Domestic designers gear up to lure overseas buyers
25 Apr '08
3 min read
Repeat fashion buyers from Indonesia will attend Rosemount Australian Fashion Week April 28 to May 2, 2008 with the intention of collaborating with new and existing Australian designers.
Ms Tjut Devi, Austrade Business Development Manager, Indonesia, said Jakarta was a lucrative market for Australian fashion designers as evidenced by the significant orders its five buyers placed at last year's RAFW. All of these buyers are coming again plus two new ones.
“Indonesian fashion buyers from seven stores will attend RAFW next week and many of them are repeat customers and already stock Australian designers to great success,” Ms Tjut Devi said.
According to Ms Tjut Devi, Indonesia is not a market to ignore, with an economic growth approaching seven per cent and a consumer class bigger than the population of Australia.
“Many Indonesian people are luxury brand conscious but also interested in Australian fashion for its fresh and innovative appeal. Australian designers such as Melanie Cutfield, Sass & Bide, Willow, Kirrily Johnston and Jayson Brunsdon have recognised the market as an emerging hub for Australian design and have their collections here.”
Fashion store Velvet, located in the Plaza Indonesia Mall, has been open to Jakarta's fashion elite since 2005.
Ms Yana Handali of Velvet, who stocks designers exhibiting at RAFW this year including Melanie Cutfield, Jayson Brunsdon and Nevenka, says RAFW is a permanent fixture on her annual event calendar.