New Zealand designers RAFW debut
With assistance from development body New Zealand Trade and Enterprise, newcomers Juliette Hogan, Beth Ellery, Lonely Hearts Club, Love Lies Bleeding, Saben, Hailwood, Annah Stretton and Des Rusk will showcase their designs in a temporary showroom space at the Medina Hotel in Sydney's Surry Hills.
Hogan said the decision to commit to the event was made easier by the funding by NZTE but also because she had Australia in her sights for some time.
"It's the next obvious market for me to grow my brand in and I had some wonderful feedback from Australian buyers who saw my show at New Zealand Fashion Week. I'm hoping to come away with about eight new accounts and a whole lot of new contacts. Really I don't want to grow my business too quickly. I just want people to know what the Juliette Hogan brand is and let my name get out there a little bit."
Australia is New Zealand's largest fashion/apparel export market taking $224 million (to December 2006) or 71 per cent of total fashion exports. Stretton said there was plenty of room to grow that figure which is why she had elected to make her RAFW debut this year.
"We have about 80 accounts in Australia which bring us about $2 million dollars a year at the moment and I think there is a lot more business to be had there. RAFW is a bigger forum than New Zealand Fashion Week and there are a wider range of buyers, people from Asia and North America who haven't been exposed to the brand before so we see it as a great opportunity. It really was a no brainer for us."
Also on the official schedule at RAFW will be Zambesi and Cybele. Kate Sylvester only shows every second year and Trelise Cooper and World have elected to concentrate on the Northern Hemisphere markets instead.