THE AUSTRALIAN, WEDNESDAY, JUNE 1, 2011 www.theaustralian.com.au
Things are tough everywhere for the menswear business, says Saint Augustine Academy’s Alvin Manalo, right, and one of his designs, bottom centre. Fernando Frisoni’s pieces, bottom left, won’t be going into production, while Song for the Mute, bottom right, is getting some display time at gentlemen’s store Harrolds
THE BUZZ DAMIEN WOOLNOUGH
Shop shots
SAM MOOY, GETTY IMAGES, CHARLES BREWER
MAN TROUBLE Menswear designers are finding the going tough in Australia DAMIEN WOOLNOUGH FASHION EDITOR
CONTEMPORARY menswear designers have hit the glass ceiling of Australian fashion. While Collette Dinnigan, Willow and Sass & Bide have achieved international fame with womenswear, there are no menswear counterparts following them down the runways of London, New York and Milan. Even in the Australian Fashion Week schedule there were no shows dedicated to menswear, with Stolen Girlfriends Club from New Zealand and Saint Augustine Academy presenting menswear alongside womenswear. Fernando Frisoni, who achieved prominence with his dropcrotch and heavily draped menswear aesthetic in 2006, showed some pieces but these won’t be going into production. ‘‘In menswear you cannot really be extremely innovative and creativity becomes limited to what the Australian man wants to wear,’’ Frisoni says. ‘‘There are too many men wearing check shirts with beige pants. Men in Melbourne dress well, but it is still a very small number when you’re trying to run a successful business.’’ Alvin Manalo, of Saint Augustine Academy, who started his label eight years ago, is persisting with his menswear label but is
concerned about finding a larger market in Australia. ‘‘It’s pretty disturbing if you look at fashion week as a snapshot of what is happening in this country with menswear,’’ Manalo says. ‘‘We were missing Fernando, Ben Pollitt [Friedrich Gray], Kirrily Johnston didn’t show menswear and Zambesi didn’t turn up. Perhaps they are focusing on womenswear to keep going?’’ Saint Augustine Academy now includes womenswear, which has challenged Manalo as a designer, but menswear remains at the core of the label. ‘‘We pretty much have all the stockists you can have in Australia in menswear,’’ Manalo says. ‘‘But if you want to do menswear you need to look overseas and it’s a difficult market to crack. We’ve focused a lot of energy on the American market but things are tough there as well. ‘‘Everything in the American market is based around the heritage look. Men want to look like lumberjacks and everything contemporary has been wiped out. Even in New York at Oak and Odin, these seemingly pioneering boutiques, everything is becoming very homogenised.’’ For Manalo part of the problem is the timing of Australian Fashion Week, which takes place at the be-
ginning of May, well after many international buyers have placed their spring-summer orders. ‘‘Taking part in fashion week then becomes a purely pressdriven exercise,’’ he says. ‘‘It’s not about taking menswear orders because by then your international buyers have already stocked up on French brands like APC or the Scandinavian designers like Our Legacy.’’ Dion Kovac, part-owner of new menswear store Meanwhile, in Sydney’s Elizabeth Bay, recognises that the Australian market is too small to encourage a forwardlooking menswear culture. ‘‘The Australian market is tiny so it is hard for there to be an experimen-
tal market that is actually sustained by a niche customer group because that group here would literally be 30 people,’’ Kovac says. ‘‘In America or Europe that group could be 30,000. If you want more fashion-forward pieces, and they are certainly out there, you have to look harder for it.’’ One label that is now much harder to find is Friedrich Gray. In 2007 Pollitt was showered with awards for his layered leather menswear. Now Pollitt has put the label on hold. ‘‘It is difficult in Australia for contemporary menswear,’’ Pollitt says. ‘‘It has definitely improved over the years. I find it’s the larger stores that capture most of the market and that
