Digital Exposed Seminar

Untitled from AEC on Vimeo.

If there’s anyone who truly understands the crucial business end of fashion, it’s Alex Perry. The iconic Australian designer has taken his label beyond the racks and into an international brand that spans from ready-to-wear to couture and bridal, with the recent inclusion of the Executive by Alex Perry range taking women from desk to dinner, and increasing the size range to a size 16.

This diversity within the Alex Perry brand, and his hands-on-approach, has ensured its survival on the fickle rollercoaster ride of the fashion industry. Alex Perry is a highlight at this year’s Premiere Boutique Trade Event and the boss of ballgowns dropped into the Royal Exhibition Building today to meet with buyers and visitors to the show.
In this exclusive video chat with Premiere Fashion Blog, Alex Perry discusses the `tricky’ retail environment’ and what he coins the `Zara Effect’ on Australian fashion.
But it’s the business end of fashion that is crucial to the longevity of a brand, which is why Alex flew into Melbourne last night to attend Premiere and assist his fashion agency, Susie Sharrock.
“Retail is tricky at the moment so it’s important to be part of the selling of each range especially when its just been released, to let them know the philosophy of the season, what we are offering and apart from that fact I just love it,” says Alex. “I love being part of that selling process and I think the Sharrocks are amazing, they know my brand so well it just nice when I am here and meeting boutiques so they can ask questions and literally hear it from the horses mouth.”

He also reveals his extension of the Alex Perry range into a size 16, on the back of the plus-size phenomenon that has been sweeping the industry. Alex says this is also about listening to the needs of women and responding to the changes in the market. Which also includes diversifying your business strategy to compete with the increasing threat of online shopping.
“I think that will always be a divide, there are people who buy online and people who don’t, but fashion is one of those things that for me personally you need to touch it, feel it, try it on,”he says.
“There are certain things that I buy online like I will buy underwear online when I know a brand, but it’s different with evening wear and designer fashion so I think there will always be a divide, but I think there needs more involvement from designers to give that extra service when it comes to buying fashion.”

Eryn Brinie from Melissa Boys fashion agency

The Royal Exhibition Building is the perfect setting for Melbourne’s first installment of Premiere boutique trade event for exclusive labels.
While each booth provides an intimate enclosure for the serious business to take place, the rich decor and high vaulted ceilings of the historic building bestows a grand ambience that befits the luxury labels lining its walls.
The luxury begins from Alex Perry to Little Joe Woman, and continues on to premium denim brands Paige, Jbrand, True Religion, Robins Jeans, Rockstar, Arabella Ramsay, Project D, Cylk, Eryn Brinie, Pretty Ballerinas, Luxe Deluxe, 3Fish, NYDJ and Lisa Barron.

Luxe Deluxe



J Brand

Doma Leather




Little Joe Woman

Away from the business, Premiere also features the talents of celebrity stylist Philip Boon with The Stylist Says Workshop, discussing the topic of `emerging vs established’ and the online phenomenon with Style Melbourne editor and Premiere media partner, Sarah Wilcocks.

Here’s a short video segment from yesterday’s workshop;

As the perfect complement to Philip Boon, his Fashion Torque partner and iconic Australian fashion designer, Jenny Bannister shares her personal archive with Premiere visitors. This is the first time this range has been publicly displayed. A must-see exhibit.

Watch designer Colleen Burke turn paper into couture garments. Using a variety of paper and a sewing machine, Colleen and her assistant will create sculptural, artistic garments out of paper, using traditional dressmaking techniques.

And don’t miss the recycled melissa shoes exhibition;

We look forward to seeing you here!

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Lace is set to be the biggest trend for the upcoming spring summer months.
The WGSN runway report states “we can expect to see a return to those simple, honest fabrics, with designers opting for the more romantic feel of delicate lace, whitework, broderie anglaise, crochet and cutwork, layered in mismatched combinations, or maybe mixed back with floral prints for a pastoral, feminine feel.”
With the colour blocking trend already hitting stores, expect to see lace dresses in bright colourways from peacock blue to devilish red.
Read the full WGSN trend report at Fashion Exposed Blog. Jen Sherrin from WGSN will discuss these and more at the Business Seminar during Fashion Exposed on Tuesday August 30.

