Digital Exposed Seminar

Further to the WGSN SS 12 trend report we posted recently, here are the top key items predicted to be a huge hit for the coming SS12 season.

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Fashion Exposed Blog recently attended the WGSN seminar presented by London-based Senior Catwalks Editor, Sue Evans. The must-see event was buzzing with stylish Melbournites from all facets of the industry hoping to get a glimpse into the well-heeled future.
Known by her WGSN colleagues as the Catwalk Queen, Evans is a formidable fashion force and delivered an intense seminar that reeled off all the looks we will be lusting after this SS 12 and upcoming seasons.

We collated the key colour directions, trends and textiles.

 

 

Catwalk Directions
A Sporting Life – Clean brights, functional detailing, unexpected fabrications, ultra modern sportswear, zips and plastic zips, (Alexander Wang, Prabal Garung, Altuzarra, Rag & Bone) functional outerwear, combine with tailoring, diaphonous nylons, bonded, ribbed trim, draw cords, lightweight parkas, sportsmax, sports jackets, scuba, cropped parka, weightless tailoring, the shacket, the zipped shirt, sports utility dress, soft sports dress, high/low hemlines, mesh tees, collaged tops, bandeau tops, sequin tanks, sporting tees, racer backs, sheer, basketball short, asymmetric hem tees, 90s shell suit, box tee

Aquatic – Aquarell, weightless, streamline scuba, wave-like ruffles (Chanel, Givenchy, Versace, Peter Pilotto, Alexander McQueen), cut-outs, scuba zips, iridescent fabrics, peplums, underwater imagery, print & pattern, print shorts, did dyes, conversational prints, sea life dresses, decorative shifts, 60s shift in shimmer fabrics, scuba style dress, sequin and sheers, scuba tank, zipped bandeau, strappy, casual aquatic, pleat tops, semi-sheer knits, textured knots, swim-print inspiration, peplum jacket, halter pleat dress, iridescent leathers, pearlescent, shell handbags at Chanel

50s Twist – (Prada, Dolce & Gabbana, Pucci), glamorous 50s, seaside vacation, quirky prints, candy colours, rock’n'roll, Hawaiian prints, below knee skirt length, pencil skirt, button-up skirt, halterneck, vintage vacation, authentic denim, dirndl skirts, resort shorts, melange of floral kitsch motifs, vintage poster graphics, boat neckline, 3/4 sleeve, full skirts, crop tops, print co-ordinates, tailored elegant flirty shorts, vintage playsuits, rockabilly girls, Amy Winehouse, rocking the 50s, leather tees, structured shapewear, 50s swim, ladylike accessories, scarves and catseyes sunglasses, mule, crochet, jewel trims, costume jewellery, tailoring, vintage sports, jeans jacket, chambray with western look and piping detail, authentic polo in pastels or argyles.

Tribal Artisan – north African, deco inspo, graphic patterns, geo rustic, (Proenza, Missoni, Burberry, Gucci, Sass & Bide), graphics, military, safari, pleating, graphic knits, tribal fringing, deco patterns, African prints, gold foil, art deco, tribal geometrics, African print resort shirts, Africana at African Fashion Week, new ethnic, overdyed, sandblasted print, overdyed effect, asymmetrical pleating, sarong skirt, half circle skirt, tube skirt, decorative geometrics, tribal crochet, textured marls, knitting patterns, drop waist dress, tribal beaded accessories, lizard skins, crochet bags, fringing jewellery, 4-pocket jacket for men, bowling shirt, patterned shirts for men, basket weave satchel

Colour Directions – Expect a whole new palette this season.

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Armed with a dream and some sketches on paper, Jade Martine took the plunge in July of 2010 and launched her own fashion label, Jatine. Drawing on her youth as a competitive dancer, when she would design her own costumes, Jade created her debut collection.
“I have always had a love for fashion and styling from a very young age,” she said. “As a result of traveling I have been inspired by a variety of fashion trends and styles from different cultures around the world.”

Now she has her own store in the luxury precinct of Westfield Sydney and will be exhibiting her high-end womenswear range for the first time at Fashion Exposed from 12-14 February at the Sydney Exhibition Centre, 2012.

Fashion Exposed Blog took five with the emerging fashion designer to chat about the inspiration behind the current range, sourcing her silks and fabrics from Italy, and the African influence behind the brand.

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Melbournian’s love to play Alice in Wonderland down the rabbit hole as they step off the street and into a discreet, undisclosed cafe, boutique or specialty store. This `hole in the wall’ style or vertical retailing is becoming increasingly popular for niche fashion stores looking to explore new ways to allure the consumer by offering a unique place of discovery and exclusivity.