are offering the more conservative product mix, so it’s difficult for men to find that contemporary product. You can only buy what is made available to you.’’ Visibility is an objective of this year’s winners of the designer of the year prize at L’Oreal Melbourne Fashion Festival, Melvin Tanaya and Lyna Ty with their label Song for the Mute. Their moody woollen range in a predominantly black palette, occasionally alleviated by a shot of grey, is supported by high-profile gentlemen’s outfitters Harrolds. ‘‘Chris Kyvetos, the creative director of Harrolds, presented us with the idea of opening up our own area within their premises, giving us the full creative freedom to fit out the space [and] giving our customers the ability to experience the brand’s story and aesthetic first-hand,’’ Tanaya says. ‘‘Having been given the opportunity to present our collection within Harrolds’ space will open a lot of doors for us as this collaboration will hopefully create good brand recognition and exposure to the very market that we would like to tap into.’’ Rather than focusing on the American market, Tanaya and Ty have turned their attention to Europe and Asia. They partici-
pated in Singapore Men’s Fashion Week and received the young designer of the year award at that event. ‘‘We have established good accounts in some of the key Asian markets, Hong Kong and Singapore, but this month will be the first time we’re presenting our collection to the world market during Paris men’s fashion week.’’ Without enough international stockists, Manalo at Saint Augustine Academy is running a small retail space in Sydney’s Surry Hills to keep his menswear line afloat. ‘‘If all you do is just wholesale menswear you need the overseas customers,’’ Manalo says. ‘‘To be successful I think you need to be able to support your business with a retail space. Look at other menswear labels like Alpha 60 and Brent Wilson. It works for them.’’ There is also the hope that men’s tastes will evolve beyond safe suiting and T-shirt and jeans combinations. ‘‘We are noticing a change,’’ Kovac says. ‘‘More and more men are now seeking out different pieces, something that has a classic look to it but is a little more relaxed and can be dressed up or down. Because there isn’t a lot of choice for men out there and because they shop so rarely, if they love something they want to buy it regardless.’’
MEN ON THE MAKE WHICH MENSWEAR LABELS MAKE THE CUT ‘For modern denim it’s definitely Chronicles of Never. Thoughtful ideas and the best-cut jeans in the country. I also love Aussie Bum. Fashion is only as good as your foundations and they put the sexy into structure’ KEN THOMPSON, STYLIST
‘I’d have to nominate Vanishing Elephant for its classic and somewhat minimal tailoring, capped off with occasional and quirky design tweaks. [Its] shirts, in particular, dominate my wardrobe. The principal players, Felix Chan, Huw Bennett and Arran Russell, have never strayed from the page’ PETER HOLDER, PUBLISHER, MEN’S STYLE
Alex Perry takes brand indoors Designer-branded buildings are the latest story CARLI PHILIPS
FASHION 21
ONE of Australia’s most visible fashion personalities has swapped catwalks for corridors with the launch of Alex Perry Residential. Construction for the 11-level building in Brisbane’s Fortitude Valley is due to begin next year followed by a planned rollout of 10 buildings across Australia. Although Australia was one of the first countries to welcome the concept of fashion-branded buildings with the Palazzo Versace Gold Coast opening in 2000, it now lags behind the rest of the world. Last year marked the opening of the Armani Hotel in Dubai, Maison Moschino in Milan and Hotel Missoni in Edinburgh. Other examples include Paris’s Hotel du Petit Moulin designed by Christian Lacroix, the Bulgari Resorts and Spas, and Armani’s hotels, residences and resorts. Although other Australian fashion designers have flirted with interiors (Melbourne’s Clara Townhouse development enlisted Tigerlily’s Jodhi Meares as ‘‘lifestyle collaborator’’ and Collette Dinnigan designed the Dom Perignon lounge at Sydney’s Hemmesphere Bar), this is the first time a local fashion designer will boast an eponymous property portfolio spread across the country. ‘‘I’m by no means an architect
‘Chris Cheng from Lab Homme. I think this designer has a very good future. He has shown some promising first collections influenced by his time in Paris, but is still very relevant to Australia. Most of all he’s a good guy — humble, thankful, curious and willing to grow’ NICK SMITH, EDITOR, GQ AUSTRALIA
