Energise Enterprise

Energise Enterprise is a month long festival featuring events aimed to inspire, educate and help small business's in Victoria. LMFF held one such event titled "Event marketing: connecting with your customer" at one of the private screening rooms at Hoyts in Melbourne last week.

With so many markets, festivals, sponsorship opportunities and pop up exhibitions and events these days, brands are inundated with opportunities to showcase their product/service. Event marketing can be a costly exercise, however when maximised and executed well, the PR value and brand exposure can be priceless.

As L'Oreal Melbourne Fashion Festival have been working with brands from a variety of industries for many years now, the team discussed how to really maximise your involvement with Event Marketing.

The event covered topics like:
1. Why would you consider an event as a marketing tool?
2. How do you prepare before you commit to an event?
3. How do you ensure the event is the right fit for your brand?
4. How can you ensure you are showcased effectively?
5. How do you engage?
6. How will you leverage your participation?

Some of the key points iSpyStyle picked up are listed below:

1. By associating yourself with a larger event, you will most likely have access to suppliers at a discounted price through the partnership.

2. For every $1 spent on sponsorship you need to spend $3 on making the event look amazing and executed to a high standard. e.g. If you spent $10,000 on sponsorship, you need to spend $30,000 on the actual event, marketing, promotional material, ambassadors, gift bags etc.

3. Before committing to an event, research which brands have long term relationships with that event and if they are a brand you'd like to network with or partner with, you can ask to be introduced as a result of being involved.

4. Be honest about how you will assess the success or failure of this event with the event team so they can try and help you achieve your goals as its in their best interests for you to continue to be involved with the event in the future.

5. Use the social media platforms of the event to your advantage. Offer prizes, gifts and special offers to the event's facebook or twitter followers in order to reach new audience and build awareness.

6. It's recommended to commit to a festival or event for a minimum of 3 years, so that you can build on your exposure, branding and association each year and really tap into that event's audience. Longevity helps reiterated your association.

7. Once you're involved, promote your association on your email signature, online, through you social media, in your retail store, in your newsletter etc. The more you leverage off the event, the more you'll get in return.

Fashion that Fits - LMFF Body Image Forum

There is a never ending cycle of the influences fashion can have on society and one of them is body image. Whilst there are elements of fantasy and aspiration with fashion (who doesn't love a stunning perfume campaign or an amazing 12 page spread in Vogue Italia?) there is also a major responsibility that comes with pumping out these types of aspirational images.

LMFF hosted a forum for the fashion industry on Monday 31 May at ACMI called "Fashion that Fits" attempting to tackle an issue that is so intrinsically linked to the fashion world. On hand to discuss the various commercial, mental, physical and moral issues surrounding this were:
Gorgi Coghlan from The Circle on Channel 10 as MC
Honorable James Merlino - Minister of Sport, Recreation & Youth Affairs
Sarah Oakes - Editor of Cleo Magazine
Matthew Anderson - Director Chadwicks Modelling Agency
Dr Naomi Carfti - Community development / Education officer of Eating Disorders Foundation of Victoria
Prue Thomas - Strategic Brand Manager of Sportsgirl
Karen Webster - Outgoing LMFF Festival Director

