Fashion Lacks Funds

Written by Liria Ramirez

Standing across from the old gasworks building in the unfashionable side of Perth city, it is hard to imagine how it has been transformed into the stiletto-friendly Fashion Paramount, the venue that hosts stand alone shows for the legendary Western Australian designer Ruth Tarvydas.

The sassy models strut down the runway wearing plunging, sexy, silk gowns that can be found in high end Harrods London, the world’s most luxurious department store.

These gowns can make any woman feel like a goddess.

But one fact still remains; the Perth Fashion Festival is a non-for-profit event, and non-for-profit means lack of funding.

On paper it is an uphill battle for the WA Fashion scene.

 Tourism

Perth is thousands of kilometres away from international markets and the small population means the local garment manufacturing industry is small too.

The isolation makes it expensive for local designers to showcase their wares at interstate or overseas events.

While most would think that the Perth Fashion Festival is a perfect solution to the geographical problem, Tourism Minister Liz Constable has been accused of turning her back on the event, although she acknowledges the positive impact the event has on tourism.

“This year’s event attracted significant interest and increase in visitors to the state,” said Ms Constable.

 Funding

The real panic set in this year when the Barnett government refused to commit to a $200,000 a year funding deal put in place by the former Labor government, for a festival that costs $1 million.

The pressure is on for Festival Founder and Director Mariella Harvey-Hanrahan, who accepts the funding setback.

“This is how things go when you are non-for-profit,” said Ms Harvey–Hanrahan.

‘Sometimes I think that it’s all too hard, it’s not a job for everyone.”

NSW and Victoria support more

Meanwhile, the L’Oreal Melbourne Fashion Festival and the Rosemount Sydney Fashion Festival receive millions of dollars from the government every year.

“Unlike the east coast festivals, which get millions unwritten form State Government and we, in comparison, get nowhere near that,” said Ms Harvey-Hanrahan.

In 2007, the Department of Culture and Arts announced that it would fund the event for three years until 2010.

Currently, the funds are allocated specifically for the support and promotion of the Western Australian designer fashion industry, to increase awareness of local designers and increase awareness of business opportunities.

 Government Support

Organisers say there is a long list of reasons why the Perth Fashion festival deserves government support.

It showcases top WA label Wheels & Dollbaby, which attracts celebrities like international supermodel-and-turned actress Jerry Hall.

The Department of Culture and Arts is one of the major government sponsors and supporters and it designers are maximising their efforts on the national markets when possibilities for the international market drop.

This is positive for the national industry as it ensures that high quality products are more accessible within Australia and designers can work on increasing their profit.

A new trend the Department of Culture and Arts has noticed is that the WA fashion industry is becoming more entrepreneurial with an increasing number of designers establishing their own retail outlets.

 Exposure

The Festival is responsible for launching the career of emerging and talented designer Alison Cotton’s label Joveeba, who has experienced growth in sales.

This trend is extremely important in WA as it contributes to the State’s appeal as a tourist destination.

The Perth Fashion Festival continues to support the careers of models Emily Cattermole, who headlines many of the prominent, Stand Alone shows and has a strong chance of becoming the first indigenous supermodel.

Other international models include Nicole Trufino, Simone Kerr, Emma Booth and Gemma Ward, who is now the face of the prestigious label Burberry.

The festival generates $80,000 for WA models alone and also gives them international exposure, namely Fashion TV, a major media partner.

A 2009 pilot survey study indicates that the festival‘s overall economic impact on Western Australia exceeds $7.7 million.

This includes consumers spending on fashion, entertainment and travel directly impacting before and after the festival.

Furthermore, all the clothing, footwear and accessories shown on the catwalk are available in stores immediately after each parade.

An impressive 92.1 per cent of all attendees indicated that they would return to festival the following year.

Criticisms

Perth Fashion Festival Operations Manager Rachel Kemp has a realistic outlook on the lack of funding.

“The lack of pools of available funding, for example the City of Perth, Eventcorp and the Department of Culture and Arts, already fund to a high capacity,” said Ms Kemp.

“This is why the festival needs to source alternate funds from government and lobby for more funding opportunities,” said Ms Kemp.

Perth Fashion Festival 2010 Business Development Manager Lewis James Wright is not shaken by the funding crisis.

“We created corporate entertainment packages as part of the strategic business development structure,” said Mr Wright.

“We are still not matching government support, but we are very much moving in that direction,” said Mr Wright.

However there are many people who criticise the way in which funds are spent.

A common criticism is that too much is spent on public relations instead of going towards practical support of the designers.

Critics also argue that the festival is too long given the size of the WA fashion industry and it should focus on a couple of really prominent events.

There are 130 designers and 100 models participating in 56 events across seven days.

Other criticisms include that it can cost designers up to $30,000 to put on a runway show, which attracts thousands of dollars in sponsorship that just go towards marketing the event.

While the question on every fashionista’s mind is what will make the 2011 Festival bigger than 2010, the only question on Mariella Harvey–Harahan’s mind is where will the money come from?