Garance Doré for Westfield

It's been a busy day in Sydney today, with three off-schedule Australian Fashion Week events on - five days before the main event kicks off down at the Overseas Passenger Terminal. First up this morning was an unveiling of eight illustrations done by French illustrator/photographer/blogger Garance Doré for Westfield's winter launch at its Bondi Junction mall. I was on deck earlier than most, because I had been asked to conduct a Q&A with Doré on a small podium*. Here is Westfield's short video recap, below. The event was staged in the atrium behind Kam Fook on level 6, with light streaming through the floor-to-ceiling glass windows. It was obviously a little hard for me to take notes at the same time, but Doré's interesting, and heartfelt, commentary about blogging included mention of the fact that representatives from brands whose shows she now attends have been known to call asking where their coverage is - to which she replies (words to the effect), that she'll put on the blog what she damn well likes. "I'm not their friend" noted Doré - which was interesting, following her earlier comment that "bloggers are not journalists".

Garance Doré and Scott Schuman head back to Australia

jean-philippe delhomme via oftenenamorado

Well it's not quiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiite the same as sitting front row on the OS show circuit, but last year's power blogger frow could almost be about to reassemble in Sydney. Well, with the exception of Bryanboy, who sadly can't make it down. We already know that Canada's Tommy Ton is heading down to next month's Rosemount Australian Fashion Week. Ditto Susie Bubble, who has claimed that she would have been part of Dolce e Gabbana's new media publicity stunt in September, had she not had to return to London. Well frockwriter can reveal that French street style photographer/illustrator/blogger Garance Doré is coming to Australia at the end of April and, according to well-placed sources, intends to stay on for RAFW.

Commissioned by Westfield to create a series of illustrations of Australian designers, Doré will unveil the drawings at launches in Sydney and Melbourne. Doré's partner Scott Schuman, aka The Sartorialist, is expected to accompany her.

If all goes to plan, this will make the second consecutive RAFW for the First Couple of fashion blogging, after Schuman was brought down to the event by Tourism Australia last year and Doré accompanied him.

On the record: The Sartorialist

The Sartorialist heading to RAFW

christopher peterson/wikimedia

Rosemount Australian Fashion Week is shaping up to be a very interesting event, in more ways than one. Given how many media players are piling onto Twitter, Twitter promises to revolutionise RAFW, as it did the just-wrapped FW0910 northern hemisphere season. Had an interesting chat yesterday with RAFW communications director Graeme Lewsey, who mentioned that bloggers may have a much greater prominence at this year's event. This is interesting, given the coverage generated by bloggers at last year's event - notably Bryanboy. Lewsey hinted that an even more highprofile blogger may be en route out. Coincidentally, in last week's London Times profile, the world's best-known street style photographer Scott Schuman, of The Sartorialist, mentioned he is en route downunder. Frockwriter has just heard that plans are afoot, via Tourism Australia, to bring Schuman down for RAFW (now confirmed by IMG). With The Sartorialist the only fashion blog on Technorati's Top 100 blogs - out of 130 millions blogs tracked - and Schuman's claim of three million monthly visitors, it promises to give RAFW one of the biggest publicity boosts it has had in some time. One that would be further magnified, should Schuman bring his girlfriend, high profile French street style blogger, Garance Doré (30/03: IMG reports that he plans to do just that).