Graeme Lewsey

Chief Executive Officer of VAMFF, Australia

With a burning passion for fashion, creativity and innovation, Graeme Lewsey has made his way to the top as the CEO of the Virgin Australia Melbourne Fashion Festival (VAMFF).

As a graduate of arts and design from RMIT University, he describes himself as a “moth that’s attracted to everything and anything that’s creative”.

He was awarded ‘Australian Young Designer of The Year’ by Woolmark after graduating from the Bachelor of Arts in RMIT. It followed with more than a decade of working with leading fashion brands, retailers and marketing agencies in Europe.

But it didn’t start off so smoothly as Graeme candidly recalls that he disliked how Australia was rather awkward and backward in fashion when he was a young graduate.

“I grew up in the outskirts of Melbourne and desperately wanted to be part of the fashion scene, but Australia at that time was so slow,” said Graeme.

After graduating, he went to London and had the opportunity to work on incredible projects where he stayed on for about 12 years.

Graeme climbed the ladder quickly by working hard and networking- “going to the right parties and met the right people, some were movers and shakers of the industry”, he quipped.

The big highlight of his career was working with acclaimed fashion designer, Paul Smith.

“He suggested that I’ll be great with PR and marketing and I went to become a small PR officer for the Paul Smith brand.”

Graeme finally returned to Australia in 1997 and found that it changed. “It was suddenly new and the country had become more connected to Europe and Asia.

“We’re very conscious about trends and we pick up things quickly as we’re very fortunate to live in this environment where designers are easily inspired. Resort wear and sophisticated casual wear is a big thing in the industry. We’re also adopting a lot of inspiration from countries in Asia.”

He thinks that the tourism industry is also evolving from the traditional tourist spots to the growth of a more sophisticated retail tourism.

“They want to see art, fashion and the lifestyle. Tourists are enjoying what bespoke Australian designers have to offer. If we can make it big in Asia, that’ll be a terrific outcome for our industry.”

Graeme claims that the much anticipate VAMFF (held from March 7-13) is different from other festivals because it is consumer centric – not just for the big wigs or VIPs.

“We have a big budget for our shows because we have to replicate the quality and effect of high-end runway shows of Paris and London as that’s what visitors are expecting.”

The show is starting to engage on the international marketplace where there are Chinese and Indonesian designers showcasing the best of their creative works.

无时无刻都紧贴着时尚、创意与革新激情燃烧的岁月，造就维珍澳大利亚墨尔本时装节(VAMFF)首席执行员Graeme Lewsey的时尚巅峰。

这名皇家墨尔本理工大学(RMIT)艺术设计科系的毕业生，自我描绘是“被任何创意思维吸引的飞蛾。”他自RMIT本科毕业后获得由澳大利亚羊毛标志公司(Woolmark)颁发的“年度澳大利亚青年设计师”。随后在欧洲与领先的时尚品牌，销售和营销机构工作逾10年。

Graeme坦率回忆说，年轻毕业生时尚之路开展不顺遂，他在墨尔本郊区长大，虽然拼命想成为时尚舞台的一部分，可当年澳大利亚时尚拓展非常缓慢。毕业后，他去了伦敦，因缘巧合度过12年不可思议的美好契机历练。

透过辛勤努力和延伸人脉，他迅速获得往上攀爬的机缘。“加入了优秀团队和遇上对的人，有些是业界呼风唤雨的推动者。”

职业生涯的一大亮点是与著名时装设计师PaulSmith一起工作，由于对方肯定Graeme宣传和营销方面的杰出表现，所以邀请他成为自主品牌的公关主管。

1997年，当他终于回到澳大利亚发现有了变化。“完全耳目一新”，时尚角度转变并连接欧洲和亚洲。

“我们对趋势的意识清晰，迅速做出配合，非常幸运生活在启发与鼓舞设计人员的环境中，其中度假服装和精致休闲装设计是首要任务，很多灵感也取材自亚洲国家。”

他认为，旅游行业也从传统旅游景点转型为更深入的营销旅游模式演变。“游客希望看到艺术，时尚和生活方式，也在享受澳大利亚设计师所呈现的独特面貌。如果扩大至亚洲，那将是业界喜闻乐见的。”

Graeme Lewsey表示，3月7日-15日举行的VAMFF迥异于其他节目，是以一般消费者为中心- 不仅是为名人或者贵宾打造。

“我们在节目中想要复制巴黎和伦敦的高端走秀表演效果，相信也是观众所期待的。”而表演节目也有国际市场的倾情参与，来自中国和印尼的设计师展现创意作品。