JESSICA POWER (VIA RAGTRADER) 18 May, 2016

FASHION WEEK FOUNDER WEIGHS IN

Tags MBFWA, ORDRE, Simon P Lock, Kirsten Lock, Bianca Spender, TOME, Dion Lee, Ginger & Smart, Ragtrader, Resort

ORDRE CEO Simon P Lock and Fashion Director Kirsten Lock discuss MBFWA's new format and how ORDRE.com coincides with the changing industry.

Mercedes-Benz Fashion Week Australia (MBFWA) founder Simon Lock has weighed in on the format of this year's event.

Lock believes that designers adopting either the 'see now buy now strategy' or a pushing wholesale collections will be based on the needs of individual businesses.

“Ultimately designers will determine what strategy will work best for them.

"Certainly this year’s MBFWA is at a watershed in its development.

“The determining factors include can social media be commercialised into consumer sales and will industry buyers attend to purchase wholesale collection.”

As founder and CEO of online wholesale platform Ordre, Lock has also committed to supporting the Australian fashion industry in line with its move to showcasing Resort collections.

“In addition to those buyers actually present at MBFWA we will use our online showrooms to allow close to 4,000 buyers in 93 countries in the Ordre retail network to review and place wholesale orders for what will be the first Resort collections presented anywhere in the world.”

Ordre co-founder and fashion director Kirsten Lock believes that Australian designers are gaining major traction globally.

“Dion Lee’s international reputation is strong, largely a result of his presentations in New York and Paris and we hope to build on this.

“Bianca Spenders involvement as global finalist in the International Woolmark Prize and her participation in the AFC Showroom recently in Paris has introduced her to a growing amount of retailers around the world.

“Likewise Ginger and Smart’s last two seasons in Paris will allow these collections to further consolidate global interest.

“There is already a large international following for Australian designers Tome based in New York and we hope to build on the second year they have showed at MBFWA.

Read more on Ragtrader here.