Lisa Scaffidi
Perth Fashion Festival Ambassador
I am honoured to be named the Ambassador of the 2009 Perth Fashion Festival and it is always wonderful to welcome you into our fabulous capital city.
As the Lord Mayor I acknowledge the vast benefits that Perth Fashion Festival brings to our capital city and that is why I am so confident about combining the two roles, which I truly believe blend so well together, just like the latest season's fashions!
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The City of Perth is fully committed and believes wholeheartedly in supporting all initiatives that create opportunities for our City's over 900 retail traders - many of whom specialise in fashion and the support to all things fashion related.
Aside from the economic benefit generated by the retail and hospitality trade, fashion enables our city to diversify, understand and feel its sense of self, while also encouraging our talented next generations to be inspired to know they can achieve the successes they crave right here at home, and still achieve international significance.
The Festival organisers are to be congratulated for developing a program that will see events hosted in locations that vary from the city's popular shopping precincts through to some more unconventional spaces.
It is my true belief that occasionally, as a woman in leadership, it doesn't hurt to kick back, let the hair down and throw one's support totally behind all the talented designers here that we have to offer. I am so very proud of what Western Australia's fashion scene can offer you all.
It is an opportunity to celebrate and champion both our fashion design and retail industries... Shopping really does come together in the city and Perth Fashion Festival is an opportunity for us to celebrate the latest fashion and discover new styles that perhaps invite us to challenge the way we all present ourselves, each and every day.
I look forward to what is in store for us in the city this Perth Fashion Festival and encourage you all to embrace your inner fashionista... you never know how much fun you'll have, believe me!
Mariella Harvey-Hanrahan and Tony Sage
Festival Directors
Welcome to Perth Fashion Festival 2009.
Jostling for attention with perennial favorites are many exciting new initiatives which include a Festival first. This year we are fortunate to have not only one, but two Festival Ambassadors. I would like to welcome the always elegant Right Honourable The Lord Mayor Ms Lisa Scaffidi, and the fabulous Tom Bull, a young Western Australian who has recently taken all the best international runways by storm, highlighting Perth on the global scene.
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Perth Fashion Festival (PFF) is a non-profit organisation, dedicated to supporting designers, creatives and fashion retailers from all over WA as they come together to deliver an awesome collaborative spectacular in our glorious city. The Festival presents a kaleidoscope of unique events that are innovative and truly hero superb Western Australian creativity.
The Festival program is WA's largest retail and consumer event and, in 2009 very proudly introduces 'Fashion Paramount' - a spectacular new purpose built venue created within the old Gasworks site. We've created Fashion Paramount to showcase our spectacular WA Collections shows to Perth's appreciative fashion public and an ever increasing media contingent. The Festival aims to create greater awareness and raise the cultural profile of Perth whilst simultaneously showcasing the skills of WA's creative community.
Finally, as an organisation which is heavily dependent on volunteers, sponsors, partners, friends, the audience and the Perth public, this event - the eleventh - would not be possible without your support and assistance - particularly in these challenging economic times.
Thank you! The Festival exists as a result of your collective contribution and is made for your enjoyment. We sincerely hope you enjoy the 2009 experience.
Tim Turner
Chair, Perth Fashion Festival Advisory Board
A new revitalised Advisory Board has provided impetus for Perth Fashion Festival to engage a new and different format and do things a little differently.
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The Board's on-going mandate is to have Perth Fashion Festival engage with all aspects of the immediate community as well as embrace and promote our national identity through the Western Australian fashion industry. To this end we have widened our appeal and accessibility so as everyone can enjoy the Perth Fashion Festival events schedule.
To enable the Board to both widen and vary the platform of events has created new cost challenges, especially in light of the current economic circumstances. This ability to incorporate flexibility as well as growth has been, in the most part, due to our loyal and gracious sponsors who have once again been steadfast in their on going financial commitment to the Festival.
On behalf of the Advisory Board I extend my thanks to all our sponsors.
As Chairman, I invite you to participate in one of Perth's premium community events that celebrates this states talented designers professionally staged in some of Western Australia's iconic locations.
Dr Elizabeth Constable MLA
Minister for Tourism
A warm welcome to the Perth Fashion Festival!
Perth Fashion Festival is Western Australia's largest fashion event celebrating the enormous talent our State contributes to the industry. Western Australia boasts labels such as Ruth Tarvydas and Wheels & Dollbaby, as well as internationally acclaimed models Gemma Ward, Nicole Trunfio, Skye Stracke and Pania Rose, just to name a few.
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The Western Australian Government proudly supports Perth Fashion Festival through Eventscorp's Arts and Cultural Event Scheme. This support has helped elevate the Perth Fashion Festival to new heights, as demonstrated in 2008 with a 50 per cent increase in audience numbers.
This year, the State Government's support has enabled Foxtel's Fashion TV to cover the Festival, which will showcase the catwalk shows across Australia and New Zealand, with the possibility of its distribution going global.
There is an exciting new venue that will host some of the hottest designer runway shows aptly named Fashion Paramount, a character-filled warehouse in a hidden laneway between Wellington Street and Murray Street in the city. The venue will accommodate over 700 guests and the super sleek long track catwalk will best present designers' wares to the public.
I congratulate the Perth Fashion Festival on entering its second decade, and I wish the organisers, designers, models, media and all involved a very successful event.
John Day
Minister for Culture and the Arts
It is an honour to welcome you to this year's Perth Fashion Festival.
The Perth Fashion Festival provides the ideal platform to launch, promote and stimulate interest in the exciting fashion brands, products and services produced here in Western Australia and to attract leading fashion designers and media to Perth.
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The WA Government through the Department of Culture and the Arts has provided $650,000 in funding over three years to assist the Perth Fashion Festival to stage several Western Australian fashion industry events. These include two Designer Collection Showcases featuring Western Australian designers introducing their Spring Summer collections, and presentations by Northbridge and Fremantle retail collectives.
Perth Fashion Festival events provide invaluable promotional opportunities for our State's established and emerging fashion designers, fashion retailers, models, make-up artists, hairdressers, stylists and many, many more sectors of this vibrant and growing industry. Last year alone the Festival itself generated close to $6million in media value for the Western Australian fashion industry. This in turn allows this booming, innovative industry to grow and provide future employment opportunities in our State.
I encourage you to support our local fashion industry and enjoy the creativity, immense talent and hard work that our Western Australian designers offer to you through the Festival.