Heading into a career of fashion design was an inevitable progression for Natasha Gan. From a young age she would watch her dressmaker mother stitching works of art. By the time she was 13, Natasha had enrolled in her local TAFE and was studying patternmaking on weekends. Three years later she was selected to study fashion design at East Sydney Technical College.
Her simple skills were formalised and she gained the confidence to combine this with her in-depth knowledge of the business into her own self-titled label.
At 21, Natasha craved inspiration and moved to London – one of the world’s top fashion destinations – in search of experience and insight. Here she worked for several small fashion houses which led to designing for high street powerhouse H&M and Topshop.

Eventually Natasha Gan created her self-titled line in 2003, using all the experience from her travels, with a focus on creating a progressive, strong and sexy collection of beautifully constructed pieces. Each piece from the range reflects quality with a dedication to detail to reflect Natasha’s high standards. Dedicated to supporting the Australian fashion industry – from design, to pattern-making, to embroidering and finishing – each Natasha Gan garment is entirely Australian made. This unique point of difference sets the Natasha Gan Collection apart as a highly regarded Australian label, and its popularity sees it stocked in more than 80 independent boutiques across Australia.
Natasha Gan will showcase her 3rd summer collection, Cruise at this weekend’s Premiere boutique trade event for exclusive labels from Sunday August 28 to Tuesday August 30 in the Royal Exhibition Building. To pre-register, visit www.premiere.net.au
Click below to see more from the Cruise collection.

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Arabella Ramsay has a unique way of interpreting our Australian sensibility into her clothing. It’s this very sentiment that has set the brand apart from the fast fashion and mass manufactured lines to capture the hearts of homegrown stylistas looking for a point of difference. This season Arabella has been busy juggling. On top of designing her new Autumn Winter collection, `The Apply of My Isle’, she had a wedding and beautiful baby girl.

We had a chat to the new mum about how Tourism Tasmania posters from the 70s inspired her A/W collection, working with her artist father Dougal Ramsay on fashion prints, and how exhibiting at Premiere this weekend will increase her exposure for the label’s return to wholesale.

Read more »

via Fashionising

Brazilian label Osklen will feature their creative collection at Premiere – boutique trade event for exclusive labels this weekend from August 28-30 at the Royal Exhibition Building.
Head to Fashionising.com for the full story and complete AW 10 lookbook images.
To register for Premiere, visit here.

Nerida Lennon is so much more than just a pretty face. With a stellar modelling career in tact, the Melbourne maven is stepping off the runway and thrusting her fashion sense into an ambassadorial role promoting sustainable fashion. Proving her green thumb, the brunette beauty was recently awarded the British Council’s Big Green Idea grant to help develop her own sustainable fashion initiative. Fusing her love of fashion with her passion for conservation, Lennon is on a mission to make conservation chic with her push to transition the Australian Fashion Industry towards environmentally and socially sustainable practices. And she’s not alone.

Co-founder of 3Fish Natalie Dillon will co-present `Life Cycle Thinking and Green Supply Chain’

Lennon will assist the Textile and Fashion Industries of Australia (TFIA) in partnership with Sustainable Fashion Australia at their sustainability seminar series, [Eco]logical Evolution at this weekend’s trade industry event Fashion Exposed.
Award Winning retailer and Premiere boutique trade show exhibitor 3Fish is one of many conservation companies speaking at the three day sustainability workshop that will bring together local industry thinkers, graduates and designers.
Joining the line-up is Melbourne Fashion icon Karen Webster who will discuss `The New Luxury’ and the growth of a new kind of high-end fashion market.
Other topics include Principles of Sustainable Fashion; and Rethinking [Service] Design – moving from a focus on fashion as a product to fashion as a service.

Fashion icon and industry leader, Karen Webster will discuss The New Luxury via Image Zimbio

The seminar series will showcase successful and compelling case studies for current sustainable business models in the textile, clothing and footwear sector, with emphasis on holistic business, sustainability and transparency. With the local retail sector seeking out new business models to adapt to the changing market and future selling trends, this event aims to look at innovative green solutions that can reduce costs and increase efficiency.

Nerida Lennon

This is something Lennon is also keen to demonstrate and advocate during the daily seminars.
The Vivien’s Model really admires the creativity and innovation in the fashion industry. Her 9 year career brought her much local and international success spanning from luxury clients such as Chanel, Gucci, Burberry, Ralph Lauren and Calvin Klein, to acclaimed local designers and retailers including Toni Maticevski, Camilla and Marc, Lisa Ho, Claude Maus, David Jones and Myer – to name a few. And she will bring her experience to the Fashion Exposed Salon Shows’ runway.
This is a dream run for most aspiring models, but it’s Lennon’s new role that has her most inspired.
“I’ve been in the industry for a while now, but I’d like to gain a reputation for supporting fashion labels that are making efforts to transition to more sustainable practices,” she says.
“I would like to be a sustainable fashion ambassador, inspiring and educating the industry and consumers about the innovative possibilities that will transition the industry towards sustainability.
“Successfully running my sustainable fashion initiative on a regular basis is my main priority.”

