IMG’s Final Event in Australia Celebrated the Country’s Leading and Emerging Fashion Designers
Lesleigh Jermanus, co-founder and creative director of Alémais, has been announced as the Designer of the Year at the 2024 Australian Fashion Laureate awards. The ceremony took place at Bennelong restaurant in the Sydney Opera House and marked the final event to be orchestrated by IMG in Australia. This revelation comes after IMG recently disclosed that it would be disbanding its local fashion events division, which also incorporates Australian Fashion Week, a production IMG acquired in 2005.
The Emerging Designer of the Year award was presented to Gabriella Pereira, the designer behind the label Beare Park. Indigenous Designer of the Year was awarded to Grace Lillian Lee, while Laura May and Hannah Gibbs, the founders of Nagnata, were recognized as the Sustainable Designer of the Year. The Carla Zampatti Award for Excellence in Leadership was presented to Andie Halas, the founder of the social enterprise Thread Together – an organization that redistributes surplus new clothing donated by the industry to those in need.
The Australian Fashion Laureate for Lifetime Achievement was awarded to Stephen Bennett, the founder of the Country Road label in 1974.
Natalie Xenita, vice president-managing director of IMG Fashion Events and Properties, Asia-Pacific, expressed her delight about the event saying, “We are thrilled to bring the industry together for our final event to celebrate the accomplishments of Australian designers and industry leaders who have been the driving force behind Australian fashion’s cultural and economic impact this year.”
The announcement on Monday by the Australian Fashion Council informed that it would assume responsibility for AFW’s resort 2026 collections showcase, due to take place in Sydney this May. A working group is currently being formed to oversee the development of the event.
Alémais has been one of the main success stories emerging from AFW, now trading with over 450 stockists across 57 markets. For the financial year ending in June 2024, the brand noted a 52% increase in year-on-year growth and an impressive 184% year-on-year growth in its largest market, the US.
Speaking on the company’s success, Jermanus stated, “It has been pretty wild this last year”. Having held design roles for several local fashion companies, such as Marcs and Zimmermann, Jermanus benefitted greatly from an Export Market Development Grant from the Australian government. This, in combination with her participation in fashion week is reported by Jermanus as giving designers invaluable exposure on a global platform, hinting at her future support for the future of AFW with, “once there’s a bit more of a solid plan [for AFW’s future] and I’m sure that there will be, we would definitely look to support it in whichever way we can”.