Briefs

CEO departs
MELBOURNE: Felicity McGahan, chief executive officer of the Sussan business in Australia and New Zealand, has resigned. While no immediate replacement has been announced, it is understood the company will commence an executive search in coming weeks. McGahan was appointed to the position of CEO in August 2004.

Big Ted
MELBOURNE: United Kingdom headquartered apparel brand Ted Baker has announced plans to open his first Australian store in Melbourne in August. Nestled on the corner of Little Collins Street and Royal Lane, the launch is being touted as a "significant step" in the brand's global expansion plan.
With no two store designs the same, the brand's 1,500 square foot site will feature images of the English countryside, shag pile carpeting contrasted with reclaimed Tasmanian oak flooring, bespoke handmade wallpapers and luggage racks in the 'All Change' fitting rooms. For more: tedbaker.com

UAE visit
NATIONAL: Australian Fashion designers keen to tap the Middle Eastern market are being urged to participate in the third installment of Austrade event AusStyle in Dubai. The event, the third annual, offers delegates the chance to head to the United Arab Emirate's capital to expose their labels to the Middle East with introductions to selected buyers, agents and media from Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Qatar, Oman, Jordan and Lebanon as well as subsidised travel expenses. Labels that participated last year include Camilla Franks, Hussy and Yeojin Bae. Travel dates are scheduled for November with applications closing July 30.

Sheer away
SYDNEY: Knitwear brand Viktoria & Woods is set to cover up. In a bid to offer consumers a solution to sheer woollen apparel, the womenswear label will introduce a range of complimentary undergarments in black, nude and white. Produced in Australia, the range will include two slips and two camis in scoop and v-neck styles. Made from a silk/lycra blend, the items will be priced at under $90 and available in middle-end fashion boutiques throughout Australia.

Creative design?
MELBOURNE: Having already succeeded in his plan to cement his brand in the international marketplace, Sydney-based fashion designer Alex Zabotto-Bentley will now try to help others achieve similarly. Zabotto-Bentley has been named as creative director of Victorian-based branding consultancy Think Creative Events.
The partnership came about after the designer consulted to the company during a series of events including the launch event for Kylie Minogue's Darling fragrance. Director Ant Hampel described Zabatto-Bentley's appointment as "a real coup" with the designer's reputation as a "major player in the fashion industry" sure to be of enormous value to the business' clients.

AWI socks it
NATIONAL: Australian woolgrowers are claiming victory over animal rights movement, People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) after it agreed to stop threatening global retailers over the practice of mulesing until December 31 2010. In the lead up to this date, when the wool industry has vowed to officially phase out surgical mulesing, PETA has unequivocally agreed to cease activity which calls for, or threatens to call for a consumer boycott of retailers who sell products from mulesed wool. After four days of mediation, PETA agreed to the demands of Australian Wool Innovation (AWI) which in turn, dropped its long-standing federal court case against the international animal rights group.

Done deal
NEW ZEALAND: The legal wrangle between Kiwi fashion designers Trelise Cooper and Tamsin Cooper has been settled. The pair released a statement last week claiming they had reached an amicable resolution over their trade mark wrangle. The dispute dates back to 2005 when Trelise Cooper tried to block her namesake trademarking her name, saying it could cause branding confusion. Tamsin Cooper lodged a counter objection. Under an agreement announced last week, all legal proceedings have been withdrawn and Tamsin Cooper will be able to continue trading without restriction.

Bombay bonanza
NATIONAL: Australia's Technical Textile and Nonwoven Association (TTNA) has opened applications for the upcoming Mumbai Techtextil show in October. Staged at the Bombay Exhibition Centre in Mumbai from October 10 to 12, Techtextil is the leading international trade fair for technical textiles and nonwovens. Businesses interested in exhibiting on a TTNA stand at the combined shows of Techtextil, Heimtextil and Tex World should contact lorraine@ttna.com.au

Talk is cheap
BRISBANE: Finding Inspiration: How do fashion designers think? That's the question Queensland University of Technology (QUT) will pose to panelists during the next installment of 'Fashion Talks @ QUT'. The free bi-monthly industry seminar, staged at QUT's Kelvin Grove Campus, will kick off with a war of words between QUT fashion doyenne Suzi Vaughan and three of her emerging student designers on August 2. This will be followed by a presentation from Brisbane designer Christine Thorley on August 23, a fashion writing seminar with Alicia Pike on September 6, a designer one-on-one with swimwear buff Rachel Donald on September 20 and a male fashion talk with Mark Neighbour on October 11. For more: ciprecinct.qut.com

Chain reaction
NEW ZEALAND: National retail fashion chain Postie Plus (PP) has announced plans to relocate two of its three operations based in Westport to Christchurch as part of a strategic review. The move will see its school uniform operation as well as the initial distribution of new stock relocated to the larger South Island city. PP chief executive Ron Boskell said the move was in response to increasing competition in every aspect of the business -in particular in the flow of products to shop shelves. He said the brand's Westport distribution business was too small for the size of the operation with the business volume doubling in the past five years. For more: postie.co.nz