The Australian Fashion Chamber (AFC) announced its first New York City showroom yesterday for the June resort collections.
This follows the momentum built by Mercedes Benz Fashion Week Australia (MBFWA) and its recent move focusing on resort collections.
The AFC has identified the resort selling period as having enormous commercial potential.
The Australian Designers Abroad Showroom will be hosted as part of New York City’s resort period and will run from the June 13 to 16.
The line-up includes a mix of RTW and accessory talent, namely Aje, Albus Lumen, macgraw, Sarah & Sebastian, State of Escape and Pared Eyewear.
The showroom will be attended by key international media, buyers, influencers and government officials.
The designers were chosen based on their industry skill, strength of their current seasonal collection and potential success in the international market.
This will be the fifth Australian Designers Abroad showroom.
The program was launched by the AFC in March 2015, with an aim to promote local designers during international fashion sales periods.
AFC chair Edwina McCann said the program has commercial benefits for designers.
“For Australian designers, it’s a substantial undertaking and expense to take their collections overseas season after season – the AFC helps make that opportunity possible.”
The Australian Designers Abroad Showroom will be centrally located in SoHo, downtown Manhattan.