Night Of Lights
Sun Herald
Saturday September 9, 1995
IT was the rag trade's grand final: the Australian Fashion Awards held last Thursday night in the unglamorous Sydney Entertainment Centre, where the neon lights and the picture show carpet made the mostly black-clad 800 guests look downright seedy.
It was only when the doors opened into the dining area that everyone gravitated towards a more flattering soft pink haze.
Besides the winners, including Morrissey & Edmiston (who received a special award for outstanding fashion achievement) and the amiable Brian Rochford (who scored the grand award), the night belonged to model and co-compere Jerry Hall, who stoically delivered a bad script and tried not to look too amazed when Gary Sweet declared himself to be a major heart-throb.
Channel Seven supremo, the recently detached Kerry Stokes, worked the room and then worked it again and again. When he agreed to be photographed amid beautiful women, Vogue publisher Lesley Wild quietly accused him of doing anything for publicity.
Of course, Vogue was there in force with two members of the team appearing in something other than black. Just metres away, Matt and Fiona Handbury held court at a table of marie claire senior staffers, including editor Jackie Frank - she of the rebellious tresses.
With the night sponsored by Westfield, managing director David Lowy (who has recently separated from his wife, Margo), brought along his 15-year-old son, Daniel, while Westfield executive director Stephen Lowy and his wife, Judy, sat with Witchery head Peter Lew and his wife, Ella. Peter Lew is the son of Coles-Myer's embattled chairman, Solomon Lew, who remained in Melbourne for the night.
Enjoying themselves immensely were Naomi Milgrom, chief executive officer of Sussan shops and her brother, Daniel Besen, a property developer and lawyer.
It was Besen who initially backed his girlfriend, Poppy King, the reigning queen of the Australian cosmetics industry. King couldn't make it to the event - she is off on another promotional tour.
After the awards, the serious party set went on to the Riva nightclub with only a few fortunates invited to drink champagne at a penthouse suite in the Sheraton On The Park. Not surprisingly, the next morning the rag trade was nursing a hangover every bit as monumental as that usually experienced after a grand final.
© 1995 Sun Herald
