The human peacocks are primed and the street-style snappers are in position – Fashion Week is upon us for another year but this year, times have changed. No longer will industry insiders and international buyers be privy to our upcoming spring-summer trends, 2016 is all about "Resort".
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Despite Karl Lagerfeld showcasing Chanel's resort wear in Cuba recently, Sydney will be the first city in the world to officially stage resort wear shows from Sunday when Toni Maticevski kicks off the week-long show with an event at Barangaroo.
Traditionally, resort wear was made with the jet-set customers of major fashion houses in mind. The terms "cruise" and "resort" stem from the needs of northern hemisphere customers requiring clothing for their summer holidays.
"Resort referred to a specific collection created for luxury customers, looking to purchase summer pieces for holidays taken while it is winter in their home country," Head of Fashion for IMG Asia Pacific Emily Weight said. "Designers now create resort collections more as a capsule wardrobe between seasons. This enables them to take advantage of the fact that these collections spend the most amount of time on the retail floor."
Weight said the changes, or "evolution", of Fashion Week Australia, sponsored by Mercedes Benz, came about due to "industry feedback and to further drive business and export opportunities for our local designers".
Some looks by TOME, Discount Universe and Yeojin Bae will be available to purchase online immediately after this week's shows, while other collections will start to appear in stores from September.
The shift in focus to resort and staging the shows a month later than usual has attracted an unprecedented amount of international media and buyers.
"More international buyers than ever before will be in attendance, including key resort, swim and athleisure focused buyers from Bergdorf Goodman, Harvey Nichols and Selfridges," Weight said.
"The new scheduling in May aligns with the beginning of the global sales window for these lucrative retail collections, offering greater trade opportunity for designers," NSW Minister for Trade, Tourism and Major Events Stuart Ayres said. "There really is no better place to showcase these collections than Sydney. Our coastal lifestyle, energy and glamour resonate with resort style."
Designers who are returning to the official schedule this year include Emma Mulholland, who will stage her third Fashion Week Australia show on Wednesday after taking a break last year.
Expect to see swimwear and what she calls "crazy stand-out pieces" that can be paired back with simple wardrobe staples. "My designs usually have a trans-seasonal look about them anyway and with the weather the way it is resort could be worn year round really," Mulholland said.
Emma Mulholland is already available in major international retailers like e-boutique Nasty Gal and Harvey Nichols in Hong Kong but she is hoping to secure more stockists from the showcase, a project which is one of her most costly exercises.
"It's expensive to stage a show but doing things on a smaller budget allows you to be more creative in a way."
Another big name returning to MBFWA is Camilla Franks who will host a preview of her African-inspired resort collection for media and her stockists Net-A-Porter and ShopBop.
The "kaftan queen" is renowned for staging theatrical shows, with her last event in 2013, which included teepees, a petting zoo and Georgia May Jagger storming the catwalk in Centennial Park, costing about $300,000.
"This year I was given a very humble budget which I have exceeded by about 10," she laughed. "The most important thing is how the audience feels when they leave."
