A fashion insider has revealed why Australian Fashion Week has evolved from one of the country’s most prestigious events to one that A-list celebrities now shun.
For 27 years fashion leaders and international stars have been photographed along the catwalk – but now the time has come taken over by reality stars and micro-influencers crowding the shows and the coveted front row.
Top fashionistas were nowhere to be seen on the first two days of the 2023 event, with notable no-shows from ‘it girl’ and front-row regular Nadia Fairfax-Wayne, Bondi influencer Elle Ferguson and celebrity stylist Elliot Garnaut.
Jasmine Stefanovic and sister Jade Yarbrough also found other things to do.
And while the Kardashians, Paris Hilton, and Bella Hadid have been spotted down the runway in recent years, don’t expect them to pop up again in the next few days.
Kim and Khloe Kardashian with Lara Bingle at Australian Fashion Week in 2008
‘Influencers’ and Former MAFS Contestant Nasser Sultan (Yellow Shirt) Attend AFW 2023
Fashion influencer Nadia Fairfax-Wayne skipped this year’s event
Daily Mail Australia is told that even Barbie actress Margot Robbie will not appear despite being in Sydney.
On Monday, the Gold Coast-raised beauty was photographed at The Butler eatery in Potts Point with her brother Cameron Robbie, producer, husband Tom Ackerley and Vogue Australia editor-in-chief Christine Centenera.
Centenera, who lives in the US, did manage to support local fashion with the mother-of-two attending Michael Lo Sordo’s Monday night show with former editor Edwina McCann.
However, newlyweds Rita Ora and Taika Waititi, who have never shied away from coordinating outfits at international fashion shows, have yet to stop by to see local designers despite being in Sydney.
Vogue Australia editor Christina Centenera (left) next to former editor Edwina McCann (right) at AFW 2023
Model Jenifer Hawkins – once a staple of the event – was nowhere to be seen among the fashion set, while Delta Goodrem has opted to perform in the Maldives.
The event, which kicked off Monday, has instead seen a steady stream of former reality stars and unknown influencers descend on Eveleigh Carriageworks in Sydney so far.
Last year, Married At First Sight “bad guy” Olivia Frazer was confused when she attended Fashion Week last year. But that didn’t stop her from landing in the front row at some shows on Mondays and Tuesdays.
Former MAFS contestants and now podcasters Domenica Calarco and Ella Ding brought a 1920s look in INSTOCK glitter and sheer tights, while combative influencer Jadé Tuncdoruk bounced back from her brow-raising faux pas at last year’s fashion week when she went head-to-head. – teen Louis Vuitton.
Imogen Anthony, famous as the former partner of radio host Kyle Sandilands, sat in the front row at the Yousef Akbar show wearing a knitted skirt and matching headpiece with a white tank top.
On Tuesday, serial red carpet bully and former MAFS star Nasser Sultan was seen sitting second row at the Erik Yvon show among a sea of relatively unknown social media identities.
Paris Hilton stormed the runway for Wayne Cooper’s show at Australian Fashion Week in Melbourne in 2003
He was escorted out by security after being apprehended posing as a reporter.
An insider revealed, “Nasser posed as a journalist and asked the dumbest questions. It was clear that he was out of his depth. But it was a joke until security got wind of it.”
“Security told him they remembered him from last year and he was on guard. They wanted him to stay away from shows he wasn’t invited to because brands clearly didn’t want him there.”
Podcasters and former reality stars Ella Ding (left) and Domenica Calarco had their ‘street style’ photo for Michael Lo Sordo
According to an anonymous fashion publicist, celebrities have avoided the spectacle in recent years.
In 2008, Kim Kardashian sat in the front row with her sister Khloé at the Ruth Tarvydas runway show.
OC star Mischa Barton was also a front row regular at Kirrily Johnston’s show that same year.
Paris Hilton stormed the runway for Wayne Cooper’s show at Australian Fashion Week in Melbourne in 2003.
Years later, Bella Hadid came by from Cannes to walk the runway of the Misha Collection Resort 17 show in May 2016.
“Fashion Week in Sydney is traditional for the fashion industry, and something that reality stars and influencers aspire to, not celebrities. If you’re into style, you don’t have to run around fashion week four times a day to change outfits. It screams despair.’
The industry insider added that designers and PRs have to pay the big celebrities to attend and even then it’s rare.
“They don’t want to be part of the circus outside among those desperate for a picture.”