PERTH: Flannel will support its release of an eveningwear line, two more retail stores and an expanded homewares range in 2011 with appearances at Rosemount Australian Fashion Week (RAFW) and Japan Fashion Week.
Flannel designer Kristy Lawrence revealed the brand locked in its appearance at RAFW this month after experiencing strong wholesale success at the event in 2010. Demand was so strong for Lawrence's showstopper gown in particular that she is set to debut her first eveningwear capsule collection to consumers this April.
“There's eight gowns,” Lawrence said. “It's still got that same Flannel aesthetic to it where it can be worn as a wedding dress on the beach, to a beautiful event, but it's a lot freer than normal [eveningwear].”
Fabrics in the collection include leather, suede, silk chiffons and silk crepes, and the designs will retail from $580 to $1200. The eveningwear will be available in sizes one to three and stocked only in Flannel's four boutiques in Perth and Sydney.
Lawrence revealed a second eveningwear collection will be available to buyers at RAFW this May but she will not be expanding the range much further.
“Predominantly we are a collection for everydaywear for women ... so I don't want to increase eveningwear to be a massive part of the business,” Lawrence said.
Consumer demand has also prompted the brand to invest further in retail this year.
“We're getting two to three emails from our website asking where we're stocked in Melbourne so our next priority is to open a store in Melbourne. We'll probably do that by April.”
Lawrence predicted Flannel will open a total of two retail sites in 2011, with her ultimate goal to have two boutiques in Melbourne, two in Sydney, three in Perth and one in Queensland.
“Then we're really going to concentrate on the overseas market, looking at whether we do stores there or not,” she said. “It's just finding the right people, that's what it comes down to.”
Also on the horizon are additions to Flannel's homewares line – “We're going to be hopefully releasing a whole homewares collection at Life inStyle [trade show] in August” – and a trip to Japan as part of the Banshu Textile program, which fosters links between West Australians and Japanese businesses.
“I'm working with a textile mill in Japan to create a fabric between us that I'm going to include as part of my collection for [RAFW]. Then they want me to show the collection at Japan Fashion Week in August.”
Founded in 2007, Flannel currently has 40 stockists onshore, another 40 offshore and is manufactured in China, Indonesia and India.
Erin O'Loughlin