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The trade
show would feature only swimwear and resort wear and would
be modelled on Miami's Mercedes-Benz Fashion Week.
GCFW marketing
manager Kelly Weiler said a lack of public support, combined
with bad timing, had hampered last year's inaugural event.
"There
are fashion weeks all over Australia and we found (GCFW) was
a bit the same," Ms Weiler said.
"We
would have loved a bit more public support. We're trying to
find a niche for the Gold Coast . . . so that we can stand
out from everyone else and make people want to come here.
"If
we base it all on swimwear and resort wear, that will be our
niche, and it's typical of the Gold Coast."
Last year's
event co-ordinator Rycki Symons, who has stood down due to
work commitments, said he was disappointed the event would
not be held this year.
"It
will be a huge, huge shame if 2009 doesn't happen," Mr
Symons said. "Good or bad, the publicity created a lot
of hype last year and, theoretically, for a first-year event,
it was an enormous success and they should have ridden off
that success."
Maddison
Gabriel, now 13, who was at the centre of the controversy
over the choice of a child model as the face of the Gold Coast's
first fashion week, has just signed a contract with top New
York modelling agency Elite.
Ms Weiler
said a competition to find a face for Gold Coast Fashion Week
Swim '09 would go ahead, but there would be an age limit of
16 for entrants.
No national
designers have committed to the event as yet, but Gold Coast
swimwear designer Bec Cooper is keen to show her label, Mr
Julius.
"I
like the fact it will angled more at the swimwear," Ms
Cooper said, adding the timing of last year's event was its
downfall.
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