SYDNEY — Pandora is hitching its wagon to yet another fashion event.
Following deals in 2023 with Copenhagen Fashion Week and The Fashion Awards, WWD has learned that the Danish jeweler will be the presenting partner of Australian Fashion Week’s resort 2025 collections showcase, which is due to take place at Sydney’s Carriageworks venue from May 13 to 17.
Following a three-year naming rights deal with Afterpay, which was not renewed in 2023, Pandora will be AFW’s first presenting partner and its official jewelry partner for 2024. The company will host a series of activations on the schedule, including the closing show on May 17, one of a handful of ticketed public shows. Although the schedule will not be released until March 12, tickets for the closing show will go on sale at australianfashionweek.com on Tuesday.
IMG declined comment on whether the deal is a one-off, just as Pandora remained tight-lipped on whether its relationship with The Fashion Awards will continue beyond 2023. Pandora did, however, confirm to WWD that it will partner with Copenhagen Fashion Week for both this year’s fall 2024 and spring 2025 showcases.
“Pandora is extremely proud to be partnering with IMG for Australian Fashion Week as the inaugural presenting partner,” said Mary-Carmen Gasco-Buisson, Pandora’s chief marketing officer. “As a brand that focuses on high-quality craftsmanship, sustainability, innovation and self-expression, this partnership naturally aligns to our core brand values and ethos. We look forward to bringing our purpose of ‘giving a voice to people’s loves’ to life through a range of activations during the week including the Pandora runway show that will feature exclusively Pandora jewelry on a selection of Australia’s best emerging and established designers.”
The AFW deal is part of Pandora’s growth strategy under chief executive officer Alexander Lacik, who has doubled the company’s marketing spend since his arrival in 2019. Earlier this month Pandora announced its fourth-quarter revenues were up 12 percent, lifting full-year organic growth to 8 percent, above guidance.
“It just really speaks to the notoriety of AFW and its reputation as a world-class event that such a globally recognized powerhouse brand is partnering with the event,” said Natalie Xenita, vice president-managing director of IMG Fashion Events and Properties Asia Pacific, who would not comment on plans for any of Pandora’s growing roster of celebrity ambassadors, who include Pamela Anderson, to attend the event.
She added, “I think they can assist with putting a global spotlight on the Australian fashion industry, which is really what the aim of the event is.”
