Event organiser Australian Exhibitions and Conferences (AEC) will operate much like a multibrand boutique when it launches Fashion Exposed autumn/winter 2012 at the Melbourne Exhibition Centre next month. Set to take place from August 28 - 30, the trade event will be colocated with both the Australian Shoe Fair and Bags & Accessories showcase. AEC exhibition director Elissa Duke believes the combined fashion offer, coupled with improvements made since the spring/summer showcase earlier this year, will deliver time-poor buyers a one stop shopping experience.
“We haven’t cut anything since Sydney, we’ve just been adding to the event experience, because I think when things are tough people are out there looking for ways to improve their business, wanting to know what new things are happening and any kind of initiatives that they can tap into that’s going to help them survive these tougher times,” she says. To date, the trade fair has 388 exhibitors locked in to showcase their collections on the show floor, with 98 per cent of overall labels confirmed as Australian-based brands. The exhibitor figure also includes a raft of new labels such as Firefly, Tres Collections, Desaku, Minyaka Design, Tresors De France, Shine Group, Bellroy and Milena Zu, which will be debuting their creations to the crowd for the first time. Duke says these fresh entrants account for approximately 27 per cent of overall exhibitors showing at Fashion Exposed and also says that this figure is relatively on par with that of previous shows.
Duke adds that while the layout of the fair will be significantly altered from that of the Sydney trade show, a few of the initiatives present at the March event will also pop up at Melbourne Fashion Exposed. These include a range of business seminars, with speaker highlights including fashion retail specialist Sarah Gale, Witchery and Mimco Group digital manager Sameiko Landry and Jen Sherrin of trend forecaster WGSN. Salon shows, live look book activations, designer competitions and a brand new concierge facility will also form the line-up.
AEC has also invested in a Regional Ambassador for the autumn/winter Fashion Exposed – a retail veteran who will be on hand throughout the event to act as the first port of call for regional retailers/buyers needing assistance, advice on the show, trends and labels. The Regional Ambassador – whose name AEC prefer not to reveal until show time – is currently travelling across Australia to regional hotspots to visit retailers in remote locations and assist them with any questions or suggestions they might have about the show. “Our regional ambassador has worked in the retail industry for almost 30 years, so she has a huge network of regional stores because she’s been in the industry for so long, and she will be stationed at the concierge desk throughout the actual show, offering on-site assistance for regional visitors,” Duke explains. “This is a very new initiative and it’s all part of our regional program, which also includes a series of talks at the event, which will directly target issues faced by regional retailers.”
Not far from the Melbourne Exhibition Centre, the Premiere boutique trade show will also be taking place at the Royal Exhibition Building in Melbourne’s Carlton district. Premiere, a concept which debuted at the March Sydney fair, aims to cater for buyers in search of higher-end fashion, and will offer a hand-picked selection of exclusive international and Australian brands. Duke says the Premiere event, which will run parallel to Fashion Exposed with regular bus shuttles to and from both locations, has already secured 158 labels with another 15-20 expected to confirm within weeks. Some 42 of these labels are new to the Premiere event and 97 per cent of the exhibiting labels overall are international, but represented by local, Australian-based distributors, with the addition of a selection of high-end footwear and jewellery labels, predominately from Spain and France.
Premiere brands include Alex Perry, Project D, Hunter, Joie, Freepeople, American Vintage, Gold Hawk, J Brand, True Religion, Et Compagnie, Elisa Cavaletti, Isabel De Pedro, Jean Paul, Patrizia Pepe, RockStar, Jagger & Evans, and Taverniti, and the AEC has also added a range of features to further boost Premiere’s success, including an “Open Studios” initiative and an exclusive “Fashion Library”. The “Open Studios” concept will showcase a selection of Australia’s leading designers at work as they create pieces in the public eye. The Fashion Library, by comparison, aims to provide a space where Premiere patrons can read, relax, research or purchase from an extensive collection of fashion books and magazines from around the world. Other incentives planned for Premiere include a “Speakeasy Cinema” concept, where leading fashion designers will share their top fashion moments in film, a Guinot pop-up spa and a range of exhibitions and installations from various design labels such as Colleen Burke and Melissa Shoes. Duke says that much of these extras are due to feedback from the Sydney show, with industry commentary set to drive any future changes.
