Austrade media release 20 January 2010
Australian fashion will be in the New York spotlight this week as local designers parade their couture at an exclusive Designer Fashion Showroom Event, which forms part of the G’Day USA program.
Austrade’s Regional Director for the Americas, Grame Barty, said “nine designers from across Australia will parade their latest collections before representatives of New York’s fashion industry, as excitement builds ahead of next month’s New York Fashion Week.
The participating designers are: New South Wales-based Amar, Luela, Natalie Chapman and Pizzuto; Victorian-based Cylk; Queensland-based Katelyn Aslett and Vanguard; and Western Australian-based Dana Mathers and Stand.
Participants will receive briefing sessions from Austrade, La Force & Stevens (a PR and event management company) and JuJu Showroom (New York high fashion representatives) to prepare for the event.
Austrade’s New York-based Senior Trade Commissioner, Gerard Seeber, said the Austrade initiative helps provide a platform for new and emerging designers to showcase their collections and gain a foothold in the highly competitive and complex US market.
“Since 2007, this event has given 40 Australian designers the opportunity to showcase their collections to New York-based fashionistas and has helped raise the profile of Australian designers in the US and New York,” Mr Seeber said.
“These initiatives also help build their brand, provide networking opportunities and enhance Australia’s global reputation in design, right in the heart of the $180 billion US fashion industry.”
Participating designers were required to have ready-to-ready to wear collections focused towards autumn and winter seasons and utilised wool, cotton and silk fabrics.
Over 30 key fashion influencers from retailer buyers, showroom agents, stylists and media are expected to visit the showroom at the Australian Consulate from 20-21 January (21-22 January AEST).
Past attendees have included retail buyers Barneys, Bloomingdales, Henri Bendel, Barneys Coop, Searle, and Bigdrop; showroom agents D2 publicity, Roar, Agent Red International, Decider Group, Doneger Group; while media outlets have included Harpers Bazaar, Vogue and Marie Claire.
The United States continues to be a valuable market for Australian businesses looking to expand internationally. In 2008-2009 the US was Australia’s third largest trading partner with two-way trade valued at $53.1 billion.
Austrade has a network devoted to the US market, providing extensive support for Australian exporters and assisting US companies to invest in Australia.
G’Day USA: Australia Week runs from 9 - 22 January and is produced by the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade, Austrade, Tourism Australia and Qantas Airways. In addition to the founding partners, Australia Week is supported by the State Governments of New South Wales, Victoria, Queensland and South Australia and around 33 sponsors. For more information on events being held, visit www.australia-week.com
Gerard Seeber, Austrade’s New York-based Senior Trade Commissioner, is available for media interviews.
ENDS Media contact Sarkis Khoury, Senior Media Adviser, Ph: (02) 9390 2118, Mob: 0414 401 072
For further news and information from the Australian Trade Commission (Austrade) visit www.austrade.gov.au//mediacentre.
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