News Coverage:

The Most Exciting Yet
By: Michelle Taylor

MILAN, Apr 19, 2004/ FW/ – Just as the Autumn/winter international fashion season ends and the Northern hemisphere is preparing to put away the woolies and break out the bathing cossie, Australia is leading the pack for summer as Sydney prepares to host the 9th year of Mercedes Australian Fashion Week which will run from May 2 through 8 on the golden soils in the land of the young and the free.

This year sees perhaps one of the most exciting yet in Australian fashion as both top and emerging designers are making last minute adjustments to collections that involve months of work, they also prepare to show alongside Asian Pacific designers from Hong Kong, Singapore, Malaysia and New Zealand in a celebration of fashion, solidifying an international relationship.

With 90 designers on the calendar between group and individual shows, fashionistas worldwide will have something to look out for, something that will hopefully be new and innovative in a proud celebration of culture and ambient.

A week of events, including the Source (an interactive global resource for fashion in an exchange for buyers and international media) supported by world class sponsors such as Ben Q, Perrier Jouet Champagne and Schwarzkopf Professional, will see Sydney and the Southern Hemisphere come alive on the fashion front, proving that great design and cutting does not necessarily have to come out of New York, Milan and Paris.

More and more Australian design names are beginning to emerge on the international fashion circuit, from the well-known Dinnigan who shows in Paris to Sass & Bide showing in New York and stores in far away lands that are taking on various Australian labels.

In a little over two weeks in the buzzing brightness of Sydney expect to see fashion gurus, well and strangely dressed international media and buyers looking lost and getting out of Mercedes Benz cars, champagne holding front row chit chat and lipstick smiles, innovative hair and make- up and just plain and simply; great fashion!