Australian Fashion Week Afterpay wrapped up in Sydney last week, and although cases of Covid-19 have increased worldwide, the annual event has marked a promising rebound from pandemic-related setbacks.
A year ago, it seemed that the Australian fashion industry had withstood the pandemic better than any other country: in June 2021, Sydney became one of the first cities to hold a fashion week in person since the virus first struck. turn the world around in 2020. But just a couple of weeks later, a Delta outbreak brought New South Wales back to complete lockdown; without warning, the stores were forced to close for more than four months, a blow to designers who depend on local brick and mortar, not to mention their employees.
“Our amazing in-store teams faced immediate closures, market instability, a slow return to physical retail and customer service challenges, when customers were sometimes as frustrated as our teams were,” writes Sophie Holt. , creative director of Oroton, in an email. Founded in 1938, Oroton is Australia’s oldest luxury fashion company; was in the midst of a critical overhaul of the brand when the pandemic came.
As in the US and other markets, the stability of Australian brands during and “after” the pandemic hinged on their individual business models and ability to adapt quickly.
“We have many different channels and revenue streams, which is useful,” explains Edwina Forest, co-founder of Aje. Launched in 2008, the sustainable-minded womenswear brand operates nine stores in New South Wales alone. Fortunately, its international wholesale business was well underway and Aje was able to shift its assets and invest in its e-commerce (which now serves 77 countries) and ramp up other digital endeavors, a pivot now familiar to businesses. in fashion all over the world. Like many others, Aje also launched a mid-pandemic sportswear line, Aje Athletica, to serve customers who weren’t necessarily looking for puff sleeve dresses at the time.
“Our entire retail empire was shut down, but we were still able to make a profit online,” says Forrest. Co-founder Adrian Norris adds, “COVID was definitely a shock to the system for everyone. But I feel that many people, especially in our industry, have been lucky in that it made them think about the ways theirs were talking. customers and sales; some people and some brands, like ours, have really flourished. “
Bondi Born, an emerging swimwear brand less established than Aje, also did well. In his case, being small with fewer retail channels was an advantage.
“Most of our retailers are online, like Net-a-Porters and Moda [Operandi]yes, and they continued to do well, “says co-founder Dale McCarthy.” We lost orders from department stores and resorts, but Australians were able to travel both summers. So we did very well in Australia. “
Bondi Born’s biggest setback has been the disruption of its supply chain, a problem that has affected brands around the world, although Australia is being challenged by its extreme physical distance from the majority. of other countries.
“Our swimming fabrics are designed in Italy. Normally, it takes six weeks from when we order to when they are delivered; now it’s six months,” McCarthy complains. As a result, the brand was unable to restock its bestsellers during the final crucial holiday season. But it goes on and on, having already ordered its Italian bathroom fabrics for next year. For new resort apparel, she started sourcing cupro, an alternative to plant-based silk, from Japan.
“They don’t seem to have the same supply chain problems,” shares McCarthy, who notes that shipping costs have also become “horrible.” “But we’re not the only brand going through this.”
While money may not grow from any of the country’s famous and abundant flora, it seems support for the pandemic hasn’t been as hard to come by as in other parts of the world. In response to the lockdowns, the Australian government has reliably provided subsidies to affected small businesses to mitigate lost income and jobs. It has also begun to make investments specifically aimed at the fashion industry, including the allocation of AU $ 500 million ($ 380 million) in 2021 to transform Sydney’s Powerhouse Museum into a fashion and design hub; the venue hosted its first show during this year’s fashion week.
Also in 2021, the government spent AU $ 1 million ($ 753,000 USD) to establish an official “Made in Australia” brand intended to encourage local manufacturing, which has declined thanks to cheaper options overseas, despite the reputation of the country of sustainable and ethical business practices.
A survey commissioned last year by the Australian Fashion Council (their CFDA) found that the country’s fashion industry contributed $ 27.2 billion to the Australian economy and generated $ 7.2 billion in exports. . In response, the government appears to have taken fashion as an opportunity for economic growth more seriously. However, there are many facets of the industry untouched by these (so far) largely public-facing initiatives.
