Roaming the globe
Harrods, Selfridges, Lane Crawford, Brown Thomas, Barneys, net-a-porter.com. Assia Benmedjdoub discovers how Rosemount Australian Fashion Week (RAFW) organisers were able to lure some big spenders to this year's spring/summer collections.
The Australian Trade Commission believes there's something to be said for early starts. Towards the end of last year, when many retailers were in the midst of their lucrative Christmas trading period, the government export agency was at pains wooing a different breed of customer. The kind, as Austrade senior export adviser Lucy Coward understands well, which can drop tens of thousands of dollars with the inking of an order form.
Coward says that during the month of December, Austrade in collaboration with global marketing firm IMG, kicked off a campaign to bolster the number of international buyers attending Rosemount Australian Fashion Week's spring/summer 2008 collections.
"We started the buyer project earlier than in previous years," Coward adds. "This gave our representatives another two months to start the communication with their buyers. The months of December to March are very busy globally in fashion with many key buyers travelling to places like New York, London, Paris, Milan, Shanghai to go to other fashion weeks. By targeting them early, we got on their radar in terms of trip planning and pushed RAFW to the forefront of their minds."
The result, no doubt aided along by a schedule bursting with stalwarts such as womenswear label Easton Pearson and couturier Alex Perry, was described by one fashion commentator as the "sexiest" lineup of international buyers in years.
Spanning across the UK, Canada, Italy, Singapore, Ireland, UAE, Japan, Hong Kong, China and New Zealand the roster includes department stores Harrods, Selfridges, Lane Crawford, Brown Thomas, Barneys, and US giant Urban Outfitters - which is reportedly bringing a delegation of nine buyers. In line with the previous spring/summer instalment of RAFW, Indonesia will have the largest presence at the event with specialty players Velvet, Fj'L and Funky Princess all in attendance.
Of particular interest to Austrade this year were the key markets of Jakarta and the US. "In both markets the business development managers have worked closely with media, PR and retailers to promote Australian fashion," Coward says. "The markets, their tastes and buying behaviour are very different from each other but the key use of in-market staff and allies has allowed momentum in the number and quality of buyers attending RAFW."
In Jakarta, Austrade representatives teamed with influential fashion title Harper's Bazaar to create a January 2008 insert on Australian fashion. On the other side of the globe, organisers of trade program G'Day USA partnered with Australian Wool Innovation and public relations firm La Force Stevens to run a showroom for designers using Australian merino wool. Initiatives such as these helped create a buzz around local fashion brands, Coward says, with the US expected to spend up big this year.
"Despite economic slowdown in the USA, we have seen a large and strong contingent come through with representatives from high-end department stores through to significant multi-label boutiques. The US is probably the key group in terms of spending power outside of Indonesia."
Last year, Indonesian buyers defied expectations by ringing up the largest bill at RAFW with more than 44 Australian designers reporting successful sales results. They'll have their work cut out for them again when Rosemount Australian Fashion Week spring/summer 2008 kicks off at Sydney's Overseas Passenger Terminal on April 28.
By Assia Benmedjdoub