Nz Designers Join Forces For Aus Fashion Event

NZ Designers Join Forces For Australian Fashion Event

Four top New Zealand designers will team up to showcase their labels across the Tasman next month at Australia's biggest consumer fashion event - Melbourne Fashion Festival.

Well known labels Gaye Bartlett, SAGA, RJC and Obi will show highlights of their autumn/winter 2002 collections - first seen at L'Oreal New Zealand Fashion Week last October. The designers were invited to take part in the Melbourne Fashion Festival by Festival Director, Robert Buckingham, who spotted their talents at New Zealand's first ever fashion week.

Robert Buckingham says he's very pleased to have the New Zealand group show participate in the Festival's sixth year.

"As Director of the Melbourne Fashion Festival I was thrilled to be invited to the first L'Oreal New Zealand Fashion Week and to see a whole new range of New Zealand designers."

"We asked Gaye Bartlett, RJC, SAGA and Obi to be part of the 2002 Melbourne Fashion Festival and we look forward to building a close relationship between Australian and New Zealand design."

L'Oreal New Zealand Fashion Week's Pieter Stewart, is delighted that the designers are experiencing spin-off benefits from taking part in New Zealand's first fashion week.

"Gaye Bartlett, Angela Hood, Claire Kingan-Jones, Robyn Hall and Laurinda Sutcliffe are very talented designers and it's is exciting that they have been invited to show their collections at such an important event in such a key market for New Zealand fashion," she says.

Tagged Quadro New Zealand, the one-off show will be held at Melbourne's 'Arts Hotel', the Hotel Sofitel, on March 19 and will give the labels exposure to an audience of around 280 buyers, media and consumers.

The Quadro New Zealand show will carry a distinctly New Zealand theme and is likely to include an element of contemporary New Zealand performance.

In the past year New Zealand's apparel and footwear exports to Australia have reached a value of NZ$255 million - an increase of 11 percent from the previous year.

Scheduled for 17 to 24 March 2002, the Melbourne Fashion Festival is Australia's most popular consumer and retail-oriented fashion festival. Last year the Festival attracted over 100,000 people to 150 events throughout the city.

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Comments from the Designers participating in Quadro New Zealand

Gaye Bartlett

"While we already export to Australia, Melbourne Fashion Festival is a fantastic opportunity to grow our business and profile while showing highlights of our Autumn and Winter 2002 collections. It is a real privilege to be asked to participate."

RJC designer, Claire Kingan-Jones

"We achieved considerable growth through showing in Auckland (in October) and that came primarily from the Victoria area... By taking part in the Melbourne Fashion Festival not only do we make a bold statement to our existing and new customers, we also enter into the market with a high profile."

Obi designers Robyn Hall and Laurinda Sutcliffe

"Our Australian retail stockists and their sales staff are an important audience for us. The show will play a vital part in introducing the new season Obi range to this group and educating stockists on how to best put this eclectic range of items together. We are also thrilled to participate in such an event which will inevitably have spin-offs in introducing us to new customers."

SAGA and SOULO designer Angela Hood

"The Quadro New Zealand show at MFF will be a great learning and business opportunity and we are really looking forward to being more interactive with our retail stockists there. We're very pleased to be showcasing our designs from both the SAGA and SOULO labels and representing New Zealand in Melbourne."

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Otherwise check out the designer's websites at: RJC by Robin Jones: www.robinjones.co.nz Gaye Bartlett: www.gayebartlett.co.nz Saga: www.fashionz.co.nz/Labels/LewisDesign/default.asp

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