While those with retail stores were grateful for the pandemic-related subsidies (which were also given to restaurants and other businesses), the designers I spoke with couldn’t share other concrete ways their businesses had benefited from the support. of the government. That said, Destination New South Wales, a government tourism agency, is a major contributor to Australian Fashion Week and has been for the past 12 years, according to Natalie Xenita, managing director of IMG Fashion Events and Properties, Asia Pacific, who organize the event. As for sponsors, Afterpay’s involvement, which began in 2021, has enabled many of the event’s recent improvements and updates.
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“It has actually improved a lot since Afterpay started sponsoring,” notes McCarthy. “They have invested a lot more money.”
Those Afterpay funds, for example, have allowed IMG to renounce the participation fees of the designers in the last two years. “It was so important for us to continue to give up those designer stakes again this year because I think the industry’s recovery from the pandemic will actually take much longer than initially anticipated,” notes Xenita.
Another new source of money: consumers. In addition to creating a special program, this year IMG and Afterpay have sold tickets for some shows, for the first time joining customers with media and buyers. Participating designers received 50% of those ticket sales; most, if not all of the assigned tickets have been sold, according to Xenita.
While it didn’t seem to hinder consumer interest in the event, another hot topic of discussion among the shows was the flashy Australian designer. absent of AAFW, including up and coming stars such as Christopher Esber, Ellery and Dion Lee, who helped put Australia on the map as a source of up-and-coming fashion talent.
“There weren’t that many great designers on the schedule this year, and I think that’s a little sad,” shares Aje’s Norris, without naming names. “I think we have to support our industry. And we were very adamant that we would be back on schedule and show up. We knew we were going to do beautiful things that would get attention, and that’s what our industry needs. It doesn’t need more people to disappear and not show themselves. “
For a secondary market like Australia (an expensive 15-20 hour journey from Europe and the US) that doesn’t get the same level of international attention as the “big four” fashion weeks, have the right mix of established brands and emerging markets is important to spark interest, especially after a pandemic that has hindered international growth for many.
“This is a really careful recipe that we follow for the event, because having Aje, for example, and Romance Was Born – those big established brands that have international notoriety – is so important to arouse interest in the event that then points out emerging designers, “explains Xenita.” I think emerging designers are also a very important feature of the event because, from a media point of view, everyone wants to discover the next big thing. “
There is always a risk that the next big thing may decamp to a larger, more easily accessible pond like New York or Paris. Of course, it’s hard to blame a brand for pursuing any path it believes has the strongest ROI, especially when resources are limited.
Where this year’s AAFW made headway (and headlines) was inclusivity, with the debut of two new group shows: one for plus-size designers and another for designers focus on adaptive clothing for people with disabilities. The obvious criticism here is that true inclusiveness would be for all designers to incorporate designs for these underserved groups into their collections. To be honest, the casting was noticeably different during the week, more than ever, according to Xenita.
This was also the second year of AAFW’s Indigenous Fashion Projects and First Nations Fashion and Design group shows, featuring designers from groups whose presence in Australia predates British colonization. Throughout the week, several brands have also incorporated short giveaways to these groups, who continue to face discrimination and suffer the destructive effects of colonization.
Asked whether these initiatives stemmed from broader conversations in Australia (similar to those in the US regarding systemic racism), Xenita says, “I think we definitely use the event as a catalyst for culture.”
He sees these dedicated events as stepping stones towards more universal inclusiveness, drawing parallels with Australia’s long-running Next Gen program, a group show that serves as a stepping stone for new designers. Designers often continue to stage their own independent shows after participating.
“I’d love to see our first First Nations fashion show next year,” she says when I ask her about IMG’s AAFW goals. “I’d like to see it spread to the Adaptive Clothing Collective showcase as well and have our first standalone adaptive fashion show; same for Curve Edit. I think it would be a really good reflection on consumer demand for those categories as well.”
Perhaps it is this mix of commercial awareness, cultural substance and raw artistic talent that will end up defining this very remote and truly unique annual event as it fully recovers from the pandemic and takes its place.
Disclosure: IMG provided me with travel and accommodation to attend and cover Australian Fashion Week Afterpay.
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