Australian Fashion Week is like a John Farnham concert. You don’t realise how much you will miss it until the chance of it happening again becomes slimmer than a supermodel.

With the announcement that former entertainment juggernaut IMG has abandoned responsibility for the annual event they have owned and operated since 2005, feathers and egos have been left ruffled like an Aje dress.

The event’s future is in peril. How will Australian designers be able to host a runway show? Can models still get their step count up to 10,000 a day on the runway? Where can people be photographed wearing completely impractical and irrelevant outfits and end up in online galleries?

It would be laughable if it wasn’t so serious.

The Dion Lee show at the Sydney Opera House at Australian Fashion Week in 2011.Credit: Lorin Askill

Before Australia’s premier runway event became susceptible to the same commercial and structural challenges facing more established fashion weeks in London and New York, it was a springboard for creative talent leading to billion dollar industries.

I remember seeing Zimmermann grow from swimsuits and resort dresses to floral masterpieces at Australian Fashion Week. Camilla Franks took her brand beyond kaftans into accessories, jackets and dresses in shows that bordered on operas with their........

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