While there was frost on the cars and the mercury was barely scraping 6 degrees a third of the way into spring, the Fashion industry Forum, part of the Stonnington Spring Fashion Runway program, this morning took place at the Malvern Town Hall.  Several industry heavyweights were in attendance to put forward their views on the future of all things fashion, from marketing to manufacturing, media, finance, retail, design, government and everything in between.

All aspects of the industry were covered by the illustrious panellists – Martin Ginnane, Manager, General Manufacturing and Service Industries, Industry and Trade Division, Department of Innovation, Industry and Regional Development; Kevin Potter, State General Manager, nabbusiness Vic/Tas; Grant Pearce, Creative Director, L’Oreal Melbourne Fashion Festival; Suzanne Carbone, Postcode 3000 Columnist, The Age; Teresa Liano, Designer, T.L.Wood; and Paris Kyne, Master Milliner.

With experts such as these, it was easy to be optimistic about the state of the fashion industry. Attending as a student of fashion, I found the forum was more targeted to those already in business but still provided valuable insights into the retail and online spaces.

After individual questions to the panellists, the topics that were broached to the whole panel included Fashion and Retail Marketing; Financial Strategy and Social Media. The discussions surrounding online were refreshing – it was great to hear individuals who are 100% behind the online space.
A significant amount of time was spent discussing the service offering of retail and the fashion industry as a whole. Several panellists highlighted the importance of having your service offering match your product offering – that spending millions of dollars on fitouts and the like is no good if your customers can’t find a staff member.

One of the more fascinating statistics highlighted at the event was the increase in retail in the Melbourne CBD. After the introduction of the Melbourne Retail Strategy in 2006, laneway activation has increased from 27 active spaces in 2000, to 50 in 2010 – an increase in stores from 150 to 280. As laneways are what Melbourne is best known for, this is a positive result.

Tonight the Stonnington Spring Fashion Runway will take place and the induction of two new members to the Hall of Fame. Limited tickets are still available!