TCS to cut up the youthwear market

When you're a brand with as much street credibility as a gyrating Madonna in the 1980s, having your hand in one pie just doesn't pack enough punch.
So with its fighting fists still tough and taut from a runway debut at Rosemount Australian Fashion Week, The Cassette Society is set to broach into a new area of the youthwear market. Along with the release of its core spring/summer collection later this year, the Sydney-based street label will also launch a high-end diffusion line dubbed 'Uncut'.
Manufactured both locally and abroad, the first collection is aptly titled 'Revenge of the Robots' and features a selective range of hoodies, tees, high-waisted skirts, "acid attack" charcoal denim, shorts, dresses and retro accessories such as knotted tote bags, hats, and fanny packs.
Head designer and founder, Katie Boyd, said since the brand's inception early last year, the design emphasis has steadily evolved; with less emphasis on sportswear and more on street-smart looks.
"The aesthetic is slightly advance in age, appreciating a slightly cleaner look, prints are most subtle but you could say some of the design cuts and more directional to the differentiating market it's aimed at.
"The higher end diffusion line has fabrics such as premium silk and things like a sequin glimmer vest that aren't something we can sell at a competitive price point in our [core] line."
Boyd, who operates alongside "sales dynamite" Tania Rickards, said The Cassette Society's latest push into the boutique-wear market would also strengthen its ability to cater to these differing budgets.
With an additional smattering of metallic Lycras and fine cotton jerseys in shades of yellow, lilac, ivory, silver and black, the line is reasonably priced at $79 for tees to $350 for dresses.
Geared to arrive in nationwide boutiques over July and August - including Toy in Queensland, Billie & Rose in Western Australia and Mint in New South Wales - the brand is hoping to cash in on its growing success by "volumising" the collection, taking it overseas and aiming for the runways of Milan and New York Fashion Week.
Boyd said she's not ruling out a designer collaboration in the near future either.
"[It's] all the way hombre."