From Cottesloe to Rosemount Australian Fashion Week, womenswear brand Flannel is waking up the industry.

Sometimes people call me very boring, Chels. I earn a crust by designing vintage inspired costume jewellery.

Given the hordes of visitors flocking to Bendigo Art Gallery's recent 'The Golden Age of Couture' exhibition it's easy to tell that the people of Bendigo are a fashion conscious bunch.

NATIONAL: Discount department store Target has voluntarily recalled a garment aimed at babies and small girls.

NATIONAL: Surfwear giant Billabong weathered some rough waters on the stock market yesterday, with its share price plummeting by more than 20 per cent in the wake of a completed $230 million capital raising.

AUCKLAND: New Zealand designer Juliette Hogan has been singled out for special attention in a prestigious New York-based awards program.

PERTH: Atlas South Sea Pearls (ASSP) has taken advantage of a decline in the high-end luxury market, opening stores and pursuing new wholesale opportunities.

ADELAIDE: Uniform retail business Corporate Fashions is the latest TCF company to close its doors.

NATIONAL: Iconic swimwear brand Speedo has ditched a dirty habit.

MELBOURNE: The books are looking a little better at troubled listed group Mercury Brands.

NATIONAL: Creditors of collapsed ragtrader Phillip Smouha have guffawed at a bill which equates to $42,000 a week by administrators.

SYDNEY: Women's clothing and accessories brand Sambag has thrown open the doors to its fifth boutique.

NATIONAL: Bi-annual trend event Fashion Flash Forecast is hitting the road.

NATIONAL: Listed surfwear giant Billabong has slashed its earnings forecast and announced a $290 million capital raising scheme as conditions in the US market continue to plague its bottom line.

NEW ZEALAND: More than 180 staff have been made redundant by debt ridden manufacturing company Lane Walker Rudkin, according to the staff's union representatives.

SYDNEY: Specialty Fashion Group has suspended a "senior employee" of the company after it discovered significant expenditure irregularities to the tune of $16 million.