 [Photo courtesy of MSFW] |
Dannii Minogue and Sophie Van Den Akker have been named the ambassador and face of Melbourne Spring Fashion Week, Lord Mayor Robert Doyle announced today.
Home grown style icon Dannii is putting her love of Melbourne and fashion behind this year’s Melbourne Spring Fashion Week, while up and coming Melbourne model Sophie Van Den Akker will open and close the evening runway shows. |
In a major coup for the event, Lord Mayor Robert Doyle said Dannii and Sophie would play leading roles in Melbourne Spring Fashion Week.
“We are delighted to welcome home one of Melbourne’s favourites; Dannii Minogue. When Dannii and I discussed the possibility of her being ambassador, I was impressed by her enthusiasm about promoting design, fashion and style in Melbourne,” the Lord Mayor said.
“Joining Dannii as this year’s face of Melbourne Spring Fashion Week is Sophie Van Den Akker, a confident, young, accomplished Melbourne woman. When I first met Sophie, I was struck by how focused she was on her career – both fashion and design – with a Melbourne focus.”
The announcement comes as the City of Melbourne launches its biggest Melbourne Spring Fashion Week yet. More than 150 individual events will appear on the program, 25 more than last year, giving people a true Melbourne fashion experience.
Lord Mayor Robert Doyle said this year’s event will cement Melbourne’s place as the fashion capital.
“Melbourne Spring Fashion Week showcases the very best in local talent. We are proud to have 80 per cent of Melbourne Spring Fashion Week made up of Melbourne designers, more than we have had in any other year,” the Lord Mayor said.
“Everything you see on the runways can be purchased in store, which is something that sets Melbourne Spring Fashion Week apart from other fashion shows. The event drives people into city stores and for every $1 Council spends, $4 is injected into the local economy. A key part of Melbourne Spring Fashion Week is to support local businesses.”
There will be free dusk runway shows at City Square, fashion retail installations as part of Look.Stop.Shop, and an even greater focus on emerging talent with the Spotlight Emerging Designer Series. This series will give final year RMIT fashion students and designers the chance to showcase their designs to a wide audience.
New elements have been blended with event favourites including the hallmark Designer Series, free workshops and runways at City Square, and the Business Series.
The State Government is a major partner of the event and will be joined by Spotlight, Grand Hyatt Melbourne, Kevin Murphy and Nikon as official partners.
Melbourne Spring Fashion Week will take place from Monday 5 September to Sunday 11 2011. For more information, please visit www.melbourne.vic.gov.au/msfw
A focus on up-and-coming talent – the all new Emerging Designer Series
This year MSFW will embrace Melbourne’s up and coming creatives through the Spotlight Emerging Designers Series, which seeks to harness and celebrate this burgeoning talent. The series will include RMIT fourth year design student collections in their debut runway and exhibition and an exciting new emerging designer exhibition.
The Spotlight Emerging Designer Series Exhibition will showcase 12 of Melbourne’s most outstanding emerging designers for the first time in the event’s history. The talented designers have been hand picked by prominent Melbourne stylist and Emerging Designer Exhibition Creative Director, Connel Chiang, and their designs will be exhibited in a creative inner city installation.
Taking Care of Business – Be informed and inspired with the MSFW Business Series
Presented by the Victorian Government, the Business Series will see a selection of local and international experts explore the issues facing Melbourne’s retail, fashion and design landscape. Held over three days, the Business Series will feature key note presentations from the likes of Edward Church, Creative Director of Edward Church Design, John Condilis, Co-Director of Nobody Denim and Erik Lavoie of Vice Magazine USA.
Seminars include Talk the Talk which discusses effective communication for your business using a range of old and new media; The Good Fight looking at best business practices for a viable and competitive future; and When the market gets tough, the smart get creative focusing on the importance of creative initiatives to remain relevant in today’s fashion industry.
Taking Over the City – MSFW is taking fashion to the streets with MSFW@City Square
Over seven action packed days, City Square will play host to a series of runway shows, workshops and fashion experiences throughout the day and into the evening. The space will transform into an exciting and vibrant hub of fashion fun with an entertaining display of dance, live music, free fashion shows and dusk runways.
Every day will feature a new theme, including It’s a Man’s World and Summer Day, Spring Night, and fashion lovers and city onlookers will be encouraged to discover their unique style, watch highlights from the week’s events and attend workshops with industry professionals.
The Hallmark Event – The Designer Series
Delivering insight into the exceptional designs of Australia’s pre eminent fashion talent, the Designer Series will showcase seasonal collections at Melbourne Town Hall. The fashion spectacular will exhibit looks from Megan Park, Gorman, LIFEwithBIRD, White Suede, Aurelio Costarello, Akira, Gwendolynne, Rachel Gilbert and Nicolangela.
Beginning with a gala opening and continuing over four nights showcasing boutique and artisan design, resort wear and cutting edge design, these runways are set to delight fashionistas and inspire spring wardrobes.
Take a Journey with Look.Stop.Shop – activating the entire city
Fashion is everywhere and the newest event on the MSFW program will allow city visitors to take a self guided tour of Melbourne’s fashion and shopping mecca. The 24 hour initiative will showcase fascinating and experiential retail installations as retailers and designers exhibit spectacular window displays and in store fittings, all in the theme of ‘Taking a journey’. Look.Stop.Shop is set to transform the city’s retail landscape during MSFW.