Indeed this panel was a well curated and diverse bunch who could discuss from their own point of view the various implications of body image in their pocket of the industry. Some of issues raised were:
1. Language & Labels - ensuring communication around Small, Medium & Large rather than Skinny, Size Zero, Plus Size and Big. "We never talk minus size, we just talk plus size and its wrong" says Karen Webster.
2. Healthy Vs UnHealthy - overweight and underweight individuals can still be considered "healthy", even if they are overweight or underweight. So the term healthy and unhealthy were more relevant terms to be using. However, how does a person looking at a photoshoot or catwalk know if the model is healthy or unhealthy based only on their appearance?
3. Cover models for Magazines - Sarah spoke of her boredom at seeing another American celebrity on a Cleo cover, however the Kate Hudson's and Gwyneth Paltrow's of the world were more popular issues that sold better than when local talents like Isabel Lucas and Jen Hawkins were featured on the cover. So inadvertently, the consumer is dictating which women we see over and over again on our covers pushing this impossible idea of perfection.
4. Education - Dr Crafti spoke about how education surrounding what and who is attractive needs to start younger so that teenagers can differentiate between a photoshopped image on a magazine and the reality of their own images and lives.
5. Fantasy Vs Reality - Matthew from Chadwicks explained that he felt there was a need and a place for "fantasy" and "aspiration" with the fashion industry and that "People don't buy magazines to see average".
6. Sizing - Prue from Sportsgirl talked about their role with introducing a full size range (size 6-16) in order to cater for petite and curveaous girls and how they encourage their sales staff to find the most appropriate size to suit and flatter for the best overall look, rather than being size-ist!
7. Casting healthy models - Karen explained they had used a nutrionist for the recent LMFF 2010 catwalk shows during casting so that they ensured they were being responsible with their choices.

From my point of view as a girl who has grown into a woman and all whilst firmly entrenched in the fashion industry, this is an incredibly complex issue that won't be solved overnight. There is a certain amount of brainwashing with media images (magazines, catwalks, online, billboards, TV etc) that do deliver elements of fantasy that have been years in the making. The rise in popularity of reality TV and social media where our photo's are constantly posted on the web, mean we are all so much more conscious of our image and critical as well. Then there is the increase in the "Search for a Supermodel" "Australia's next top model" and so forth where the girls are often asked to lose weight to compete internationally. All of these shows are top rating winners and contribute to the cycle of putting "unrealistic" models on a pedestal and it is only as a woman gets older that she can really discriminate that 95% of society are not in this category. Jump on public transport any day of the week and you'll see 95% of commuters are normal and trying to look the best they can for their size, culture, body shape, health and budget.

So where does that leave us? Do we throw our hands in the air in despair? Quite the contrary - everything starts with a small step. Suggestions made on the night include:
1. A state wide or nation wide "I love my body" day where we encourage positivity with our bodies.
2. kikki.K were talking about putting a "Gratitude" Journal out specifically for this in relation to being thankful you can use your body from a functional point of view when so many suffer from health issues and to be thankful for small compliments.
3. Encouraging more magazine articles about self love, image vs reality and body size in the real world.
4. Depicting what is Healthy weight Vs Under and Overweight from a fashion point of view
5. Developing a new language
6. Casting models for catwalk that truly represent diversity from cultural, shape and size points of view moving forward
7. Reducing the amount of photoshopped images that hit our advertising overloaded society

Some examples I can think of from commercial Australian retail brands supporting this theory are:
* Supre (who up until very recently) used shop girls and "normal" looking girls to model in their campaigns. It's a shame they've just switched to using models as this really differentiated them from the masses and sent out positive body messages.
* Sportsgirl who use healthy looking models in their campaigns that aren't waifs
* Jeanswest who cater for all body shapes with their "Speciality denim range" featuring petites, maternity, tummy trimmer, buttlifter, curve embracer and tall

I'd love to hear of suggestions from the iSpyStyle readers who have thoughts or ideas about what we could do from an industry point of view to decrease the amount of body image issues. There's some fantastic feedback, information and help on the Eating Disorders Foundation of Victoria website of which Dr Naomi Crafti came to represent during the forum.

The changing face of Fashion Online

As many of you would have read, I was privileged to meet with Piera and Philippe from Refinery 29 to have lunch with them on Monday and then listened to them speak at the Portable presentation held at Penthouse Mouse. They are two of the most humble and genuinely nice people I’ve met from New York to have achieved such success and yet still be so grounded and driven about what they want to do next.

Notes:
* They began (in 2005) at a time when there was a trend away from mass towards grass roots designers. Individualism was important and there was a big gap in the online publishing space for a niche fashion magazine.

* Their first version of Refinery 29 was like a department store map to the best shops in New York and offered an insiders guide to what was cool and happening at the time.

* They launched by supporting emerging talent like Alexander Wang, Opening Ceremony, Vera Cava, Rag & Bone and Erin Featherson.

