3 trends to watch out for

This is your exclusive preview of what the industry will be buying in August.From athleisure to undiscovered talent, this is what boutiques will be buying up next season.'Fashion Exposed Now' is set to take place from August 26 to 27 at the Royal Exhibition Building Melbourne.The trade show will feature a curated edit of medium to high-end brands. Here are the key trends we're already starting to see.

  1. Athleisure goes luxe
The $97 billion athleisure market ― which includes athletic apparel, footwear and accessories ― is set for a luxurious makeover as designer brands pounce on the trend. Think premium fabrications, understated hues and intricate mesh detailing. Featured exhibitor brand: Jasmine Alexa.
  1. Sustainability with style
As consumer awareness around sustainability and environmental issues grows, fashion brands are putting the trend back into textiles. Harsh synethics fibres have been replaced with bamboo, natural linens and cottons, with updated silhouettes hitting an ageless demographic. Exhibitor brand pictured: Naked.
  1. The independent designer
With international retailers flooding the Australian market, buyers will look to undiscovered brands as a point of difference. This includes designers operating outside of the Sydney and Melbourne fashion capitals, as coastal and regional brands make their presence felt. Featured exhibitor brand: Kira Pizzingrilli. DATE: Saturday 26 – Sunday 27 August 2017VENUE: Royal Exhibition Building MelbourneWEBSITE: www.fashionexposed.com 

Australia’s Women’s Clothing Size Standards – When a size 10 can be the same as a 14.

fitEver tried on a pair of pants in your favourite store, and then tried the same size on in another store where they barely do up? Yes, it happens to the best of us and it is the most infuriating experience when ‘your size’ doesn’t fit. But don’t panic – it is nothing to do with you, really.In 2008, the Australian national sizing standard for women's clothing was withdrawn after the fashion industry, federal government and consumer groups found it was dated and irrelevant, according to Standards Australia. Established in 1959, the standard was based on data from a 1926 study - almost 40 years later, it's not surprising to learn those measurements are no longer considered relevant. With huge changes in lifestyles over the years, our bodies, communities and sizes have changed with it.Since then, designers and retailers have been forced to set their own sizing standards and unfortunately, these are become increasingly different. So how can retailers regain control of sizing and ensure that sizing is accurate and actually fits the modern day woman?After hearing how the 3D body scanner and technology at The Textile and Fashion Hub in Melbourne were looking to take on this challenge, we had to make a visit.Who are The Textile and Fashion Hub?The Textile and Fashion Hub is a state of the art sampling, short run manufacturing and industry training facility.  It is a partnership between the Council of Textile and Fashion Industries of Australia (TFIA) and Kangan Institute.The Textile and Fashion Hub works with small to large fashion and textiles businesses helping them overcome production challenges and improve bottom line.  Running tailored training for companies, the Textile and Fashion Hub upskills teams of designers and product managers to improve communication with their suppliers, resulting in better production outcomes plus time and cost savings.Technology at the Textile and Fashion Hub includes a 3D body scanner, digital fabric printer, digital garment printer, two twelve gauge knitting machines and a whole garment knitting machine.What is the 3D Body Scanner?The Textile and Fashion Hub’s Body Scanner uses 12 cameras to produce an accurate digital reconstruction of the body. Retailers and design houses use the scanner to conduct sizing studies of their clientele to ensure the company’s standard sizing and fit reflects the shape of their customers. Designers bring in individual clients to extract exact measurements for made-to-measure garments and individuals have their own scan done to obtain exact measurements for better online shopping or tailoring.The team at the AGHA tested out the 3D body scanner and despite the experience being somewhat confronting at first, the results were astounding. Not only did the final report include a 3D ‘avatar’ body image, the report detailed every single measurement we could only dream of knowing. Such information would be so valuable to a designer wanting to create designs fit for the modern day woman and since lower scale body scanners are popping up in shopping centres all over Australia, consumers and shoppers are going to become increasingly more interested in what size they really are.The Textile and Fashion Hub runs regular weekly tours at 4pm on a Thursday.  No bookings required unless a large group is attending. For further information please contact hub@kangan.edu.au, www.kangan.edu.au/hub or 03 9525 5673.IMG_1308Further Information  The Textile and Fashion Hub offers sampling & short run manufacturing, industry relevant training courses for designers, students and small businesses as well as customised industry training and a series of workshops and events.Located in the heart of Richmond, with state of the art facilities and the latest in industry technology, the Textile and Fashion Hub is the missing link between the birth of a creative concept, and its emergence as a finished product.Industry experts are available to assist designers and businesses with their garment development and manufacturing requirements, with a series of fee for service options for knitting and printing.The Textile and Fashion Hub is the go-to for sampling, product development, industry training & short-run manufacturing.A series of courses and workshops are run throughout the year, including:

  • Adobe CS6 for Fashion and Textiles – Intro to Advanced
  • Digital Print Get Started – a 3 hour crash course in digital printing
  • StyleCAD
  • Commercial Knitwear – Intro to Advanced
  • Fashion Futures – Sustainability
  • Concept to Creation – a day-long course where you take your design from artwork to finished product, both printed and knitted.
Facilities include:
  • Large format digital print
  • Digital garment printer
  • Body scanner
  • And much more
Visited the Melbourne 2015 Home & Giving + Fashion Fair? The team from The Textile and Fashion Hub were there in full force, sharing their knowledge and wisdom. For more information regarding the The Textile and Fashion Hub and their services, visit www.kangan.edu.au/hub.

10 Visual Merchandising Tips for Exhibition Stands

BF-FOThe Melbourne 2015 Home & Giving + Fashion Fair offers a sea of choices for visitors, so how will you differentiate yourself from the stand next door?Here’s 10 Visual Merchandising Tips for a fabulous exhibition stand or retail space from Visual Merchandiser Natalie Coulter, founder of Belle Flanuer.

  1. Personalise
The shopping experience has to be a treat! Whether the customer is wandering through your exhibitor stand or is in your retail space, 46% of customers will buy from a retailer who personalises the shopping experience. Therefore the in-store experience is crucial to a successful business and critical to the customer experience. Customers who shop exclusively in-store visit an average of 7.5 times a year vs those who shop online and browse retailers an average of 3 times a year.  People shop where they are wanted so help the customer feel connected and welcome! Share yourself, share why you do what you do with the customer. Personalize the shopping experience, you can inspire, connect and inform the customer of your brand philosophy by way of signage, store presentation and display.
  1. Layout
Know your product and plan the layout of the stand accordingly. Leave a clear line of sight from the front of the space to the back and side to side. Position the merchandise with lower items at the front of stand and taller items towards the back and side walls. Use the space creatively and wisely, direct foot traffic and ensure customers can cover the entire stand/store. Light the back wall and create some drama on it, this will encourage customers to view what’s at the back of store and by doing so check out your products on the way through. Ensure easy accessibility to all products. Group and display items that talk to each other.
  1. Fixtures
Think outside of the box for your stand fixtures. Working with products that are hand made or reused can add a level of curiosity, interest and can be cost effective. ‘On trend’ fixtures can also add a freshness to any product. Once you’ve worked out your stand style to suit your product, invest the time and money to get the fixtures right.  These same fixtures can be reused time and time again and revamped by wrapping, covering, painting and layering with other materials to give them a fresh look at each fair or event. 64% of retail sales come from ‘eyelines’, so in placing fixtures, understand where the optimum eyeline is and display your hot product at this height.Anthro
  1. Theme
Identify the connecting thread of all of your products, celebrate this thread and incorporate props and quirky pieces that tie back to the product. For example previously at the Sydney 2015, Home & Giving Fair now with FASHION EXPOSED REVIVED, exhibitor Vintage Beach Shack's showcased vintage fabrics and homewares and they did a very complimentary job in linking props and fixtures with vintage suitcases, rustic window frames and hessian fabric to complete their vintage beach vibe stand.
  1. Thread
Develop a thread for your display props and fixturing. Start at the window space for a store or the front display point.  Link through the space a thread by way of props, texture and display. For instance white painted tree branches might act as a display fixture for bangles and necklaces on front display point, then continued as a prop in display cases and repeated at the back wall as a fixture of sorts for displaying bags, scarves and shoes.
  1. Negative Space
