Digital Exposed Seminar

One of the most iconic fashion designers Diane Von Furstenburg joined the expert panel line-up at Lucky Magazine’s Fashion & Beauty Blog Conference and had the audience enthralled as she discussed her journey in the fashion industry from humble beginnings to her empire today.
This is a fabulous insight into fashion design, as all of us who work in this industry know, it’s a challenging environment to set yourself apart and to reach the success the DVF brand has.
One of the major factors has been her personal connection with the fans of her brand via social media and online. DVF is an huge advocate of twitter with over 270,000 followers and she uses this medium to speak with them personally and joins the conversation daily;

“I have a Twitter and I’m addicted to my Twitter. This morning I had about 274,000 followers then I wondered why it was so quiet. But then when I wrote something deep, it goes off. But when someone from my office writes something about a blouse, it’s not as popular. People might go off and buy the blouse though.”

She also notes how she was a blogger before the movement started;

“I was a blogger before I knew what bloggers were because I had a DVF diary on my site. It works very much for me and my brand. I believe in truth, authenticity, connectivity and dialogue.”

Yet another example of how online and social media tools can build on your business and expand it’s current network from local to national and even global. If you haven’t started a website or launched a Facebook page or kicked off a twitter account, then it’s time to stop thinking about it and actioning it today. But don’t take our word for it, listen to the wise words of Ms Furstenberg and take heed.

Text credit: Sassybella, Lucky Mag

As a child on the sewing room floor, Sophia Vardos has been playing the fashion designer. The day her grandma gave her a sewing machine a hobby soon turned into a lifelong passion from stitching stylish wares for her dolls to gaining the confidence to fashion clothes for herself. But never did Vardos imagine her crafty craze would become a career.
At the end of year 12, when like most teens leaving high school was unsure of what next, she sought advice from her school career adviser.
“She asked me to think about what I do that makes time pass so fast that I loose track of it,” says Sophia.
“My answer was easy, sewing and designing. That was 6 years ago and I haven’t looked back since.”

Now Sophia designs full-time and was a recent finalist in the Debut competition at Fashion Exposed, Melbourne.
We spoke with the rising style star about her current range `Ora’ representing a desire to `slow down the frenetic cycles of fashion’; her techniques and fabrications; and how she makes the `Sophia Vardos’ label stand out among the diverse fashion pack?

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Images supplied by Sonya Kraan. Model: Annaleise Smith of Chadwicks

Riding with the Storm Clouds is a range that needs to be touched and seen up close to be believed. The detail is exquisite, blending traditional craft methods with structured tailoring, then layering them over one another like puzzle pieces to form the overall creation. Emerging fashion designer, Sonya Kraan attributes this talent to her left and right brain always working together, blending her creative `artist’ half with the mathematics aspects of her `scientific’ side.
“My Dad is an artist and my Mum a scientist so I was always pretty left and right brained,” she says. “Having such equally weighted interests was a bit conflicting at times but it has turned out to be quite beneficial working in this industry.”
Sonya showed her range for the first time at Fashion Exposed trade show last month in the Melbourne Convention & Exhibition Centre as a contestant in the Debut competition.
The palate fuses midnight blues with creamy textured fabrics, but the decadence is in the detail. Origami style shapes sewn into the fabric. She uses this technique to maximum effect in the blazer above, folding the fabric into pleated oriental shapes above the hemline of the blazer and its sleeves to add unexpected texture.
Interesting to note that despite the complexity of the garments, Sonya admits to having terrible sewing techniques and even failing sewing class at school when making boxer shorts. Thankfully post high-school she studied Costume for 2 years at Swinburne and another 4 years at RMIT graduating with a Bachelor of Design (Fashion) with Honours 1st class.
That explains the detail then.
Fashion Exposed Blog took five with the youngster to discuss the next step for her fledgling label, the inspiration behind the range title, and THAT `origami’ fabric folding technique.

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We are delighted to announce two of the Fashion Exposed exhibitors and emerging Melbourne design talents, Accompany by Imagery and Banjara jewellery will be showcasing their collections at the Young Republic’s Parade & Party.
Young Republic has joined forces with the City of Melbourne, Shop Til You Drop, Style Melbourne, IKON Models, The Sound Factory and Vittoria Coffee to celebrate the most stylish event on the Melbourne Spring Fashion Week calendar.

Discover Young Republic’s up-and-coming designers with an unforgettable evening of fashion, creativity, community and spirit. Staged at the exquisite Baroq House on Tuesday 6 September, the evening will kick-off at 6pm with live performances by musical guests Broke n Dj’s & Maxi Vauzelle (Triple J Unearthed).
Young Republic will be showcasing Australian design-talent and wowing attendees with an incredible catwalk installation of men’s, women’s and accessory designers. The show will feature El Amuleto, Banjara Jewellery, Coelho, Angie L Designs, Inspektor, Accompany by Imagery, Pine Lime, Denise SL Spalk & Monolog.
Young Republic’s online community has recently expanded to the United States, South America and the United Kingdom. Championing local talent on the global stage, Young Republic is currently taking designer registrations and expressions of interest.

Tickets: $10 – Open to the public.
Book now at www.youngrepublic.com.au/events
Industry/Media: [email protected]
- 6th September 6pm -
Baroq House
9 Drewery Place
Melbourne VIC 3000

To book now and receive complimentary drinks and fantastic gift bags upon arrival visit Young Republic, Australia’s first safe, secure and stylish online marketplace
www.youngrepublic.com.au/events

Witchery campaign via Fashionising

Fashion is known to consumers as a fun and often glamorous profession. And it’s easy to see why. The world of fashion editors seem full of pizazz and parties as they sit front row at the seasonal shows dressed head to toe in designer wares. Clicking through the street style shots on a computer screen or flipping through the backstage buzz via the glossy pages of their favourite magazine it seems like another world.

But in reality, the fashion industry is a serious business with many working overtime behind-the-scenes to create alluring imagery. It takes intense planning and creative input to develop a campaign that will enchant its audience with a brand’s fantasy, and one that will also entice them to buy in exchange for a chance to revel in their world.
And let’s face it, we all need a little bit of magic to break up the mundane.

One important aspect of the new fashion model is its digital realm. The high Aussie dollar that continues to increase and the ramifications of the GFC have left retail a little flat, and now bricks and mortar boutiques are facing an online shopping revolution.
But while media reports continually predict a negative effect for bricks and mortar, online shopping is actually a place where your store can thrive.
And if you aren’t online now, you should be.

via Fashionising

One of the most fascinating insights into this phenomenon was delivered via the Fashion Exposed business seminar, Digital Exposed.
As the Digital Manager for successful high street chain Witchery and Mimco Group, Sameiko Landry works in the web world everyday, analysing and testing new versions within the website to stand out among the thousands of shopping sites already online. If it’s a constant challenge for a major brand like Witchery to land on the home page of Google, then small boutiques really need to be particularly industrious and aggressive in their approach to transitioning online.
But there are simple tools to make it work for you and develop your store’s brand, with the opportunity to tap into the lives (and wallets) of people all over Australia – and the world.
You can see my chat with Sameiko post-seminar here.
Fashion Exposed Blog has had overwhelming feedback from this chat and the seminar with requests for more information on the topic. So we compiled the seminar into a succinct wrap-up.
We look forward to your feedback, and please let us know if you have had success with this content, and what further information you would like on this topic or others.

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