SYDNEY: Australian designers Akira Isogawa, Josh Goot and Nikki Zimmermann have credited supplier relationships and market longevity as the reason they have emerged relatively unscathed from the dire retail conditions affecting many in the fashion industry. The trio, all of whom were guest speakers at the Fashion Group International Fashion Flash forecast breakfast this morning (November 26), said while their labels had been affected in some way by the global recession their businesses were all trading well.
Nicky Zimmermann, whose company was founded almost 20 years ago, said trade at her label was akin to the key Christmas period.
While admitting the label had seen a "softening" of its wholesale business, from a retail perspective things were on track. This was due to a number of factors including product point of difference, business longevity and reliability of product, she said.
"There's a certain optimism that comes with our brand. What we do in Australia is quite different to what we do in the US however you have to remember we've been selling in the US for a long time - more than 12 years in Barneys which is even longer than we've been on David Jones.
"[Because of this] we have position and floor space in both department stores and chain stores. Domestically we've relocated our Paddington store and it's going off. We've just opened in Westfield Doncaster... and it's doing similar [sales] to our Westfield Bondi Junction figures."
Goot, who established his self-titled label just five years ago, said moving his bi-annual collection showing from New York to London had worked well for his brand.
The move had less to do with the economy and more to do with the evolution of his label, he said.
"As far as the economy goes it has made it difficult to pick up new customers but we have been able to retain our existing customers."
Speaking at the same forum, Isogawa - who has been showing his collections in Paris for nine years - said it was "business as usual".
Zimmermann said at the end of the day buyers had a job to do as well.
"They can't stop buying, they still have to have product to sell."
For more on this subject see the next issue of Ragtrader, available from January 16.