When export is primary to your business the current economic crisis could be catastrophic. Samantha Docherty speaks to a luxury designer seeking to tackle the situation head on.

Diffusion lines mean Joe and Jill can access designer looks at non-designer prices. But does it also mean those products are made from a lesser breed of fabric? Not necessarily, Assia Benmedjdoub discovers.

Designers across Australia are busy preparing their spring/summer 2009/10 collections. Leading trend forecasting agency Scout offers a snapshot of what fabrics will be most in demand.

Ragtrader regularly catches up with a previously profiled brand to see how it has moved with the times. Here Belinda Smart talks to Club 21 marketing & communications manager Lucy Owens.

Name: Rachel Gilbert

Making big money with small customers is not always easy but when it comes to Avalon, a beachside suburb 35 km north of Sydney CBD, fashion retailers highly value their pint size clientele. After all children between the ages of 0 and 17 make up 26.8 per cent of the suburb's 10,044 population and therefore represent a buying power that cannot be underestimated.

NATIONAL: The six months to December 31 2008 have seen discount department stores Target and Kmart battling the economic downturn with varying degrees of success.

NATIONAL: Australian consumers flouted the urge to save over Christmas with more industry reports indicating trade was the same or better than the previous year.

NATIONAL: Collapsed fashion house Monti Australia has re-entered the ragtrade - with some burnt creditors footing the bill.

AUCKLAND: New Zealand's luxury sector has suffered a double blow with owners of upmarket menswear chain Satori forced to sell the business and retailers in the Chancery shopping precinct facing an uncertain future.

MELBOURNE: Up and coming womenswear label and retailer Fame Agenda has expanded its offer with the launch of a range of bags.

MELBOURNE: Menswear designer James Cameron has put a troubled launch into the market behind him, with the unveiling of a new stand-alone store in Collingwood.

SYDNEY: Organisers of the Australian Shoe Fair (ASF) have unveiled a number of new exhibitors and events at the upcoming Sydney edition.

NATIONAL: Over half of Australian consumers spent the same or more over Christmas 2008 as they did in the previous year, according to a new report from the Australian Centre for Retail Studies (ACRS).

NATIONAL: Iconic footwear label Ugg looks set to re-think its UK export strategy following the closure of the country's leading distributor of the brand.

NATIONAL: Womenswear retailer Noni B is expecting a sharp decline in net profit for the first half of fiscal 2009, despite reaping the benefits of the Government's economic stimulus package.