Mercedes-Benz Fashion Week Australia is in full gear. But what do the international buyers think of our designers and the market they compete in? Here, two of the most influential internationals hash it out.
Net-A-Porter fashion director: Lisa Aiken
What is most attractive about Australian designers?
The Australian designers we currently work with at Net-A-Porter including Ellery, Dion Lee and Tome all have a very defined aesthetic and strong design signature. In an industry saturated with so many options having this clarity of vision is essential. I have a personal love for these brands as they appeal to my minimalist style with an unexpected fashion twist.
What is the biggest change in the market?
For me, the biggest change in recent years is the democratiaation of content through online and social media. Women now look to so many different sources for their fashion inspiration and in response Net-A-Porter operates on so many different platforms, from our bimonthly print publication Porter and weekly online magazine The Edit to our weekly customer emails, social media channels and even the styling of individual pieces onsite.
What do you see as the biggest change coming?
The recent conversation around ‘see now, buy now’ runway formats is certain to become more prevalent. At the moment designers are handling this in different ways so there is sure to be a period of change before a consistent format emerges.
MATCHESFASHION.COM buying director Natalie Kingham
What is most attractive about Australian designers?
Since we first attended Fashion Week in April 2013, we have been impressed by the calibre of design talent that has emerged out of Australia – from Zimmermann to Ellery to Dion Lee to Camilla and Marc to name a few – they all offer a unique point of view which is so important. For us it is less about where a brand is from, and more about how they fit within our edit and whether they offer something different to our customer. We have found the way in which many of the Australian designers have so quickly become international names and brands so exciting – brands such as Zimmermann are frequently in our best sellers list and an exclusive collaboration we launched with Ellery last season sold out almost as soon as it launched on site.
What do you see as the biggest change to the market?
Retail has changed a lot and the customer lifestyle has also changed – women are on the move a lot more, multitasking all day between work, motherhood, travel and everything in between. When buying it's important to always think about what your customer wants to wear and how it will enhance her life. Also the way in which fashion shows and events are becoming increasingly customer facing is an interesting trend that is all about listening to the customer and giving them the choice of how they want to engage with brands. This is always something that has been key to what we do and we believe is the future of modern luxury commerce.
What do you see as the biggest change coming?
We are all increasingly shopping in a digital way – currently mobile is 50% of our traffic. As our lives become evermore busy, it will be essential to be able to shop in a way that works for the individual. Whichever way you choose to shop, whether in a physical or virtual space; on your phone whilst on the go; at your desk at work; in your lunch break or at home, the processes will continue to get easier. In addition, the merging of commerce with editorial and virtual with physical will become increasingly important. At matchesfashion.com we want all of our clients to enjoy the same immersive experience, whether in one of our five stores in London, or on our international website and we will continue to enhance how we merge the two.