From the land of vodka, with love...

 

Roughly 20 years ago, my family and I boarded a 35-hour flight from Paris to Sydney. You’ll gather from the flight time we were not a privileged famille heading off on the next leg of our global tour. A cut-rate fare reflected the depth of our coin pockets at the time, and meant we endured more than a few (hundred) stop-overs before landing down under.

Even before Paris, there was the two- hour trip from Algeria. What were we doing in the Land of Cous Cous? Bear with me as I hit the fast forward button over a period of 10 or so years.

My dad’s Algerian. My mum’s Russian. He went to the Land of Vodka to study physics. Mum was studying mathematics. Nerd hormones kicked in. Brother was born. Back to the Land of Cous Cous. Nerd hormones kicked in. I was born. A bunch of bombs went off five years later (not my fault) and shocked us towards emigration. Dad couldn’t find Canadian embassy. Australian one sounded nice. Bam! Real football and vodka were replaced with footy and VB.

That’s my story. Now I want you to tell me yours.

Our dedicated online readers will notice we’ve just launched a blog section on our website, where we invite members of the fashion industry to share their experiences with the rest of the sector. Ragtrade veteran Robert Garland has already written about the changing nature of wholesale since he entered the market 30 years ago; Westfield stylist and menswear designer Donny Galella has explained his decision to leave a lucrative career in millinery; and luxury e-tailer Kath Purkis discussed the thinking behind her recent ‘fast fashion’ venture.

The reader comments section is filling fast. People want to know what other people are doing, thinking and feeling in their own words. That’s not to say my job as a journo is redundant – not at all, dear publishers – but it doesn’t hurt for you to get in there and have a go. If you want to broach a topical issue or have a funny/interesting story about the rag trade, get in touch with us and we’ll upload your words to our website.

You don’t have to be technical, just be yourself. Turn to page 19 for a glimpse of what you can expect.
And here, my direct email is assia@yaffa.com.au and my number is (02) 9213 8256. I don’t care if you’re a retail executive or a little shop owner, an R&D expert or a wee fabric wholesaler who likes to experiment, a fashion designer or a fashion PR agent. I want to know everything about you.