Fashion Exposed Blog took five with the eco-chic to chat about her involvement in the TFIA sustainability program at Fashion Exposed, her future conservation plans with Australian designers, and how sustainable fashion will help save the world.

The full [Eco]logical Evolution program is available for download here.

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We predicted it earlier this year, and now heavy metal – the colour not the head bashing long haired musical style – is about to meet your wardrobe with J Brand’s latest Metallics collection.
From the daring shiny and matte boa skinnys to the bold golden snake print, or for the less dramatic there’s the subtle rose gold or sterling silver looks. Toning it down just a little more, but still tying in with the steely styles is the duller smolder in a sultry slate hue and the deep midnight blue knight – there’s sure to be a sheen to suit.

So how do you work this look?
Take note from the luxury runways of Balmain, Alexander Wang and Dolce et Gabbana and pair it with a simple cotton tee in a mono-tonal hue such as black, white or charcoal to take the edge off and bring the shine down a notch to a more everyday, wearable level.
For the brave voguettes, try pairing it with a metallic blazer or bright fur jacket for a hint of rock’n'roll cool…
See the new J Brand range at this weekend’s Premiere – boutique trade event for exclusive labels from August 28-30 at the Royal Exhibition Building.
Click the link below to view the complete J Brand metallic range.

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If you haven’t heard the hype surrounding denim newcomer Black Orchid, then prepare yourself for what is set to be one of the new major players on the indigo market.
In a short time, Black Orchid has already garnered an enviable celebrity fanbase including Black Eyed Peas singer Fergie, model slash actress Megan Fox and Victoria Secret Angel Alessandra Ambrosio.
So expect to see their signature dark denim leggings and skinny boot-cut styles become cult classics and covering the stylish pins of your local denimistas.
According to a Denimology review, the magic is in the symmetry of the washes, denim, trims, and designs which are sure to guarantee its staying power and set it apart from the current designer denim line-up.
For Fall 2011, Black Orchid has released dark denim leggings, skinny boot-cuts, and jeggings all adorned with zipper detailing. Jeggings with vertical pleats, capri’s are making a comeback, nice gray denims and of course an array of flares, bell bottoms and wide legs in classic blue washes.
See a preview after the jump, but to view the entire collection visit their stand at next week’s Premiere – boutique trade event for exclusive labels from August 28-30 at the Royal Exhibition Building. To register visit the website, www.premiere.net.au

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For those who are concerned at the impact Zara is having on the Australian retail industry, recent allegations of slave labour and unfair working conditions could be welcome ammunition.
A report released today via Fashionista reveals `Zara’s Brazilian suppliers contracted with factories which subjected workers to hazardous “slave-like” working conditions and employed at least one girl aged 14′.
Repórter Brasil broke the story and released graphic images of the grimy work space where the Zara label is being manufactured.

Fashionista reports:

“According to Made in Brazil (who translated the report), AHA Indústria e Comércio de Roupas Ltda., a supplier that Zara uses to contract with factories to produce their garments in Brazil, has been under investigation by São Paulo’s Bureau of Labor and Employment since May.
The Bureau of Labor and Employment found that 52 people were working in unsafe and unsanitary conditions at at one of the factories contracted by AHA Indústria to produce pants for Zara Brazil.
Workers were made to work 16-hour shifts in windowless factories, earning only between R$274 and R$460 a month (that’s $170 to $286), which is below Brazil’s minimum wage of R$545 ($339).
In another inspection, a 14-year-old girl was found working “under slave-like conditions” at another factory in São Paulo contracted by AHA Indústria for Zara.”

Of course the multi-billion dollar orgnisation that is Inditex, the group that owns Zara, quickly retaliated with a statement denying any knowledge that their supplier contracted factories that allowed such unethical practice. But surely, with a company as big as Zara, who publicly and proudly stands by its `Code of Conduct for External Manufacturers and Workshops’ – and is under contract to comply with the Code – would have a more stringent method of inspection in place?

It is believed that there are other 30 factories producing for Zara in Brazil also operating under slave-like conditions.

To read Zara’s full release, head to Fashionista here.

And visit Made In Brazil for the detailed report.

What do you think of the allegations? And do you think this will have a negative impact on Zara’s sales?