Australian Fashion Week Bumps Up The Pressure With New Location And Earlier Date

Across the Pacific and 15 time zones away on Friday, the Mercedes-Benz Australian Fashion Week lineup was announced -- but with a twist. The catwalk this year is being transported from the picturesque Overseas Passenger Terminal, with its undeniable Sydney Harbour Views, to The CarriageWorks, a retired train workshop in the inner-city suburb of Eveleigh.

Set for its start April 8, Australia’s fash pack is quickly getting into gear. Amongst the lineup are seasoned regulars such as Alex Perry, Lisa Ho and Manning Cartell, and brother-sister duo Camilla and Marc are set to open the week-long frock fest, marking their 10-year anniversary at Australian Fashion Week.

Noticeably absent from the lineup was Zimmermann, Josh Goot, Dion Lee and Willow, who are arguably the most popular designers of the past few season. Since Australian Fashion Week has been bumped up a month earlier this year, designers have been under a time and pressure crunch to finish their collections, not to mention a less than desirable location change.

Another spotlight on this year’s affair is the significant increase in emerging, young designers such as Kahlo, Phoenix Keating and Project Runway Season 4 winner Christina Exie.

Set to welcome more than 25,000 guests, the week promises to be jam-packed with fashion shows celebrating runway regulars as well as debuting designers.

The Mercedes Benz Australian Fashion Week 2013 run April 8 to 14.

Georgia Graham is a graduate of Bond University in Queensland with a degree in Property and Sustainable Development. She is currently working for Pacific Magazines in her hometown of Sydney, Australia.