When Myf Shepherd, the next "It girl" model, stepped out onto the runway at Rosemount Australia Fashion Week in a slinky jumper, it wasn't only camera flashes that lit up the room — so did the glow of computer screens and handhelds. Not only did pens record notes like lightning on paper — keyboards and Blackberrys followed digital suit. A conspicuously mixed group of fashion editors and bloggers, the Vogues next to the Tweeters, were all treated as VIPs and asked to share the same golden front row that is usually reserved for the purveyors of print.

At Rosemount Australia Fashion Week in Sydney, the conspicuous change was just one example of unanticipated progress seen on and off the runway as the focus of the South Pacific hub has diversified. Held April 25-May 1 with the iconic Opera House in Circular Quay as its breathtaking backdrop, RAFW is the country's main fashion industry event, now in its 14th appearance. Still, despite its long history, the cachet it receives is below that given to better known fashion weeks in New York, Paris, Milan and London; no doubt, Australia's location and backward seasons make for tricky logistics for buyers.

"Actually, we're technically bigger than London, in terms of number of shows and days," says Simon Lock, who founded RAFW and now runs the event from his position as managing director of IMG Fashion Asia Pacific, its producer.