“This is a bold move. No one else is doing this in Australia, not even the established labels.”
Sydney’s fashion-buying public can view emerging designer collections at Mercedes-Benz Fashion Week Australia.
Seven graduate designers will show their collections at an innovative temporary retail space.
Taking place at 72 Oxford Street until Sunday 29 May, the showcase will be open to media, industry and the public.
The event has been made possible through the City of Sydney’s Short Term Empty Property (STEP) Program, which makes empty inner city spaces available on a temporary and affordable basis to creative projects.
The event is part of a mentoring program and the result of a collaboration between Raffles College of Design and Commerce and The Design Residency.
The Design Residency founder Lorraine Lock said the collaboration is a sign of the times.
“Offering a preview event in a physical space responds to the changing demands of the fashion-buying public, and gives designers valuable on-the-spot feedback.
“Fashion lovers no longer want to wait six months for designs to become available. So some of our designers are inviting them to see their ranges in person, place an order, just like the buyers do, and receive the items before anyone else.
“This is a bold move. No one else is doing this in Australia, not even the established labels.”
The Design Residency has been using the City’s STEP Program temporary retail space since June 2015.
So far the Oxford Street space has enabled over 40 local artists, designers and makers to sell and exhibit their wares in curated and themed activations.
Fashion designer Inder Dhillon, the first designer to exhibit in the space last year, said it was an amazing experience.
"Being in The Design Residency shop was a real game-changer for my brand,” Dhillon said.
“It enabled me to have face-to-face contact with shoppers, a better idea of what was popular in my range, confidence in my product and assurance that my prices were on-point – and it also enabled me to finesse my target market goals.”
The emerging designers showcasing their collections at 72 Oxford Street until 29 May are:
- Chad Nguyen
- Leah Williams
- Iva Pfeiffer
- Jennyfer Alonzo
- Queency Yustiawan
- Anne de la Motte
- Gemma Saccasan
Mercedes-Benz Fashion Week Australia 2016 is supported by the City of Sydney.
It takes place from Sunday 15 to Friday 20 May at Carriageworks in Redfern.