Kiwi connections
Talk is always cheap, except when it's of a recession. But try telling that to the organisers of the biggest annual event on the Kiwi fashion calendar, as Tracey Porter reports.
Like any businesswomen worth their salt, you give the organisers of Air New Zealand Fashion Week (ANZFW) a pin and they'll aim to take the whole cushion. Which goes some of the way to explaining why one of Australian fashion's most favoured children has come to claim the headline act at this month's annual ANZFW instalment.
Almost from the moment news broke that Australian Fashion Week organisers IMG Asia Pacific intended turning their bi-annual autumn/winter trade showcase into a consumer-driven event, the Kiwis rallied their troops.
ANZFW founder and managing director Pieter Stewart admits initially the group had intended approaching up to six Australian designers to take to the runway, the first time in the event's eight-year history designers from this side of the Tasman have been allowed to show on schedule.
While the others were prevented from committing for a variety of reasons, Sydney designer Kirrily Johnston was the first to sign up. Johnston says she had actually been in the process of planning a sales trip to New Zealand when she was invited to participate in the September 16 to 21 event. "It was a coincidence [and] it all seemed like a good fit as we would already be there. It's also a great honour to be the first Australian designer to show."
Johnston claims she felt an affinity with Kiwi design and frequently had customers coming into her store, asking whether her label was from New Zealand. "I think my Melbourne background mixed with my love for layering and being a little bit edgy creates an aesthetic which fits in well there. I feel really connected to New Zealand." And it seems Johnston is not the only one keen to see a Trans-Tasman fashion exchange.
The annual autumn/winter frock fest has always proved an irresistible draw card for Australians with as many as 150 Aussie buyers, exhibitors, guests and media making the trek to New Zealand's largest city each year. But while numbers had not been confirmed at the time of press, Stewart says it is imperative the event continues to be supported by visitors from this side of the Tasman.
She has frequently stated that Australia "is and always will be" the country's number one market and her claim appears to be backed up by figures supplied by Statistics New Zealand and business promotion agency New Zealand Trade & Enterprise.
These show Australia was the largest importer of New Zealand clothing and footwear last year accounting for a staggering 71 per cent of the country's total apparel exports, ahead of both the US at around nine per cent and the UK at around seven per cent.
Pieter admits it is difficult to get a clear picture of the exact value of ANZFW from year to year owing to a clear reluctance by both buyers and designers to disclose the value of sales from previous events.
"It is difficult to get that information from them. They all run private businesses and don't have to release their private business and many prefer not to. Fashion Week is only part of a marketing plan, not a whole marketing plan for any designers. Footage and stills are used from their shows, and downstream sales and publicity continue to happen throughout the year."
While the solid growth of New Zealand fashion apparel exports can be attributed to a range of initiatives, NXTE figures show that fashion apparel exports in 2000 were worth $220 million in 2000. By December 2007 they were worth $326 million - an increase of more than 48 per cent over the eight years since ANZFW began.
But some say these figures may about to be skewed with the impact of the US sub prime mortgage crisis and talk of a New Zealand recession. With the ANZFW program this year boasting 50 of the best of the country's established labels complemented by emerging talent, Stewart is confident a the gloomy retail outlook will not have too much of an impact on this year's ANZFW event.
"Like all businesses, the designers will be making each post a winning post and doing their best to get the orders. I would expect the collections may be 'safer' in terms of sales targets." To help promote the event to a greater audience this year, organisers have introduced a more simplified format for it Fashion Weekend instalment, open to the public.
Other key event in the 2008 instalment include designer selection shows, season preview shows, a designer garage sale, a beauty zone, beauty seminars and an on-site rumpus room.
Who's on show?*
World, Kirrily Johnston, Stitch Ministry, Cybele, Laurie Foon/Starfish, Juliette Hogan, Sera Lilly, Nom*D, Hailwood, Jaeha, Ana Steele, Michelle Yvette, Deuchar, Emma, Sable & Minx, Deborah Sweeney, Lucy Boshier, Twentysevennames, Alexandra Owen, Trelise Cooper, Chelsea Thorpe, Stolen Girlfriends Club, Salasai, Basquesse, Ooby Ryn, Sheryl May, Michael Pattison, Nyne, Annah Stretton, Lonely Hearts, Yvonne Bennetti, Zambesi, Tav, Doosh, Money shot, Fourfontaine, Crowded Elevator, Trelise Cooper kids, Deadly Ponies, Karen Walker and Huffer.
By Tracey Porter