Frock And Its Role
The Age
Saturday March 8, 2008
CONSUMERS are turning from mass-produced designer clothes to those of local, independent designers, a New York marketing expert said yesterday.
"It's not just about the frock, it's about what the frock means in my life," said Wendy Leibmann at the L'Oreal Melbourne Fashion Festival's packed business seminar yesterday. "Mass consumerism just isn't fun anymore," she said, adding that 38 per cent of people in a recent survey said they did not buy mass-produced designer brands any more. "They want small, easy, edited, local, intimate." The British Design Council's Sir George Cox told the seminar that "the world will generate more wealth in the next 25 years than we can imagine, but it's going to be a tough game. You need wit, and balls and creative skills."Sir George and Ms Leibmann believe the fashion that future consumers will fall in love with are brands such as those in the fashion festival's final and most exciting event, Independent Runway, tomorrow night. "If this group of young designers were to open a shop together, it would reflect exactly what's happening in the zeitgeist," said project manager Jo Cramer. The show exposes emerging trends by forefront designers from around Australia. "The trend in metallics is becoming very blatant and there's a real chocolate-wrapper gold," said Ms Cramer. "There's also a lot of black, but it's punctuated, sparingly, with colour." Designers, including Alpha60, Limedrop, Manning Cartell and Mause Cat Berlin, will show at Peninsula on Central Pier tomorrow at 8.30pm.
© 2008 The Age
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