* They believed and still believe that Risk is more important than experience and being flexible, organic and dynamic with their choices in both content and business strategies is what makes them successful.

* They currently have 1 million unique visitors per month with 100,000 email subscribers.

* They feel fashion has become a conversation and not a monologue and this ability to react to their subscriber’s comments has helped shape the business.

* Their top 5 inspirational sites they reference are:
Garance Dore
The Selby
The Cut
Polyvore
Lookbook.nu

* They believe there are 3 main ingredients to their content; entertainment, inspiration and information.

* They try to offer a real “mixture” of content, styling tips and information that appeals to a broad database but is still cutting edge so that they satisfy their growing database but also push their readers to try or adopt new trends.

* They monitor results closely; each team member (4 full time staff and 4 interns) gets an email from Piera each morning with stats from Google Analytics about what sections of the site were most popular, had the most click throughs and were commented on the most.

* They believe that Fashion is really just one big conversation and technology affords huge opportunity to communicate with others.

* The next 4 interesting trends in technology are:
1. Content – being true to your signature
2. Mobile – apps, e-commerce and entertainment
3. Crowd sourcing – the website Quirky
4. Location based services – FourSquare

I've got Refinery-itis!

I have a confession! I’m got a severe case of Refinery-itis! I need my daily fix and I seem to die a little inside without it! This online fashion site just begs to be bookmarked with its distinct edge and point of view and has gathered some major momentum of late. I was fortunate enough to interview Phillipe von Borries (one of the co-founders) who is visiting Australia as part of the Portable Content presents Refinery 29 east coast tour. The Melbourne seminar is part of LMFF and held at Penthouse Mouse.

1. Refinery 29 has really hit a niche in the saturated fashion online market. What do you owe the popularity too? Luck, timing, specific strategies?
We’re just breaking through a 1,000,000 visitors a month and the site is among the leading fashion/shopping/style sites in the US. It’s bigger than Lucky Mag, Barneys and a range of other power players in this space. The success of it is due to a number of factors. Adaptability has been very important. We’ve tried out different things again and again to see what our audience responds to. Innovation online is key and it’s critical to challenge yourself and your audience over and over. We also got into the space at a critical juncture four years ago when there were very few players, which allowed us to foster very unique relationships with fashion most exciting new designers. Lastly, we engage our audience. We know fashion is not a one-way street and we make sure every day to build a relationship with our readers. That is the most important part of digital fashion media today.

2.We are currently experiencing a significant shift in the fashion media industry with the power of the consumer, social networking and street style blogs etc. What do you think will happen next in the online space in fashion?
I think consumers will own the space more and more. Fashion used to be about limits and restrictions. Today it’s about access, transparency and immediacy. Readers/consumers etc want to be part of the creative process. Look at sites such as polyvore.com which allow readers to collect tidbits from around the web and build scrapbooks that you can share and even shop from! It’s all about personal expression these days.

3. Your “How to get snapped by the Sartorialist” diagram was a viral hit. It’s a great case study of how viral communication operates in the current landscape. Did it inadvertently bring you new subscribers, new traffic and a new kind of notoriety?
Yes and yes. That story was the most successful we ever published and our editorial team is incredibly proud of it. It’s a great example of the creative power of our staff as well as our ability to always innovate. The format of the feature was an infographic, which is very engaging and entertaining. We know the importance of our readers simply wanting to be entertained. Fashion is about having fun. It’s not serious and that’s an important part of our editorial standpoint every day. The Sartorialist feature received over 100,000 unique views, it was republished in GQ South Africa, Italy and Russia and picked up by dozens of blogs.

4. What do you think of the Australian fashion industry? Who has caught your attention and what do you think makes up the Australian style?
We love Australian fashion. We are HUGE fans of Australian designers. Australian fashion is kind of a cross between LA and London. It’s casual but still accessibly glamorous. These are women who love fashion but they’re down to earth too.

