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A receptive domestic market has meant solid sales for designers at home, with turnover for Australian textile, clothing and footwear products in 2005-06 reaching $7.1 billion.
As textile manufacture moves off-shore, fashion designers and related creative services are under pressure to drive expansion in the sector.
Now, it seems that export is the key to pushing growth in Australia’s fashion industry – and Asia might be the next big market.
Simon Lock, Managing Director of IMG Fashion Asia Pacific and founder of Rosemount Australia Fashion Week, has confidence in the strength of Australia’s domestic market.
“A decade ago there wasn’t a lot of market share for Australian designers,” said Lock. “Subsequently, people like Scanlan and Theodore or Sass and Bide or Lisa Ho or Alex Perry, have sort of really grown their interest and their consumer base.
“We’ve seen a lot of new designers introduced into the market place. Young designers like Gail Sorronda from Brisbane and others have come to the interest of consumers, because people are looking for something new and exciting.”
Gail Reid formed her label, Gail Sorronda, in 2005. Three years on, she is stocked in stores around the world. Recognised as an up-and-coming talent, she is looking to Europe and the US for her next big break.
“I’m very curious about overseas. I want to do Paris fashion week, I want to actually do a show there, only because it’s the pinnacle, it’s the top of the hierarchy.”
Simon Lock is unsurprised. Most Australian designers experiencing success at home are eager to break into customary markets within the northern hemisphere.
“Certainly, the Holy Grail for the industry to date has been getting beach heads established in Europe or North America. But ultimately I think the volume and potential for growth is going to come out of Asia Pacific markets.
“It’s interesting that when you are a young designer and you’re having some success in Australia, you don’t naturally turn to the Asia Pacific markets as your next step,” said Lock.
While Reid expresses interest in consumer-driven Asian markets, she is more concerned with breaking into Europe. Juli Grbac, on the other hand, is eager to enter Asia.
After working for heavyweight Australian label Easton Pearson, and a stint at prestigious London design school St Martin’s, Grbac believes that targeting the Asia-Pacific market is an obvious next step for her five-year-old label.
“I think it really is an untapped market for us Australians. I’ve been to Hong Kong about five times last year, and the amount of shopping that gets done over there – it’s amazing.
You know, just the whole retail mentality.
“They’re looking for something new and something different. Going into stores, you see Willow and Sass and Bide sitting alongside Chloe in Hong Kong and that’s something I definitely aspire to.”
Grbac hopes to be exporting within two years. Retail sales figures are encouraging – according to the Chinese Commerce Ministry, China’s retail sales surged 17 per cent in 2007, to $US1.2 trillion.
Zoe Edquist, general manager of the Australian Fashion Council, is cautious in her predictions for Asian markets, but acknowledges potential in the region.
“Asia-Pacific is developing as a market for Australian designers at the moment. There is definitely an Australian aesthetic which is very well-received in markets such as Japan, also Singapore,” said Edquist.
“China is starting to emerge as a market. At the moment we have a very dynamic and growing middle class in China, but one of the issues for Australian designers is that market in China is very interested in luxury goods and very prestigious brands.
“I think it’s difficult to say how long it will take to mature as a serious destination. It’s probably likely to be between 10 to 20 years really,” Edquist said, before adding: “But there’s always opportunities, even at the beginning, for some clever businesses to get in there first.”
Whatever the outcome for Australian designers in Asia, the domestic market is rallying. David Jones and Myer’s "store wars" pitted local labels against one another in a bid to lure shoppers, and Edquist believes that Australian brands are now genuine consumer drawcards.
“You can see even from our major department stores, they have now set up large areas dedicated to Australian designer fashion, and in particular emerging designer fashion. And that’s a new trend and it’s performing very strongly for them I believe.
"So that’s, I guess, an indication that our domestic market is a big supporter of the industry, and that’s the first step that you really need to make.”
As textile manufacture moves off-shore, fashion designers and related creative services are under pressure to drive expansion in the sector.
Now, it seems that export is the key to pushing growth in Australia’s fashion industry – and Asia might be the next big market.
Simon Lock, Managing Director of IMG Fashion Asia Pacific and founder of Rosemount Australia Fashion Week, has confidence in the strength of Australia’s domestic market.
“A decade ago there wasn’t a lot of market share for Australian designers,” said Lock. “Subsequently, people like Scanlan and Theodore or Sass and Bide or Lisa Ho or Alex Perry, have sort of really grown their interest and their consumer base.
“We’ve seen a lot of new designers introduced into the market place. Young designers like Gail Sorronda from Brisbane and others have come to the interest of consumers, because people are looking for something new and exciting.”
Gail Reid formed her label, Gail Sorronda, in 2005. Three years on, she is stocked in stores around the world. Recognised as an up-and-coming talent, she is looking to Europe and the US for her next big break.
“I’m very curious about overseas. I want to do Paris fashion week, I want to actually do a show there, only because it’s the pinnacle, it’s the top of the hierarchy.”
Simon Lock is unsurprised. Most Australian designers experiencing success at home are eager to break into customary markets within the northern hemisphere.
“Certainly, the Holy Grail for the industry to date has been getting beach heads established in Europe or North America. But ultimately I think the volume and potential for growth is going to come out of Asia Pacific markets.
“It’s interesting that when you are a young designer and you’re having some success in Australia, you don’t naturally turn to the Asia Pacific markets as your next step,” said Lock.
While Reid expresses interest in consumer-driven Asian markets, she is more concerned with breaking into Europe. Juli Grbac, on the other hand, is eager to enter Asia.
After working for heavyweight Australian label Easton Pearson, and a stint at prestigious London design school St Martin’s, Grbac believes that targeting the Asia-Pacific market is an obvious next step for her five-year-old label.
“I think it really is an untapped market for us Australians. I’ve been to Hong Kong about five times last year, and the amount of shopping that gets done over there – it’s amazing.
You know, just the whole retail mentality.
“They’re looking for something new and something different. Going into stores, you see Willow and Sass and Bide sitting alongside Chloe in Hong Kong and that’s something I definitely aspire to.”
Grbac hopes to be exporting within two years. Retail sales figures are encouraging – according to the Chinese Commerce Ministry, China’s retail sales surged 17 per cent in 2007, to $US1.2 trillion.
Zoe Edquist, general manager of the Australian Fashion Council, is cautious in her predictions for Asian markets, but acknowledges potential in the region.
“Asia-Pacific is developing as a market for Australian designers at the moment. There is definitely an Australian aesthetic which is very well-received in markets such as Japan, also Singapore,” said Edquist.
“China is starting to emerge as a market. At the moment we have a very dynamic and growing middle class in China, but one of the issues for Australian designers is that market in China is very interested in luxury goods and very prestigious brands.
“I think it’s difficult to say how long it will take to mature as a serious destination. It’s probably likely to be between 10 to 20 years really,” Edquist said, before adding: “But there’s always opportunities, even at the beginning, for some clever businesses to get in there first.”
Whatever the outcome for Australian designers in Asia, the domestic market is rallying. David Jones and Myer’s "store wars" pitted local labels against one another in a bid to lure shoppers, and Edquist believes that Australian brands are now genuine consumer drawcards.
“You can see even from our major department stores, they have now set up large areas dedicated to Australian designer fashion, and in particular emerging designer fashion. And that’s a new trend and it’s performing very strongly for them I believe.
"So that’s, I guess, an indication that our domestic market is a big supporter of the industry, and that’s the first step that you really need to make.”
