The brutal Fashion Week snub everyone is talking about as insiders reveal why certain guests are banished from the front row… and one photo says it all

Few events capture the ruthless competitiveness of Sydney high society quite like Australian Fashion Week.

The daily scramble for front-row seats is a spectacle in itself, as the old guard of editors and buyers look on in dismay while TikTokers and reality stars sweep in as if they own the place.

When the first pictures emerged from the Carla Zampatti show that opened AFW 2025 on Monday, our eyes immediately went from the models to the faces in the crowd to see who snagged seats in the front row… and who was in the nosebleeds.

One guest’s face seemed to say it all really. Seated behind a Who’s Who of fashion of the frow, she appeared to jut out her chin with disapproval as the models passed by.

‘We call it “second row face”,’ one gossipy PR tells us.

However, we’ll give the young woman the benefit of the doubt as other pictures from the event did show her looking distinctly more cheerful. 

‘The real drama at Fashion Week isn’t the dramatic frocks, but the seating chart,’ says DailyMail+ columnist Melissa Hoyer, who has attended the showcase for decades and was in the frow for launch night.

‘Forget the clothes – the true spectacle unfolds before the first heel hits the catwalk as the top-tier guests take their seats in the front row, and the B- and C-crowd find their place in the second and third rows.

‘The frow is meticulously curated, with placements decided based on relevance, status and power.’

‘Premium magazine editors, celebs, A-list influencers and VIP buyers with black Amex cards don’t just score front row because they’re pretty – it’s because they’re walking PR machines who help brands shift stock,’ she adds.

‘Although that doesn’t mean there aren’t a few surprises each year.’

As for the makeup of the Carla Zampatti crowd, we’ll start with the young lady in the second row we mentioned earlier, Ashley Mescia. 

She and her identical twin sister Olivia make up ‘The Mescia Twins’, who boast 1.9 million followers on TikTok where they post videos about their lavish lifestyle.

The 25-year-olds have a popular podcast as well as their own clothing brand, My Vintage Pleasure – but all that Gen Z star power wasn’t enough to convince the gatekeepers of Fashion Week to give them prime seats.

Sitting directly in front of the Mescia sisters were OG Bachelor couple Anna Heinrich and Tim Robards, and former MAFS stars Jules Robinson and Cameron Merchant. 

Just a few seats down was controversial stylist Jamie Azzopardi, who was sat across from MAFS star Martha Kalifatidis and her mother Mary.

‘Since the explosion of MAFS as a cultural behemoth, I have seen a swag of “brides” occupy prime seats in the most stylish shows of the week,’ Hoyer notes.

‘Mercifully, few return for a second year, although there are some notable exceptions.’

According to another of our spies at Fashion Week, the stars of Married At First Sight had their own seating drama cooking.

In a case of the old guard versus the new blood, we hear franchise veteran Martha snubbed Carina Mirabile, one of the brides from the latest season.

‘Carina was so excited to meet her, but Martha just ignored her. Carina was upset because she looked up to her,’ our insider says.

While there may have been some internecine fighting among the MAFS alumni, the fact remains these high-profile reality stars are here to stay – no matter how much the Fashion Week snobs like to look down on them.

Hoyer tells us a single photo of a famous ‘frower’ in just the right outfit, and in the right seat, can launch a thousand shopping carts. And sometimes it’s a case of having the star-of-the-moment take centre stage – even if it’s only for one year.

Meanwhile, some of the notable names sitting in the front row at the Carla Zampatti opener this year included P.E Nation founder Pip Edwards and Sydney radio host Jackie ‘O’ Henderson, who were seen getting cosy as they posed for photos.

Fashion designer Michael Lo Sordo joined them in the A-list section. Pip also rubbed shoulders with model and member of the Danish royal family Count Nikolai of Monpezat.

Former Miss Universe Australia Maria Thattil sat with Costeen Hatzi, the ex-girlfriend of tennis player Nick Kyrgios.

Other stars spotted in the front row included Golden Bachelor host Sam Armytage, fitness influencer Tammy Hembrow, Cody Simpson‘s younger sister Ali and Lucia Hawley, the niece of Nicole Kidman. 

Prime spots also went to breakfast TV stalwarts Natalie Barr and Kylie Gillies, as well as model Bambi Northwood Blythe, the ex-wife of streetwear king Dan Single.

‘Behind the front row you have editors from less-prestige outlets, more niche influencers and the odd fashion student who managed to score a miracle invite,’ Hoyer explains.

‘Further back and you may have some TikTokers there or big names from 10 years ago, but usually people seated in the third row don’t bother to post on socials – because doing so would only draw attention to their third-tier seat.’

‘Of course, the seating plan isn’t personal,’ notes Hoyer.

‘It’s purely PR. A buxom Gen Z influencer may be front-row material for, say, a White Fox show and do business for them, but not be right for Carla Zampatti, so they’re put in the back row. So it’s not always a case of winners and losers.’

And even if you do find yourself ‘snubbed’ in the seating chart, it’s all ‘part of the theatre of fashion’, laughs Hoyer.

‘In this business fashion, where you sit says everything about who you are. Trust me, no one “accidentally” ends up in the second row. Nor are they elbowing their way into third.’

And the man who is responsible for making or breaking front-row dreams? Russian-born Miro Kubicek, the 6’5 underwear model-turned-seating director who wields his considerable power with an iron fist.

Since 2005, Miro has been known as the golden ticket to getting a front row seat.

When star-studded guests flood through the doors, it is the imposing 48-year-old Miro who stands in the centre aisle like an air-traffic controller, directing media personalities to the front and internet glamazons to the back.  

Publicists tend to manage the seating allocation, but it’s Miro who makes sure everyone gets to where they need to be, takes care of last-minute VIP arrivals and walk-ins trying to talk their way into a coveted spot. 

He’s been known to elevate the fabulously dressed from the back to the frow, and exercise his own intuition to make sure those with star power always have a seat available in case they show up unexpectedly.

‘You need to know who is walking into that room. You have to seat them accordingly and appropriately, strategically as well,’ Miro said in a 2008 interview.

The towering businessman was once in high demand worldwide for his company specialising in seating, security and VIP services, though he now maintains a home base in Australia with his wife and child. 

‘You can anticipate a lot of things. You have a good idea of the vibe and you get information throughout the day. I discuss it with the PR,’ Miro said of the job.

‘I always save a couple of seats if I can and I am waiting until the last minute if someone unexpectedly will walk through that door. Ninety-five per cent of the time someone always does.’

Miro said in his younger years he used to let the power of seating arrangements go to his head, confessing he ‘had his moments when he overreacted’ and was ‘a bit of a diva’.

But these days he has mellowed out and ‘matured’, though he hasn’t become any more flexible with budding influencers who try to butter him up for their golden ticket.