Fashion house New Twist has revealed a new future for two labels salvaged from the floundering Dolina Fashion Group.
The company purchased Aero and Free Woman trademarks late last year, following the restructure of the Dolina Fashion Group which saw the company ditch its Sydney base in Rosebery to forge a head office in Melbourne [Ragtrader November 2013 print edition].
Speaking exclusively to Ragtrader, New Twist director Kerrie Anderson said the company will soon relaunch both brands in Australia and tap new markets.
“We will relaunch both brands across Australia and launch in New Zealand for the first time. We are looking at launching through 40 doors for each brand in New Zealand.
“At this stage the New Zealand market is our core focus for international expansion, but we will probably look at expanding into the UK with both brands within another 12 months time.”
Anderson confirmed that New Twist is also in talks with David Jones to revive a supply deal for the Free Woman brand, which was suspended after Dolina Fashion Group announced it was going to close its doors.
As part of the brands' domestic relaunch, Anderson said subtle changes will be applied to the brand's design, but without losing their core DNA.
“In terms of design, with both brands, we will be refreshing the look, and giving them a 'fresh coat of paint' so to speak, but without losing the DNA of the brand. For Aero it will be around 100 pieces for Free Woman it's probably around 80-85 – all original prints that the designers have developed themselves or bought exclusively from print houses.
“The Free Woman is a little bit younger than what it has been, because it's a plus-size brand – so cateing more to a 30+ market and Aero is catering to a 30+ market as well.
“Aero is now priced between $39-89 wholesale, whereas FreeWoman is probably a little bit higher and more like $59-$110 wholesale. For retail, we recommend a 2.4 to 2.5 mark-up.”
As part of the acquisition deal, New Twist also picked up the brand's assistant designers and has given them the opportunity to develop the brands for summer and will be launching new summer ranges for both brands from this month.
New Twist will also launch a new category for the Free Woman brand in September 2014 – a shapewear collection for the first time, comprising 20 core pieces for all seasons.
Both brands will also have their own online presence also, launching around July 2014 – which will include new functionality such as allowing customers to log in and check stock.
“These are iconic brands, but I think with us taking over it will be giving them 'a fresh coat of paint' so to speak and there is a lot that we can bring to the labels. So with a fresh set of eyes I think they have a long future ahead of themselves.
“We're always also on the hunt for other brands – daywear is a market we would look at, the denim market is also an interesting one to look at – but I'm pretty much open to anything as long as it has a good track record behind it, because it's relatively difficult to launch new brands into the market at the moment,” Anderson said.