and I hope the event reflects this in the future,” she continued.

According to Francisco, Ngali was planning to show its resort collection at AFW next year. Despite the uncertainty surrounding the event, it’s business as usual at the fashion label in terms of production, since it treats the runway as a marketing exercise.

“Given the importance of Australian fashion to our economy I expect AFW will continue – we could get excited about how that might look,” stated Francisco. 

“The change of circumstances opens the space for creativity to come into the mix and have something extraordinary come as a result.” 

While the news of IMG withdrawing its support for Australia’s premium fashion showcase came as a surprise to almost all, fashion insiders remain largely optimistic about the next chapter of AFW.

“The opportunity is to reimagine and ideate a new format that will drive relevance and effectiveness for Australian fashion businesses and create the greatest value for all stakeholders,” elaborated Iacono.

The future of AFW is set to be discussed at the Australian Fashion Council’s annual general meeting on December 5.

“I think it’s important to acknowledge the significant transformation of Australian Fashion Week under IMG and specifically under the guidance of Natalie Xenita, where her team delivered a consistently professional event of international calibre,” Iacono concluded.

“However, with change comes opportunity for renewal and I was excited to see the Australian Fashion Council’s statement that they will lead the conversation on what the new manifestation of Australian Fashion Week will be.”