Strong female designers dominate fashion fest

Move over Wayne Cooper, Akira and Ksubi.

The new designers rocking the runway are young, business-savvy fashion femmes who have made Rosemount Australian Fashion Week their launch pad.

The unmissable trend at this year's RAFW is a new generation of female designers attracting the lion's share of buyer and media attention led by Bianca Spender, Alice McCall, Kym Ellery, Theresa Rawsthorne and Ruby Smallbone.

Veteran designer Carla Zampatti attributes this vital shift to the fashion industry finally offering sustainable career opportunities.

"The industry is growing and it's fashionable to be a fashion designer, and a lot of kids go through college. A lot of them might have gone into other areas in the past, but fashion has become a possible career today," said Zampatti who launched her luxury label in 1965.

Business beyond the runway

She agrees this year's Fashion Week has being particularly strong on female designers because their business sense has grown along with their creativity.

"I think they understand it's a business as well as the creative (aspect), and I think they understand the responsibility of that business, and I think women are a little more cautious and they are survivors."

David Jones, which stocks dynamic young players such as Alice McCall and Bianca Spender, is conscious of the need to help young designers understand the business beyond the runway.

"We teach them how to do business in a much more structured way," says David Bush, the department store's general manager of women's wear, sitting in the front row at Alice McCall's show.

Designers can come out of design school with lots of creativity "but not necessarily too much business smarts", he says.

Being stocked by the major retailer "formalises the business processes they need to work towards to be successful", he explains.

"Also I think it gives them a real window into a market place, which I also think is really important."