Ragtrader magazine's May 2012 edition will feature in-depth learnings from the Textile & Fashion Export Cluster Workshop.
David Jones womenswear general manager David Bush has weighed in on the Australia-made debate.
Fashion designers were treated to a feast of information yesterday as part of the Textile & Fashion Export Cluster Workshop, with industry experts such as Bush sharing their knowledge through a range of panel discussions and presentations.
Bush revealed that spruiking 'Australian-made' on garments these days no longer makes an impact on customers, retailers or buyers due to the rise in quality of manufacturing overseas.
His comments come in the wake of new outworker laws which could see more manufacturing shift offshore.
“It's all about quality these days," Bush said. "And the quality in offshore manufacturing now, especially in China, is in many cases just as good as in Australia – and that's what the shopper and the retailers care about."
The Sydney workshop, organised in collaboration with Mercedes-Benz Fashion Week Australia, NSW Trade & Investment, Austrade and the Council of Textile & Fashion Industries of Australia (TFIA), is part of a network of clusters hosted by the Textile & Fashion Hub.
Speakers included Stephen Laundy, director of UK-based business Fashion Compass, IMG director and Project Runway judge Jarrad Clark, Janine Garner and Kirsten Basford of Script Marketing and Tom Skotdis, who spoke about the power of social media in a business setting.
The event also included panel discussions attended by David Jones general manager of womenswear, David Bush, Eva Galambos, owner of designer boutique Parlour X , and acting style editor at The Sunday Telegraph, Glynis Traill-Nash.
NSW deputy premier and minister for Trade & Investment Andrew Stoner said the all-day seminar and workshop on fashion exporting provided invaluable advice for the nation's emerging local designers.
“Fashion is an important industry for NSW, employing some 66,000 people across design, manufacturing, wholesaling and retailing, and generating sales and service income of around $7.4 billion each year,” he said.
“The inaugural Fashion Export Briefing and Cluster Workshop is a collaborative event and provides our talented emerging designers with valuable industry insights on how to grow a successful and sustainable fashion business locally and overseas.”