Mercedes-Benz Fashion Week Australia (MBFWA) welcomed us to its schedule for the third time this year.
To celebrate, here are three fast facts from our Ragtrader Live seminar at the event.
The power panel featured Matchesfashion.com buying director Natalie Kingham, Bergdorf Goodman buyer Aisha Bennett and style icon Catherine Baba.
Grab your tickets to our unmissable August conference here.
1. Romance Was Born stole the week
When asked what the stand-out collection of the week was, the panellists all tipped their hat to cult favourite Romance Was Born.
Baba warned local designers to avoid duplicating Northern Hemisphere trends. "I can see a whitewash and a dilution of what I know and see in Europe and New York, for example," she said.
"We were indulged and welcomed into the world of Romance Was Born and it was divine."
Kingham praised the brand for embracing its own DNA.
"The details were just impeccable," Bennett agreed. "It just really drew you in."
2. The importance of resort
"My biggest coat business is November/December but so is my swim department," Bennett said. "We always make the joke, "Is she wearing a bikini under her Moncler coat?."
Australian designers were urged to embrace the season, with Kingham confirming it as a lucrative window for sales.
"It's the strongest delivery out of the whole year. For the whole year, it's our biggest spend and it's the biggest sales."
Baba put the lure of the season into four simple words: "People are constantly travelling."
3. The growth of content
"More than there is in buying!."
That was the response from Kingham when asked to comment on the size of MatchesFashion.com's editorial department.
The buying director said content will play an increasingly important role in the future of retail, with its team including luminaries from the likes of Vogue (US) and Vogue (UK).
One of the most successful initiatives is collaborations with bloggers such as The Man Repeller, who edit and shoot items in editorial-inspired style spreads.
"How is it styled? How is it used in every day life?," Bennett added. "Now we have some really powerful fashion bloggers, we have seen other ways of seeing those things."