Allow for negative space in your stand. Don’t overstock the stand with so much product that the customer can’t feel your vibe.  Edit your range. Too much product can be overwhelming for anyone making purchase decisions. Composition is key!BCBG,-NYC
  1. Be the brand
Present yourself in the reflection of your product. Wear what you sell and find a way to be your brand. Retail your way!  If wearing the product is not possible, choose a colour or style to link to the stand in some way. Be part of the overall composition package.
  1. Navigation
Allow for easy navigation throughout the space. Direct your traffic. Increase the time customers spend at your stand. Place different types, yet complimentary products next to each other to encourage items selling together. Squeeze the value out of your stand cost and imagine yourself as the customer, think through their journey in your stand. Retail is detail!
  1. Graphics and signage
Provoke intrigue and amuse the customer.  The store/space signage and the design of any graphics should complement the overall design concept to make a clear statement of the stores identity. Highlight your branding and signage clearly in the space. Tell the story of your product and how it came to be with signage. Be authentic.FISHS-EDDY
  1. Celebrate the creative process
Get creative, take pride in your stand image and have fun! How your stand looks depends on your planning and efforts. It’s important to think of it as a work in progress. Once you have covered all of the above you can stand back and enjoy your efforts, feeling a sense of accomplishment. As the event unfolds be curious about what’s working best for your stand. What doesn’t work will become obvious and you can tweak and change things up for the next exhibition event.[gallery type="slideshow" size="full" ids="14071,14073,14074,14075,14076,14077,14078,14049"]About the Author:Natalie Coulter 1Natalie Coulter is the founder of Belle Flaneur, an initiative which brings together artists, designers and students to collaborate on window displays, visual merchandising and art installations. Natalie also teaches units for the Visual Merchandising department at TAFE Sydney Institute, Australia and has hosted a series of seminars at the recent Sydney 2015, FASHION EXPOSED REVIVED now at Home & Giving Fair. This August, Natalie and the team at Belle Flaneur will be curating 'The Style Space' at the Melbourne 2015, Home & Giving + Fashion Fair.www.belleflaneur.comFollow Belle Flaneur on Social Media:FacebookPinterestInstagram

Are holiday sales slumps finally improving for fashion retailers?

salesThe Australian Retail Index,  powered by leading audit, tax and advisory firm BDO, reported that the fashion sector performed best in the recent Easter retail sales slump.Compared to previous drops of up to 10%, the index reported an improved 1.28% drop in pre-Easter 2015 sales, making it the lowest drop fashion retailers have seen in four years.Unfortunately, these encouraging statistics were not consistent across the entire retail sector, which saw a 5% drop after the Easter weekend followed by a staggering 15% decline the following week.However, BDO national retail lead partner Simon Scalzo reassured retailers that this slump is not unusual for this time of year.“The drops followed gains across February and March, and are typical of Easter sales patterns with retailers being affected by two public holidays and the short school holiday period. During the Easter holidays,  Australians are less likely to be purchasing large ticket items at this time of year."Scalzo reassured retailers that there could be relief in sight for some retail sectors, with pre-Mother’s Day typically seeing a spike in sales.“In the week leading up to Mother’s Day 2014, fashion and accessories sales jumped more than 21% and other general retail about 20%. Overall that week saw sector-wide sales up almost 15%, with 2013 sales about 13% higher.” The Australian Retail Index at www.australianretailindex.com.au provides week-by-week sales monitoring, across four key categories – fashion & accessories, furniture & homewares, sporting & recreational goods and other general retail. It sources weekly card-based, cash sales and lay-by sales data.