The upside of downturn

Bi-annual trade fair Fashion Exposed may have taken place in the midst of global financial turmoil, but organisers say there's much to be optimistic about following the Melbourne fair, as Belinda Smart reports.

Marie Kinsella, head of Fashion Exposed (FEX) organiser Australian Exhibitions and Conferences (AEC), is in quietly confident mode following the wrap of the fashion industry's most prominent buying event, which ran this year in Melbourne from September 14 to 16.

Kinsella says attendance on the opening Sunday of this year's event was "up 14 per cent on the corresponding day last year". She says the total tally of visits was 8,327 with the figure including return visits on different days.

If this is impressive given the prevailing spend-thrift atmosphere, it's also the result of some canny manoeuvring on the part of AEC, which says its decision to partner the Australian Shoe Fair (ASF) with FEX in Melbourne has paid off. "Exhibitors loved the fact the fair was also co-located with the Australian Shoe Fair, with 24 per cent of attendees noting in an independent survey that they had attended with both fairs in mind."

While the ASF was a little late in the buying season for many footwear buyers, a key development, says Kinsella, is that from 2009 Melbourne Fashion Exposed and ASF will be brought forward by a fortnight to take place at the end of August.

"The Melbourne fair will be the earliest it's ever been for a long time and we will keep it that way. It makes much more sense for the shoe buyers and it also works better for fashion buyers, since buying is being done earlier and earlier in the season."

Kinsella says new attractions, including the day spa - "it was a constant fight to get the models out of there", - live look books in the new Street Lab precinct and a well-attended seminar program added to the overall buzz. Every year the fair creates a new batch of success stories and this year was no exception, she adds.

"Nana Judy, exhibiting in streetwear, has been attending for three seasons, and this year was picked up by Myer, which was a fantastic result. Then you have labels like Emily & Leo in womenswear saying that they wrote more business in one day on the Sunday that they wrote during the entire three days of their attendance last year. [Womenswear distributor] Angelica Agencies invested a lot of money in their stand, which was stunning. They did so well in Melbourne that they're going to book Sydney with twice the 60 square metre space they had in Melbourne."

Meanwhile, emerging designer launch pad Debut provided a desirable feel-good factor, naming as this year's winners Melbourne labels Moneypenny and Debora de Stefanis in the apparel and accessories categories respectively.
However, happy endings notwithstanding, Kinsella says the shadow of economic slowdown was also apparent at the fair.

"We noticed that the buying was occurring more in the trans-seasonal area for the coming season, and there was a lot less true autumn winter buying, probably an indication that people are not thinking quite so far ahead and being a little more cautious in their purchasing decisions."

Furthermore, analysis of data collated throughout the event showed the average spend, at $6,627 per buyer, had dropped off from year's $7,420. However, says Kinsella, the data also revealed an optimistic twist.

"In terms of the business people were expecting to seal after [as opposed to during] the fair, the average spend this year was around $11,578 compared to $8,300 last year," she says, suggesting this might indicate a more strategic approach to buying.

In recent years, educated consumers and an increasingly saturated market have seen buyers become picky - a trait that is unlikely to be dimmed by the increased necessity to buy well and wisely. This means that while the fair has undoubtedly benefited from the addition of value-adding attractions, Kinsella is keenly aware that ultimately a good fair is nothing without good product.

"We are continually working to lose that 'fast fashion' image and be known for providing quality product. While of course there will always be some fast fashion on offer, our continued focus is on guaranteeing 20 to 25 per cent freshness on the stands in terms of offering new, good quality labels to buyers. Sometimes I wonder to myself if we might one day run out of new labels, but every year there seem to be dozens more of them entering the market."

By Belinda Smart