Oz fashion gets good Swedish Vibes
Australian Style Vibes - which took place in Stockholm in September - featured a number of Australian fashion labels including accessories label Moya Delaney, bag brand Spencer and Rutherford, textile and apparel brand Cloth, and women's shirting label Zentini.
For Delaney - whose self-titled label features leather-based men's and women's accessories - the event resulted in a deal with the main Stockholm store of cutting edge Swedish chain Design Torget.
"Design Torget is a very cool store and it means a lot to be stocked there. They offered me a deal to stock the store on consignment, which I wouldn't usually do, but I think the exposure in such a well-regarded retailer would be great from a branding point of view," Delaney said.
"Whereas in the US retailers are keen to A small selection of Spencer & Rutherford bags had achieved complete sell through at Design Torget and the store had already placed follow up orders, communications manager Camilla Speirs confirmed.
Cloth founder Julie Paterson showcased a selection of furnishing fabrics at the event with the ultimate aim of selling her clothing range in Sweden.
"We're putting a winter range together and would not rule out selling it in Sweden," she said.
"We were really just dipping our toe in to get some exposure with the aim of attracting Swedish retailers. The next stage is definitely to find an agent and we've already had some interest on that score."
Austrade Sweden business development manager Kerstin Classon said Australian design was ideally placed to capture the imagination of Swedish consumers.
"The trends that Swedes latch on to are often quite homogenous. They [the Swedes] are a discerning and high trend bunch, but many stores and media show the same things. There are great opportunities for Australian designers to provide something different with a unique 'personality'," Classon said.