Fashion Exposed a stand out event
Industry defied punishing heat and humidity at Fashion Exposed to participate in what many are now describing as a highlight of the trade fair's 20-season history. Fashion Exposed and the co-located Australian Shoe Fair reported strong visitor attendance, up (collectively across the fairs) by 30 per cent up on last year's event.
Meanwhile exhibitors described the mood as buzzing and trade as buoyant, with many describing it as an event to remember. Among these was Melbourne based womenswear label Kita Ku.
"It was immense," said director and owner Sandra Adams. "There's really no other word for it. We've done Fashion Exposed for a number of years and we've always done well, but this one was a standout. It think this was due to the fact that we took part in the plus size salon show; the girls looked absolutely amazing and seeing them up on the catwalk really lent a lot of credibility to our brand. We had buyers approaching the stand who wouldn't typically have done so, as they would have had certain preconceptions about plus-size labels. Another thing that really helped us was that we introduced size 10 to our range this season, so we were able to sell to stores that typically service smaller sized women."
Keith Hyams, of maternity lingerie label Cake Lingerie (pictured left), recalled a "great show."
"Whilst the numbers of visitors to the Cake Lingerie stand were down from last year, the value of orders went up significantly. It was also noticed that the buyers at the show were in serious buying mode and were there to do business and pick up some of the great brands at the show."
"Cake Lingerie secured several key accounts that we had been trying to acquire for over a year and we were able to make an impact and raise our brand profile within the industry. This was possible due to our amazing stand position, media exposure and the Allure Salon Fashion Show and Live Look Books, which Cake took part in."
Kim Bailey of East of Grey, a women's fashion label comprising one-off pieces made from vintage, recycled and hand-crafted fabric, described Fashion Exposed as "a great weekend". Bailey, one of six designers on display in the TCF Australia showcase sponsored TCF WA & TCF, said opportunities secured through the event were invaluable.
"It was so great to be among people from the industry and talk and learn more about the fashion business. It was also really good to hear people's views on my label and my collections.
I received a lot of interest from stockists in Melbourne, Sydney, Potsville, Kirra, Ayr and even from Italy."
Jonathan Dee of Jaydee Fashions was another satisfied participant. Having exhibited for 20 seasons, he described the latest one as "our best ever Fashion Exposed", attributing the success to the fact that the fair was co-located with Australian Shoe Fair and Bags & Accessories Fair.