Rachel Glucina: Something smelled bad at Fashion Week, and it wasn't the whiff of fake tan

Myken and Pieter Stewart with Mayor Len Brown. Photo / Norrie Montgomery.

Something reeked at Fashion Week's opening night bash, where organiser Pieter Stewart called on the Government and Auckland Council to back the event, saying a 12th year couldn't be guaranteed following the struggle to find sponsorship dollars.

She suggested a Fashion Council could be established by the Government "to help run the industry or to help run what's happening with the fashion industry".

That bad smell we could whiff was the wretched stench of a possible taxpayer bailout for a private industry event with a small public element. Unfortunately for most of us, it left a bitter taste in our mouths.

Fashion Week has done well to keep trucking along during these economic doldrums and I believe sponsors will be back onboard when the economy lifts - but is it the place of local or central government to step in and offer and a handout to a business expo because corporate sponsorship has been hard to come by?

What did Stewart have in mind? A fashion taskforce led by His Worship? A Ministry of Frocks at the Beehive?

And is a Fashion Council the answer? Surely one Len Brown council is more than enough.

Is it fair to expect Auckland ratepayers to prop up a national trade show? It's New Zealand Fashion Week - not Auckland Fashion Week. And let's not forget, Aucklanders have just built the $32m Viaduct Events Centre where it was held.

Fashion Industry executive officer Mapihi Opai told NewstalkZB this week council was involved but there needed to be more help than that.

She said the Stewart family business had been doing a great job staging the event every year but resources were limited. "Just imagine how much better it could be if support was there."

However, councillor Cameron Brewer believes it is not up to council to spend rates on a national trade show to grow our export industry. He's looking to his cronies in Parliament.

"The Government is the first to talk up New Zealand's creativity when they're trying to sell the country overseas. Maybe it's time for Wellington to put its money where its mouth is," Brewer said.

Should the Ministry of Economic Development throw our taxes at a glamour showcase? Insiders quip it's not called Club MED for nothing.

John Key told me the fashion industry was highly valued by the government but no discussions have taken place and no promises could be made. "But if we are the government after November 26, I would be happy to sit down and have a chat with them," he said.

With Cantabrians still facing serious hardship and 40,000 kids going to school each day hungry, most Kiwis would scoff at the prospect of the Government fronting a Fashion Council or funding a frock show that generates more than its due in press exposure but significantly less in tangible export sales.

We want to smell the fragrant scent of success for our fashion industry, but we don't want it to reek of disadvantage or detriment to those we may deem more worthy of our hard-earned tax dollars.

- Herald on Sunday / View