One or two skidded in the uncustomary rain, but most came safely to a halt at Docklands' Peninsula venue on Central Pier, a soaring, black cathedral of a space perched on the lip of a choppy grey Yarra.

It was a wintry introduction to the venue that will be a focal point of the festival, due to kick off with the usual swank Sunday cocktail bash at Government House on March 2. "Every time I see it (the venue) it takes my breath away," said festival director Karen Webster.

"It's out over the water, stunning, with that backdrop of Melbourne. It's — blow-away stuff."

Yesterday, a pall of dreary grey did diffuse the "blow-away" bit but, in the hot blue days that, annoyingly, often greet the launch of heavy coats and thick hosiery into Melbourne shops, it could inject just the right exotic note into the party atmosphere that the festival usually pumps around the city.

Last year, the $5 million event drew 230,000 local and interstate punters to its fashion and arts-geared shows, exhibitions and seminars.

It injected almost $70 million into the national economy and generated almost $60 million worth of media coverage.

"It's amazing and enterprising," said festival chairwoman Naomi Milgrom about this year's program, which includes the largest number of participating designers yet.

Lord Mayor John So, who was introduced, strangely, by Channel Nine personality Livinia Nixon, as "The Fred to my Ginger, the Starsky to my Hutch …") said: "This is a strategic fusion of fashion and art, that draws from east and west."

Premier John Brumby called the festival "an iconic major Melbourne event", up there with the Australian Open, the AFL grand final, the Melbourne Cup and the Grand Prix.

"We can cut it with the best in the world!" And, he put State Government money where his mouth was, announcing its commitment to a further five-year sponsorship contract.

The traditional "fashion teaser", or taster of trends to come, involved a short podium show of five dresses and one men's outfit, by designers including Megan Park, Karen Walker, Aurelio Costarella, Life with Bird, Wayne Cooper and Leopold.

Although it's a risky trick, encapsulating the look of a season in a handful of outfits, this one ticked the major boxes: opaque black tights, blunt-toed platform shoes or thick-strapped sandals, scraped back hair and or languid, movie-star waves, hemlines all over the place (knicker-flasher micro minis to upper-calf midi skirts), and layers of chunk scarves, lean-leg trousers, trench coats and black/grey minimalism for the boys.