At the start of May, fashion businesses around the country were gearing up for the industry’s premier event, Australian Fashion Week.

Now, at the month’s end, prestige designer Dion Lee has gone into administration, and Tigerlily has been narrowly saved from bankruptcy by Seafolly. These followed the closure of Nique, a 26-year-old genderless apparel brand, in February, and widespread redundancies at Aje in March.