Running from April 30 to May 4, the event brings together the cream of Australia's growing fashion world, with a selection of local industry leaders getting the chance to strut-their-stuff before an international audience of potential buyers and open contracts. "I'm very pleased to announce that we have hand-picked five local fashion icons to act as Fashion Ambassadors for Sydney and New South Wales during Mercedes-Benz Fashion Week Australia," Deputy Premier Stoner said.

　　Holding the Trade and Investment portfolio ensures the weeklong event keeps Stoner's close attention every year, with Australian retail turnover relatively stagnant despite a 2.5 percent rise in February 2012 compared with the same month last year.

　　Stoner announced a group of leading local fashion designers as event ambassadors, allowing Australian brands to get precious airtime in a global industry that doesn't keep much time down under. "These designers are all well-known throughout Australia and the world for their signature designs -- Camilla Franks for her colorful graphic prints, Camilla Freeman-Topper for modern silhouettes with her brother Marc, Dion Lee for his structured tailoring, Rachel Gilbert for her luxury embellishments, and Terry Biviano for her highly coveted shoe designs,"Stoner said.

　　Among the big names for the 2012 Fashion Week will be international guests including Rumi Neely from Los Angeles, Natalie Joos from New York, Bryan Boy from Manila and Candice Lake and Kirsty Hathaway from London.

　　The NSW government, through Destination NSW, is a major supporter of Mercedes-Benz Fashion Week Australia, which is a major highlight on the NSW Events Calendar.

　　Fashion is becoming an important industry for Sydney and the state of NSW, employing some 66,000 people across design, manufacturing, wholesaling and retailing, and generating an income of around 7.5 billion U.S. dollars each year. "These days many international celebrities head straight to The Intersection in Paddington after touching down in Sydney, snapping up the latest offering from Sydney-based designers. Sydney has an exciting fashion, dining and arts culture, making our city the perfect stop for the stylish traveler,"Rachel Gilbert said.

　　Almost 40 percent of Australia's creative industries are based in Sydney or NSW with around 150,000 people in NSW directly employed in the sector, across film, music, design and fashion.

　　During the MBFWA, NSW Trade & Investment will for the first time, in partnership with IMG, the Council of Textile and Fashion Industries of Australia (TFIA) and Aus-trade, actively match export-ready fashion designers with national and international fashion buyers and media representatives in a purpose-built business lounge on-site at Sydney Harbor's Overseas Passenger terminal.

　　Camilla Franks told Xinhua that Sydney was a unique location for casual style. "There's not many places in the world like Bondi, where you can step straight from the beach into small bars, world class restaurants and boutiques. Sydney is an amazing city full of color and inspiration for all that I design. I'm really excited about becoming a NSW Fashion Ambassador to spread the world on how beautiful it is to live and work here." Franks said.