NOTE: Ragtrader.com.au will be back with breaking industry news on January 3, 2012. The team would like to thank you for your support this year and extends its warmest wishes for the festive season.
Ragtrader.com.au asks a selection of Australian designers, retailers and suppliers to reveal their top moments from 2011.
Ana Maria Escobar, creative director of designer accessory retailer Oroton.
It’s hard to pinpoint just one highlight for 2011 so I’ll share a few. Oroton’s expansion into Asia was a key milestone and we look forward to continuing this growth in 2012. I enjoyed inviting international talent including street style photographer Tommy Ton, fashion editor Taylor Tomasi Hill and illustrator Craig Redman to collaborate on campaign development. We also expanded our product offering with the launch of a fragrance collection, which captures the essence of the Oroton Man and Woman and our growing social media presence continues to be as great way to listen to our fans and have them involved in our creative process.
Jasmine Wong, assistant designer of womenswear label Nicola Finetti.
The highlight for us this year was really our diffusion line 'NF by Nicola Finetti', which is exclusive to Myer. It was a fabulous collection that got so much positive feedback - with lots of beautiful cocktail dresses and bold colours that everybody loved. Next year we will be expanding 'NF by Nicola Finetti' in terms of variety, moving towards more daywear and knitwear ranges. The coming autumn/winter collection also features an amazing digital print. As usual, it was very rewarding to see so many celebrities wearing our garments to special events, more recently Jessica Sutta, Lauren Phillips, Rebecca Judd and Samara Weaving.
Lara Karamian, director of fashion events firm Lara Inc.
The biggest highlight was raising $55,000 by banding together the fashion industry for the Queensland flood victims. We also launched our new digital division e-ventista and were asked to work with more and more great luxury brands such as Louis Vuitton, Burberry and Salvatore Ferragamo. We were hugely grateful for the opportunity to support local designers by staging 19 shows at Mercedes Benz Australian Fashion Week and being asked to contribute to the L'Oreal Melbourne Fashion Festival 2012 opening show.
David Kesby, chief executive of Cue Clothing Company.
We have grown our business in difficult retail times, continue to remain predominantly Australian made being the largest maker in Australia, and launched the Cue : Dion Lee Collaboration in winter.
Laura Konrads, communications manager of womenswear label Thurley.
2011 has been a stellar year for Thurley, with the opening of additional vertical stores in Melbourne and Adelaide, as well as a large scale expansion within David Jones that saw the development of 18 Thurley concessions nationwide since September. In line with these retail developments the Thurley product offering has grown extensively in 2011, with the launch of our daywear range - Thurley Collection - as well as the addition of footwear, accessories and jewellery. We are excited to continue to build on these achievements in 2012.
Rachael Ruddick, director of luxury accessory brand Rachael Ruddick.
After our Selfridges rollout across the UK, we were invited to be the first Australian brand to hold a trunk show on Moda Operandi [a luxury platform which allows consumers to purchase direct from the runway], which went live in December. We guaranteed a two week turnaround, which made for a great Christmas gift for new customers in the US, around the world and the Rachael Ruddick brand. Moda Operandi has designers such as Proenza Schouler, Vera Wang, Alexander Wang, Marc Jacobs and Thakoon.
Michael Lo Sordo, founder of womenswear label Michael Lo Sordo.
My spring/summer collection at Australian Fashion Week felt like years of ideas and learnings melted down into one perfect moment. It received some great media coverage, including a piece online from the New York Times, and was featured in some amazing editorials from Vogue, Harper's Bazaar and Grazia. It also led to some wonderful opportunities, such as being selected as part of 'The Australian Five' for an autumn/winter showcase in New York next year. It's a collaboration between Woolmark, G'Day USA and the Australians In New York Fashion Foundation and I'll be going with some great designers like Christopher Esber, Kym Ellery and Fernando Frisoni.