The beacon of fun, fashion and style for the sunshine state the Mercedes-Benz Fashion Festival Brisbane is always seen as the celebration of the year for the industry and fashion fans. Sadly in 2020, the organisers have had to make the call to cancel this year’s events.
The decision was an extremely difficult one to make, however after much deliberation and considering all possible scenarios; organisers concluded that this year’s event would not be viable given health and safety concerns as well as financial strain due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Mercedes-Benz Fashion Festival Brisbane Director, Mr Lindsay Bennett, said that while he and key stakeholders had hoped the Festival’s scheduled date for late August would help, with so much uncertainty, it was not feasible to organise the Festival in a way that would provide a fitting outcome for designers, sponsors, and ticketholders.
“While we hope that the world is past the peak of this terrible pandemic and well on its way to recovery soon, it is just too uncertain right now how long social distancing measures will need to be kept in place, and what kind of financial position the industry will be in at the time the Fashion Festival was planned to go ahead,” Mr Bennett said.
“We would not want to put our designers and sponsors in the position of preparing for the event, with the possibility of it needing to be cancelled last-minute. Many industries, including our local Queensland and Australian fashion industries, are in an extremely difficult position right now.
“Our hope was to provide the Fashion Festival as a beacon for the industry and to invite designers and our fashion-loving public for a much-needed celebration come August, so we are truly devastated to have to make this call. However, the health, safety and wellbeing of all involved is our utmost priority,” Mr Bennett said.
Organisers express their heartfelt gratitude to a number of long-term Festival Partners who had committed their support to this year’s event.
Mercedes-Benz Fashion Festival Brisbane is, as always, dedicated to promoting and celebrating the local Queensland and Australian fashion industry. While the 2020 event is unable to proceed, organisers encourage people to continue supporting the local industry.
“We understand that many are doing it tough right now, and our local designers are among them. We would encourage those who are still shopping online to choose Queensland and Australian brands, to help keep our talented creatives afloat,” Mr Bennett said.
Mercedes-Benz Fashion Festival Brisbane organisers look forward to staging this celebration of local Spring/Summer fashion once again in 2021. In the meantime, the Festival team will continue to use its available platforms, such as social media, to promote local designers and help fashion lovers connect with local brands.
