Designers hungry for export knowledge found themselves taking invaluable advice from three industry leaders at the L'Oreal Melbourne Fashion Festival Designer Forum.

"We did not know this was happening until it was too late to go and would have liked some mention of it in your magazine."

International buyers might have been in short supply and economic conditions less than ideal, but the inaugural instalment of Swim Fashion Week has been well received by industry.

Australian designers might have been all but absent at the recent instalment of New York Fashion Week - but the city that never sleeps didn't return the favour.

Gianni Versace product offerings across apparel, jewellery, watches, accessories, fragrances, cosmetics and homewares.

The Australian licensors for luxury fashion brand Gianni Versace will exit the apparel sector when the brand's network of stores close at the end of this month.

If the art of fashion design is like putting colour to a canvas, then costume design is like watching that painting come to life.

Despite CEO Sue Morphet telling us that PacBrands has had a 'solid half year' she couldn't duck a media shellacking over delivering a $150 million loss and sacking nearly 2000 workers as the company winds down its manufacturing in Australia.

Streetwear brand Zanerobe has come a long way since its early days at trade fair Fashion Exposed.

Despite the current economic downturn in Australia and a severe global financial crisis, IBISWorld expects revenue from total online shopping in Australia in 2008-09 to rise by 5.5 per cent to $15.9 billion and a further 5.7 per cent to $16.8 billion in 2009/2010.

Internet monitor Hitwise offers a breakdown of Australian online apparel and accessory activity for the three months ended January 2009.

Would you like lavender with that? As far as product diversification goes, this one's a little on the nose. Worn and weary buyers at Fashion Exposed were pleased to see that packaging experts New Directions, which create branded shopping bags for the likes of Sass & Bide and David Lawrence, brought the other half of their business along to the trade fair.

On a wander through Country Road's state-of-the-art store at Doncaster shopping centre with CEO Ian Moir, Belinda Smart gets a taste of things to come.

The company has grown as we have increased the number of stockists, started an online store and generated ongoing media exposure.

Sometimes people call me Craig baby. I earn a crust by selling frocks.

The name Woollahra is said to be the Aboriginal word for "meeting ground".