A model wearing Joslin on the runway at URBNSURF,one of the locations used for the Melbourne Fashion Festival’s digital runway series.Credit:Eddie Jim
The shift to “see-now-buy-now” in the mainstream – legacy brands such as Chanel are steadfastly sticking to tradition – is playing out domestically at this week’s Melbourne Fashion Festival (MFF) and the forthcoming Afterpay Australian Fashion Week,which for the first time this year is selling tickets to the public to shows on the main schedule.
For 25 years,MFF has owned the see-now-buy-now model,although veteran fashion editor,Jana Pokorny,says it’s evolving to give consumers the best of both worlds.
In the two shows Pokorny has styled for MFF,she has encouraged designers to show a mix of what’s available now,plus a smattering of what’s to come to give the audience,AKA consumers,“a window into how they can wardrobe build”.
In keeping with MFF’s ethos,Pokorny made sure “most of the pieces will be available at the time of the show but also reaching into the following season a little bit to get some ‘spice’. Everyone is so saturated with Instagram … you want to see something new”.
Post-pandemic,brands are experimenting with new templates for runways and retail.
Some designers are hedging their bets by incorporating pre-orders into their business model,which can provide excellent data on which styles are most likely to sell without the gamble of having to produce stock that may later sit idle or require heavy discounts to clear it.
Other brands,such as Joslin Studios,which suffered hefty cancellations by some of its stockists during COVID,has rebelled against the “system” by abandoning strict summer and winter codes;every collection designer Elinor McMahon now produces includes the full spectrum,from slip dresses to knitwear.