SYDNEY – IMG Fashion Events & Properties said Wednesday it is terminating its Australian fashion events division, which produces Australian Fashion Week and the Australian Fashion Laureate awards.
The 2024 edition of the Australian Fashion Laureate, scheduled for Nov. 21, will be IMG’s last fashion event in the country.
The Australian talent management division and IMG Models Sydney will be unaffected by the decision and continue to conduct business as usual, the company said.
The announcement leaves Australian Fashion Week’s resort 2026 collections showcase in limbo.
In August, IMG announced the event was scheduled to run at Sydney’s Carriageworks from May 12-16 2025, with Danish jeweller Pandora confirmed as Presenting Partner for the second consecutive year.
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Pandora’s local division declined to comment, however it is understood the company was blindsided by the announcement, only learning about it on Tuesday.
“We are incredibly proud of IMG’s many accomplishments leading Australian Fashion Week for the last 20 years” Natalie Xenita, vice president and managing director of IMG Fashion Events Asia, said in a statement. ”The event has played a key role in ushering the industry forward. We navigated a changing industry by introducing new initiatives including the strategic refocus on resort collections, a consumer integrated model that has been replicated globally, waiving participation fees to support designers since the pandemic, and hosting the first-ever Indigenous designer shows”.
Founded by Simon Lock in 1996, the event was purchased by IMG in 2005. Until 2023, when fintech company Afterpay terminated its three-year partnership, the event had never been without a naming rights sponsor since its inception, starting with Mercedes-Benz, then Australian winemaker Rosemount, then Mercedes-Benz again for a second stint.
A reflection of the challenging economic climate, show numbers were down in 2024: 36 over five days, down from 45 in 2023, with 28 designers doing solo shows, down from 40 in 2023.
In June, local media speculated that AFW was on the block for the asking price of one million Australian dollars or $666,950 at average exchange rates. IMG declined to comment at the time, dismissing the reports as “rumours”.
“From a corporate perspective it’s an asset type category that William Morris Endeavour doesn’t want to participate in any more – having said that it doesn’t mean that AFW is a financial basket case” said Lock, the founder, chairman and chief executive officer of B2B marketplace Ordre.com. He said he was not surprised by the announcement given the restructuring that has been occurring at IMG parent WME as it prepares to go private in 2025.
One white knight could come in the form of the Australian Fashion Council. An AFC spokesperson told WWD that the future of the event is due to be discussed at the next annual general meeting on Dec. 5.
“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” said AFC chair Marianne Perkovic and AFC chief executive officer Jaana Quaintance-James in a joint statement released Wednesday.
“The AFC, as the peak body for fashion and textiles in Australia, will lead this conversation” they added. “We will work with members, government and other stakeholders to consider the future platform needed to position and elevate Australian fashion internationally”.
“The dynamics of the fashion industry have changed, fashion weeks themselves have changed and it is an opportune time to plan a new future for the event” said Lock, adding that as the custodian of Australian Fashion Week and the Australian Fashion Laureate, it behooves IMG to take into consideration the application of those assets for the benefit of the industry.
“From my perspective the future absolutely needs to be guided by the AFC as a non-profit organisation. That’s where the event lies and certainly in my discussions with IMG, I will do everyone that I can to facilitate that happening”.