One Melbourne retailer, Vogue & Jackson has already jumped on this idea and believes it will change the face of bricks and mortar retailing into the future. Located on level 3 of Carlow House above the famous Flinders Lane, Vogue & Jackson directors Rick Miolo and Carl Cilia took the plunge 7 months ago and opened their hole in the wall menswear store, specialising in evening wear, formal wear, corporate, tailor-made suits and weddings.

In the short video below, Rick and Carl explain the message behind their menswear store and why it is so important now more than ever, to deliver traditional customer service in bricks and mortar retailing;

“What we are trying to achieve with Vogue & Jackson is to bring back the traditional customer service, the caring aspect of customer service, that is lost now in today’s retail world…It’s about creating an environment for a gentleman where they feel like we are interested in them that we’re not just interested in selling a product so our job is to provide a holistic approach in terms of serving the client basically giving them a full run down on how to wear a suit the value of a good quality suit and more importantly a suit that is within their budget.”

Fashion Exposed Blog asked the stylish duo on why this style `suited’ their menswear boutique concept, the new `Discover Melbourne’ advertising strategy employed by council to promote the city as one of the more unique vertical retail locations in the world, the positives and/or challenges of this new boutique style, and how they are changing the face of boutique retailing.

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via ASOS marketplace

There’s nothing quite like that rare moment in your life when time stands still and everything around you is playing in slow motion, as though someone pressed the pause button briefly just so you can catch your breath and soak it all in. This often signals a monumental achievement such as when you lock eyes with the love of your life or when the puzzle piece slips into its groove and all the hard work looks like it’s finally starting to pay off.

Emerging Australian designer Jennifer Nguyen had this epiphany recently when mega online retail site, ASOS emailed this message regarding her label, Accompany By Imagery:

“The Marketplace editor absolutely loves your boutique. You have already been featured in our People’s runway & you are on the men’s homepage”

Asymmetrical tunic dress

The Melbourne-based designer has been hard at work creating her contemporary, unisex label on the side of her day job as a Payroll officer.
In an interview for Fashion Exposed Blog in August this year, Nguyen noted that this dual career `is the reigning philosophy and meaning behind the creation of Accompany By Imagery – to live your dream’.

You can read the interview in full HERE.

Asymmetrical dress

On the back of this email, Nguyen will be organising another photo shoot for ASOS campaign. Stay tuned folks, we predict big things!

See Accompany By Imagery photos featured on the ASOS men’s marketplace HERE.
and the people’s runway HERE.
and SHOP the range HERE.

Knotted t-shirt

Sourcing the right manufacturer for your brand offshore can be a monumental task with language barriers and delays in emails, not to mention the expense of flying there for business meetings or telephone calls in between. It would be much easier if all the countries were in the same place under the one roof all at the same time.
Well, we heard your call. The Australian International Sourcing Fair is bringing the talents of the world direct to you with inspirational ideas, new designs and creative styles from Thailand to Bangladesh.

From textiles and sporting goods from Pakistan; clothing and textiles from China; footwear, fashion and accessories from Thailand; apparel from Fiji; sourcing textiles, apparel and handicrafts from India; or knitwear and leather from Bangladesh. It’s all there.
And to help you source the right product for your brand, label or fashion business, we have asked the industry greats to join us for a series of FREE seminars covering all the topics from `Strategies for successful sourcing’ to `Sourcing on-trend fashion’.

Below is the final confirmed list of industry leaders who will join the Australian International Sourcing Fair Seminar line-up from 22-24 November at the Sydney Exhibition Centre.
Spaces are filling up fast, so be sure to register your attendance HERE.

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Fashion is often criticized for being lavish and excessive, the rise of fast fashion and high street designer knock-offs has spawned a new generation of fashion fans keen to spend their dispensable income on the `now’ and the `very latest’ looks, disregarding longevity for the sake of being `on-trend’.
It can often mean a very crammed wardrobe and girls living up to the cliche of `nothing to wear’. But just when we thought our relationship with fashion couldn’t get more fickle, the perfect solution comes about to bring back the balance.

Introducing Oneweardesigns.com created for women to sell, buy or swap their (once worn or lightly worn) clothing in an environment dedicated to all things fashion. The site has been created to simplify the experience of buying and selling second hand and pre-loved clothing online and at a minimal fee too. They only charge from $1.50 – $3.00 per item of clothing listed, making it an affordable way for women to sell the clothing they’re no longer wearing.

And it’s not just savvy shoppers that are cottoning on to this either, fashion insiders are also jumping on board with a Shop Til You Drop store (loads of the STYD staff are participating from the editor down – and they’ll be updating their site monthly), websites like Rescu & Daily Gloss, stylists including Jo Ferguson, Kelly Smythe and Kelly Hume along with many ‘anonymous’ fashion editors, stylists and women around town.

Fashion Exposed Blog tracked down the creator of Oneweardesigns to chat about the unique online recycled fashion concept, why she kept the listing prices so low, and what sets it apart from other sites such as eBay or Etsy.

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