Australian Fashion Week
Encyclopedia
Australian Fashion Week is an annual fashion
Fashion
Fashion, a general term for a currently popular style or practice, especially in clothing, foot wear, or accessories. Fashion references to anything that is the current trend in look and dress up of a person...

 industry event showcasing the latest seasonal collections from Australian and Asia Pacific Designers
Fashion design
Fashion design is the art of the application of design and aesthetics or natural beauty to clothing and accessories. Fashion design is influenced by cultural and social latitudes, and has varied over time and place. Fashion designers work in a number of ways in designing clothing and accessories....

. It is held at the International Passenger Terminal Sydney's Circular Quay in late April or early May of each year, having formerly been held at Fox Film Studios, Moore Park and Melbourne's
Melbourne
Melbourne is the capital and most populous city in the state of Victoria, and the second most populous city in Australia. The Melbourne City Centre is the hub of the greater metropolitan area and the Census statistical division—of which "Melbourne" is the common name. As of June 2009, the greater...

 St Kilda
St Kilda, Victoria
St Kilda is an inner city suburb of Melbourne, Victoria, Australia, 6 km south from Melbourne's central business district. Its Local Government Area is the City of Port Phillip...

 pier.

With a growing profile on the international fashion week circuit AFW has helped bring attention to a number of Australian designers such as Alex Perry, Zimmermann, Toni Maticevski
Toni Maticevski
Toni Matičevski is a Melbourne-based fashion designer.Matičevski's parents migrated from Macedonia. He grew up in Seddon, an inner-western suburb of Melbourne with a sizable Macedonian community....

, Collette Dinnigan, Leona Edmiston
Leona Edmiston
Leona Edmiston is an Australian fashion designer based in Sydney. She studied fashion design at East Sydney Technical College and began her first label, called "Morrissey Edmiston", with Peter Morrissey in the 1980s. The label was popular for over 14 years...

, J'Aton Couture
J'Aton Couture
J'Aton Couture is a Melbourne-based couture house, established by Jacob Luppino and Anthony Pittorino in 1995.-History:Established by Jacob Luppino and Anthony Pittorino in Prahan, Melbourne, with a showroom and atelier, creating bespoke evening and bridalwear.With a reputation for skilled...

, Ericaamerica
Ericaamerica
ericaamerica is an Australian Menswear label started by Erica Wardle and Lucas Bowers in 2001. ericaamerica is known for its sharp technical cuts, historical references and "unorthodox blend of sheer cheek and arch elegance” which has been referred to, by critics, as "uber masculine".- Education...

, Easton Pearson and Gwendolyne.

Started in 1996 by then-CEO and Founder Simon Lock the event, officially known as Mercedes-Benz Fashion Week Australia due to naming Mercedes-Benz's
Mercedes-Benz
Mercedes-Benz is a German manufacturer of automobiles, buses, coaches, and trucks. Mercedes-Benz is a division of its parent company, Daimler AG...

 acquisition of naming rights, has become a high profile media moment on Australia's fashion calendar. Largely promoting established talent, the event also acts as a showcase for young, up-and-coming Australian designers and their labels.

In 2005 Simon Lock sold Mercedes Australian Fashion Week and its parent company Australian Fashion Innovators to the New York-based International Management Group
IMG (business)
IMG, originally known as the International Management Group is a global sports and media business headquartered in New York City.-History:...

. Lock declined to reveal the size of the deal, which industry sources estimated could have been worth "several million dollars", or to reveal whether he has an equity stake in IMG FASHION Asia Pacific.

In 2007 many major Australian fashion designers, who had previously shown at Australian Fashion Week, were not included in the schedule. These included the likes of Zimmerman, Sass & Bide, Wayne Cooper, Morrissey, Leona Edmiston
Leona Edmiston
Leona Edmiston is an Australian fashion designer based in Sydney. She studied fashion design at East Sydney Technical College and began her first label, called "Morrissey Edmiston", with Peter Morrissey in the 1980s. The label was popular for over 14 years...

, Akira and Toni Maticevski. Most would return in 2008, however, with IMG providing much more comprehensive schedule as a part of their rebuilding of the event.

In 2008, Australian Fashion Week was hosted by Rosemount, displaying big names such as Alex Perry, Akira and the return of Sass & Bide launching their new label Sass & Bide Vie.

External links

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