5. What are some of your favourite Australian and international blogs/sites?
Lover, Sass & Bide, Karen Walker and Chronicles of Never

LMFF Paris Runway 1 presented by Grazia

L’Oréal Paris Runway 1 – Central Pier Monday 15th March 6.30pm
I had the pleasure of sitting next to stylist Kate Gaskin and stylist / TV reporter Dhav Naidu at Runway 1 to watch Alice McCall, Camilla & Marc, Collette Dinnigan, Fleur Wood, LIFEwithBIRD, Nicola Finetti, Sass & Bide and Toni Maticevski show their Autumn Winter Collections as presented by Grazia.

• Film integration with runway IS the next big thing! A moody film shot for Grazia starring Louise Van De Vorst played on the screens as the models took to the new long stage. 
• The heels were most certainly teetering as the models took to the stage. When will stylists learn, yes heels are great, but let these girls walk in something sturdy so they can walk confidently?
• Where were the happy, smiling models? Given this year’s campaign is all about getting happy, I was expecting more fun and frivolity on the catwalk.
• Cassie Van Dungen, Samantha Harris (who is simply stunning in the flesh) Laura Scaife (New Zealand’s Next Top Model runner up) and Vanessa Milde (The next Elle McPherson according Dhav Naidu) all featured on the catwalk.
• The styling for the whole parade was a bit ‘blinged’ up for my liking. With such talented designers like this group, not much adornment is required to make their designs shine.
• Key trends – black, metallic armour detailing, layers of black textures, fringing, grey marle, lace and brocade florals, military detailing and ankle boots.

LMFF Designer Forum

Designer Forum – Sketch at Central Pier Monday 15th March 2010 3pm

A great initiative by LMFF to support the designers participating in the festival by having international and expat industry icons like Linlee Allen (LA), Tony Glenville (TG), Michael Angel (MA) and Gabrielle Hackworthy (GH) talk about their careers and their perception of the fashion industry.  Whilst more tips and advice for Australian designers looking to break the international market would have been welcomed, the careers and unique paths each speaker had taken to arrive at their current destination was inspirational and thought provoking. 

My highlights were;
• LA- Her irreverent, down to earth attitude (complete with Aussie accent still intact despite many years living abroad).
• LA – The shout out to Jenny Bannister (apparently Jenny’s designs adorned a teenage Linlee’s wall) 
• LA – Her controversial comment about working with Ellen Von Unwerth “Just because someone’s famous doesn’t mean that makes them cool”
• TG – Loved his infectious pearls of wisdom, British sense of humour and passion for the industry and sheer entertainment as a speaker!
• TG – He urged us to stop talking for a second… and  “Listen” to the experts, the globe, the new and the established.
• TG – A fabulous and valid comment about the role of technology and catwalks and how “It’s still important to see clothes on real people, look at the movement and experience the atmosphere of fashion, despite technology offering live streaming catwalks”.
• TG – Good quality pieces designed with integrity that are timeless and made with love will always be in style!
• TG – We are living in a time where seasons don’t seem to impact like they used to (whether consumer buying changes or climate change) the role of transeasonal collections are very important.
• MA – How Joseph Saba believed in Michael Angel as a 17 year old and offered him the role of Visual Merchandiser at Saba.
• MA – It seems Michael Angel has learned some lessons living in New York during the GFC about budgeting, getting back to basics and re-affirming your signature style and growing in confidence as a result.
• MA – Of his current business revenue, 70% is from his online store!

LMFF opening party

It seems that the fashion world has gone gaga for Alice in Wonderland (Tim Burton must be so proud)! The mix of fairytale whimsy, fantasy and over the top costumes has captured many a fashionista heart, including Harpers Bazaar it seems!

So when this little Alice turned up to the Government house yesterday on a fine and sunny Sunday afternoon it truly felt like I had fallen down the rabbit hole into a world of decadence, whimsy and fantasy fashion blurred into one!
The parade curated by Harpers Bazaar featured Colette Dinnigan, Akira Isagowa, Dion Lee and Sass & Bide (to name a few of the fabulous Australian designers involved).  Each designer took fairytale heroines as muses for their creations from Ali Baba, Snow White, Minnie Mouse and of course Alice in Wonderland!

