NATIONAL: Prominent fashion designers have issued a condemnatory warning to young players against aligning their fortunes to department stores and fashion shows.
In articles featured yesterday (February 23) in Fairfax media outlets, Vicious Threads founder Ivan Gomez and womenswear designers Lisa Barron and Gwendolynne Burkin warned emerging designers they should be wary of "greedy" department stores if they wanted to get through the downturn unscathed.
Gomez said his move into department stores contributed to his label's demise late last year and warned emerging designers against showing at events such as Australian Fashion Week in the hope of being picked up by international retailers, adding that many overseas buyers treated the event as research rather than a "shopping spree".
Lisa Barron added that "opportunistic" fashion week organisers often demanded tens of thousands of dollars to put on a catwalk show with no guarantee of sales for young designers. She said publicity did not equate to profit, adding it was more important for emerging designers to get their business in shape.
Meanwhile Gwendolynne Burkin confirmed her label was picked up by Myer in 2004, then dumped two years later when she couldn't afford to produce her order, adding that the experience took her label to the brink of bankruptcy.
One contributing factor was hidden costs such as advertising, she said, while another was the fact that her label was dumped by small independent stores who couldn't compete with the department store's discounting policy.
When Gwendolynne Burkin was discarded by Myer, the label was left with excess stock it couldn't shift, she added.