An L.A. Take on Australian Fashion Week

If Los Angeles has a sister fashion city, surely it’s Sydney, Australia. From the April 28–May 2 run of Rosemount Australian Fashion Week to the boutiques of Sydney, the parallels in the two markets are strikingly similar.

With nearly year-round sunny skies, a beach lifestyle, celebrities, health-conscious consumers and a culture that relies on cars for transport, it’s no wonder Sydney’s fashion industry resembles the Los Angeles market.

On the runway, designers showed a diverse mix: everything from swimwear to contemporary dresses, directional men’s lines and gowns suited for a red-carpet frockfest. A free-spirited approach pervaded the collections, and fashion trends ranged from brights and colorful prints to globe-trekker chic. Some featured masculine-inspired tailoring and others an androgynous, hipster edge. RAFW features top designers from all across Australia, and it is the region’s largest showcase of established and emerging design talent in the Asia Pacific. It has become the key stop for many on the international fashion-week circuit and falls under the umbrella of IMG Fashion, organizer of fashionweek events in Los Angeles, New York, Miami, Berlin and Mumbai, India.

The Sydney event—which has grown from a combined 30 runway and exhibition shows during its inception in 1996 (when it was then known as Mercedes Australian Fashion Week) to more than 100 designers showing on the runway this season—has garnered international attention. “Australia and the Asia Pacific really is a focal point of international awareness, with so much attention focused on the economic growth expectation of the region,” said Simon Lock, managing director of IMG Fashion Asia Pacific in a prepared statement.

This season, established designers such as Alex Perry, Wayne Cooper, Akira Isogawa, Lisa Ho, Anna Thomas, Nicola Finetti, Easton Pearson and Zimmermann showed their collections, as well as New Zealand–based Kate Sylvester and Thai label Stretsis. Emerging labels such as Antipodium, Romance Was Born, Friedrich Gray and Material Boy also joined the lineup. And designers who have made waves internationally, Michelle Jank and Sass & Bide , returned from Paris and New York, respectively, to show on the catwalk in Sydney.

Designers were set up to not only show their collections but to also do business. In total, 170 designers showcased their collections in runway shows and at various locations onsite and offsite, including the Emerge@The Source boutique exhibition area, the Boutique Showrooms@ RAFW, the RAFW Agent Designer Suites at The Westin Sydney and the RAFW Showrooms@MCA. New Zealand labels were showcased nearby at the Billich Gallery, andthe eco-friendly Gorman Ship Shop was set up outsideRAFW’s Overseas Passenger Terminal venue.