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Paris, Milan and New York may be the undisputed headquarters of world fashion, but organisers of Sydney's fashion week say their catwalk schedule has firmly placed the Australian city on the global circuit.

English model Lily Cole parades a design from the Charlie Brown label during Australian Fashion Week in Sydney
© AFP/File Greg Wood

"We are number four because this year we've had more designers on our schedule than London fashion week," Simon Lock, who founded Australian Fashion Week 11 years ago, told AFP.

"We're not saying we're better than other fashion weeks in the world. But we are proud that we are now the fourth largest fashion week in the world (behind Paris, Milan and New York)."

Sydney's five-day event, which also showcases young designers from around Asia and the Pacific, is among the top catwalk fairs in the world, agrees Brandusa Niro, editor-in-chief of New York Fashion Week publication The Daily.

"Sydney is the fifth, if not the fourth. In many ways it's stronger than London. Sydney just feels fashion," Niro told The Australian newspaper.

With 88 designers holding collection shows, more than 60 brands exhibiting at the Sydney venues and a further 40-odd fashion agencies represented at on-site suites, the industry-only Australian Fashion Week Spring/Summer 2006/07 event has attracted some 300 buyers from around the world.

A model parades a design for the Tight Knickers label during Australian Fashion Week in Sydney
© AFP/File Greg Wood

Wholesale orders for 2005 from fashion week were in the vicinity of 50 to 60 million dollars (37.8 to 45.4 million US) but Lock said he was confident of improving on this figure this year because of the increased number of buyers and collections at the event which ends Sunday.

"Maybe 10 to 15 percent on top of that (50 to 60 million dollars) figure, that would be our hope," he said.

Designer Jayson Brunsdon, whose romantic collection included day and evening wear inspired by Audrey Hepburn, said buyers from Indonesia, Greece, Italy and the United States had already placed orders for his designs after his show on Wednesday.

"It's amazing how international it has become," he said of Sydney fashion week, the country's largest. "Every year that we've done fashion week the business has basically doubled."

"You get interest from places you thought you would never get interest from."

Sandra Nori, New South Wales Minister for Tourism, Sport and Recreation, said fashion was becoming an increasingly important economic asset for the state, which accounts for about 35 percent of the nation's clothing industry.

Nori said there had been a "quantum leap" in interest from Asia this year, particularly China.

"It's not hard to work out that China is a large market. They like a lot of things Australian," she said.

Models parade fashions from the Zambesi label during Australian Fashion Week in Sydney
© AFP/File Greg Wood

But the minister said while each year another major foreign chain or department store began stocking Australian designs for the first time, it was hoped that the follow-on effects of the country's biggest fashion gathering would include increased tourism and business investment in the country.

"Fashion is not about the garment. It's a much broader message that speaks of Australian creativity and innovation," she told AFP.

"It's the design, it's getting the message out there that our designers are worth having in their shops."

Nori said it was important that Australia projected an image than went "beyond the love of sport" during the five days of catwalks featuring designs from Alice McCall, Kirrily Johnston, Camilla, Marc, Lover, Cohen et Sabine and Josh Groot among others.

"We are all the things people think we are... but we are also a hell of a lot more," she said.

Buyers agreed that Sydney fashions often reflected the laid-back Australian lifestyle.

"Australian labels generally have a young feel," said buyer for New York Fifth Avenue store Henri Bendel, Anthony Legouri. "They are a little more casual and relaxed like your lifestyle," he told The Australian.

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