Business

FEX's hot topic

<p>SYDNEY: Trade fair Fashion Exposed &amp; preview has partnered with the Australian Retailers Association (ARA) to establish a series of fashion retail seminars.</p>

NATIONAL: Australian swimwear brand Speedo has given couch potatoes one less excuse to sit on the job.

NATIONAL: Australian actress Nicole Kidman and New Zealand-born husband keith Urban have become the latest celebrities to sign their name to a range of clothing.

POL position

<p>SYDNEY: Knitwear label POL &ndash; a subsidiary of Luxe Industries &ndash; has added denim to its offering for the first time.&nbsp; </p>

SYDNEY: Australian frock designer Leona Edmiston has come up with a novel idea to trade off &quot;vintage&quot; stock.

NATIONAL: Accessories brand Fossil has issued a volunteer recall of several styles of its fashion eyewear after being accused of mislabelling the items.

<p>MELBOURNE: Newly launched shoe brand Fiebiger looks set to fill a gap in the market for feisty female footwear.</p>

MELBOURNE: Seven Australian fashion personalities have made the cut as finalists in the 2008 L'Oreal Melbourne Fashion Festival (LMFF) Designer Awards.

NATIONAL: Australian womenswear doyenne Carla Zampatti is on a mission &ndash; literally.

NATIONAL: An ecclectic mix of Australia's best emerging design talent has gathered in New York as part of the G'Day USA promotional program.

MELBOURNE: The issue of occupational, health and safety (OHS) will take centre stage at the Technical Textiles and Nonwoven Association's summer briefing next month.

NEW ZEALAND: Auckland-based designer Andrea Moore has struck an agreement with iconic knitwear manufacturer Silverdale to design a new range of contemporary pieces.

Two out of the three of us in the McEldowney House of Porter began 2008 exactly as we'd left 2007 - nursing our wounds.

MELBOURNE: Fashion Exposed has implemented a dramatic re-vamp ahead of its upcoming Sydney instalment with the aim of further focusing its offer.

NATIONAL: The battle against Australia's $3 billion a year retail theft crisis has received a shot in the arm, following the release of a software package aimed at quashing the online sale of stolen goods.

Global Vibes

New year honours ENGLAND: A host of the UK's leading fashion lights have had their efforts rewarded in the Queen's New Year Honours list.