The fashions were (as you would expect) a mix of sophistication (Emma Van Handaal, Rebecca Twigley) high glamour (Lindy Klim’s gold brocade ensemble) and costume fun (Richard Nylon, Gail Sorronda and Romance was Born).  Black was the order of the day (although held in Melbourne, I was surprised to see so much of it) with cream textured layers a close second and many a stylish ankle boot was chosen avoiding a stiletto sinking into the government house lawn!

On a sentimental note, the acknowledgement and significant contribution of Karen Webster as Festival Director (who is finishing up her role with LMFF after this festival) was moving and heartfelt and she will be sorely missed!

Fashioning Melbourne

On Thursday 4th March, I attended the Fashioning Melbourne forum which is part of the LMFF 2010 Cultural Program. It was held at the State Library and a sell out event. Robert Buckingham was the moderator and the panel featured The Age fashion editor Jan Breen-Burns, Bec Cole (stylist and co-creator of Madame Virtue & Co), Sener Besim (GM of Scanlan & Theodore) and Debra Mar of Blacklisted. The forum was a discussion about retailing in Melbourne and what makes Melbourne unique. Here are some edited highlights discussed throughout the night:

Melbourne’s Patchwork of Retail
Melbourne is a ‘gorgeous soup of retail’ according to Jan Breen Burns; from Bourke Street’s home of the flagship/mega stores (Sportsgirl, Forever New, Supre and General Pants) to the many twisting historical arcades, to the destination designer boutiques found hidden away up flights of stairs to the mix of cluster villages in inner city suburbs to the mega retail shopping centres of Westfield and Chadstone.

Exciting Retail Experiences
* Captain of Industry – offering a modern day version of the tailored bespoke service of yesteryear.
* Le Louvre – the new home in South Yarra offers the ultimate retail experience of surprise, delight and prestige mixing exclusivity with accessibility.
* Sportsgirl – for a hit of fun, fast fashion with a fresh, must see approach.
* Thousand Shop – honest, genuine retailing with a lifestyle approach and strong personality.
* Shag – for an injection of vintage storytelling and nostalgia.

Role of Customer Service
• Creating a calm but stimulating environment for customers to feel a sense of belonging (in Scanlan’s case up to 3 hours in the Armadale store at times!)
• Having knowledgeable staff that understands the difference between pouncing, educating and allowing some good quality browsing time, but also offering genuine advice.
• Involving the customer in the process – showing them how, where and why the product is made locally by creating a retail experience that shares the creative process (having a store front in the actual workroom like Blacklisted in Easy St Collingwood)

Pioneering Retail
• Le Louvre have always been the first to start a trend with their retailing – first in Collins Street before it was the Paris end of Collins St and now with their new store in South Yarra where there is no other fashion retailing.
• High Street Armadale – When Scanlan & Theodore moved there it was largely an art gallery community, however it’s become a mix of fashion, food and art now and this leads to a great overall experience.
• Madame Virtue & Co is in Crossley Street and one of the few fashion retailers inhabiting this area, instead preferring to be amongst the melting pot of food and art mixed with history.
• Blacklisted moved its premises from South Yarra to Easy St Collingwood as all their suppliers were located there and it made the experience for customers an all encompassing one.

Interesting bits & pieces
• Robert Buckingham is working with The Future Laboratory on a retail strategy for the City of Melbourne about evolving Melbourne as a city.  Can’t wait to see what comes of this association and props to City of Melbourne for engaging a trend intelligence agency to help their plans!
• Sener Besim is waiting for the dust to settle with DJ’s and Myer’s new department store re-births in Bourke Street before reviewing their next Scanlan & Theodore business development move within the CBD.
• Jan Breen Burns is curious to see how the new Department stores will change the consumer buying behaviour outlook in the CBD, given the success they are experiencing with “The house of brands” philosophy.
• Online retailing is a must do if you have a bricks and mortar store, but you need to be clever about the approach and mimic the real time experience as best as you can online to have any sort of longevity or business success!