Australia’s premier fashion industry event, Mercedes Benz Fashion Week Australia (MBFWA) has kicked off in Sydney, becoming the only dedicated international Fashion Week to showcase Resort Collections to worldwide audiences.

Minister for Trade, Tourism and Major Events Stuart Ayres today officially opened the event and said the bold decision by the NSW Government and IMG to secure the Resort Collections category provided unique opportunities for Australia’s designers.

“This year we celebrate 21 years of Mercedes Benz Fashion Week Australia and for the first time, we’ve taken a strategic decision to showcase Resort Collections and align the timing of the event with the global fashion calendar,” Mr Ayres said.

“As a culturally sophisticated city of creativity and innovation, it’s appropriate the world’s fashion industry turn its attention to Sydney this week. Sydney is Australia’s fashion capital and our coastal lifestyle, energy and style make our harbour city the perfect destination to showcase Resort Collections.

“The fashion industry may be glamorous but it’s also an important industry for NSW, employing some 68,000 people on average in 2015 across design, manufacturing, wholesaling and retailing and generating retail sales of around $8.3 billion.

“This year’s event will see Australia’s leading designers in the spotlight on the international stage and showcase the NSW fashion industry and Sydney to audiences world-wide.”

MBFWA is being held at Sydney’s Carriageworks from Sunday 15 May to Friday 20 May is supported by the NSW Government through its tourism and major events agency Destination NSW.

An exclusive consumer event, Weekend Edition, will be held in conjunction with MBFWA from Friday 20 May to Saturday 21 May featuring designer runway moments, style sessions and the best of Fashion Week.