NATIONAL: Trade preparations for Rosemount Australian Fashion Week 2009 are already underway with a designer "boot camp" scheduled later this month.

MELBOURNE: Country Road has gone one better than simply defying the down turn, pulling out a trump card in the form of a new brand targeting its longest standing fans.

AUCKLAND: New Zealand retailers continue to be battered in the midst of the country's economic meltdown with clothing retailer Hallenstein Glasson forecasting a drop of 40 per cent drop in profits for the six months to February 1.

NATIONAL: There aren't too many youthwear brands willing to hand out a $US 40,000 cheque to their target market - certainly not under the current economic climate.

MELBOURNE: The producers behind popular reality show <em>Project Runway Australia</em> are on the hunt for a group of talented designers to take centre stage in 2009.

NATIONAL: Urban fashion brand industrie has severed its ties with Myer, entering a long-term supplier agreement with rival department store David Jones.

NATIONAL: Leading global shopping centre group Westfield has revealed plans to raise $2.9 billion from investors through a share placement.

NATIONAL: Sharp falls in the value of the Aussie dollar have seen home shopping womenswear label Undercoverwear return to onshore manufacturing.

MELBOURNE: Listed wholesale group Mercury Brands has halted trade in the lead up to a company announcement this Thursday (February 5).

SYDNEY: A collection of more than 60 objects from a group of high-profile Japanese fashion designers will go on display at Sydney's Powerhouse Museum later this month.

MELBOURNE:The man behind the controversial campaign to launch Witchery's new menswear line has admitted disappointment over the way the campaign has been received by the media industry.

NATIONAL: Shoe queen Joanne Mercer has made the move from supplier to category manager at department store Myer.

NATIONAL: Multinational eyewear group Luxottica is set to put commercial interests aside to help drive a global charity initiative.

NEW SOUTH WALES: The denim brand for curvy women is shaping up for expansion following a lucrative PR coup.

The Australian Centre for Retail Studies (ACRS) at Monash University is calling for expressions of interest in its 2009 Overseas Retail Study Tour.

Arthur Galan's recently clinched deal to design the corporate wardrobe for Westfield Doncaster shopping centre may prove just the ticket in a down turn.