but I do know visually what I like,’’ says Perry, who is the project’s creative director. ‘‘I had images of things I thought it should feel like and input into some things that were tweaked on the outside of the building, but it was really about how the inside looked; not decoration so much as how the spaces felt and what finishes were used.’’ Geoff Parker, architectural director on Alex Perry Residential, initially had ‘‘severe reservations’’ about working with a fashion designer because he didn’t know how educated Perry would be in the property development arena. ‘‘Alex surprised me. He’s very receptive and extremely intuitive,’’ Parker says. ‘‘Typically clothing designers, I would think, have a terrific ability with colours and fabric. Alex is very naturally perceptive and quite specific. We’d be sitting at our boardroom table looking at various options and almost instantly he goes to the combination and picks them out. His ability to get the right mix of colour is terrific.’’ For Perry, the creative process was similar to creating a fashion range. ‘‘The principles that make a good dress work — line, colour, texture, quality, the way that you execute something — it’s the same inside a building, in a sense,’’ he
‘I think Arthur Galan does a great job for smart casual, but for suits and something more formal Patrick Johnson is my go-to man. He has a great sense of style and knows how to make classic clothes that are directional but not too fashiony. But, perhaps best of all, as Johnson is a tailor his clothes fit perfectly’
‘At the moment I’m really loving Jim Thompson’s Three Over One collections. He always uses great fabrics and for me most of the pieces are timeless and only get better with age. Some other great local menswear designers worth noting include the Cloakroom, Vanishing Elephant, Rittenhouse and Jac and Jack’
‘My favourite would have to be Gareth Moody from Chronicles of Never. I find that his aesthetic is sophisticated and thoughtful through his silhouette and use of fabric. The colour palette is always mature . . . I also admire how his looks remain masculine in spite of the label’s androgynous viewpoint’
DAVID MEAGHER, EDITOR, WISH MAGAZINE
DION KOVAC, RETAILER, MEANWHILE
LIAM McKESSAR, BLOGGER, FRONTROWSUIT.COM
Alex Perry-designed block says, drawing parallels between the two disciplines. Philip Vivian, director at Bates Smart Architects, which designed Melbourne’s Crown Metropol and Sydney’s Four Seasons, agrees with the sentiment but adds: ‘‘It takes years of dedication to understand the effects of line, colour and texture in a good dress; and the same is true of a good building. ‘‘While fashion tends to be transient by nature, buildings are built to last. If a designer recognises this then they will aim for something that is not a passing fashion. Design and creativity is a way of thinking, rather than a
body of knowledge. There is no reason architects couldn’t collaborate with a fashion designer. ‘‘The legitimacy and integrity will depend on the design that is produced.’’ Working closely with Cottee Parker Architects from his project’s inception, Perry maintains it was entirely a collaborative process from the ground up. ‘‘People sometimes don’t understand the distinction between a collaboration and a straight-out sponsorship. I haven’t endorsed this. I designed these interiors; I selected everything that goes into them; I had input in the way that they were shaped, so there’s a design integrity there. ‘‘So at the end of the day, once this is built I can stand outside it with 150 per cent confidence that these are Alex Perry interiors.’’ The Alex Perry Residential identity features on the exterior signage in addition to logos on concrete, screenings and pergolas throughout the property. Mark Ritson, branding professor at Melbourne Business School and adviser to luxury brands such as Louis Vuitton, Fendi, Dior and Hennessy, says that, from a marketing perspective, Perry’s brand extension is likely to be a commercial success. ‘‘Within brand equity you’re
buying two things,’’ Ritson says. ‘‘First, brand awareness. There’s a significant proportion of the target market for this property that will have heard of the Alex Perry brand and I’d argue that’s in the 40-50 per cent range and that’s pretty good. ‘‘And the other issue is: what do you think of when you think of Alex Perry? The answer will probably come back to certain associations such as taste, fashion and being trendy. And why that’s important is because there doesn’t need to be a practical connection. The high-end associations can be transferred across.’’ Renowned for his flamboyant personality, Perry is mindful of how people may perceive his interior design sensibility. ‘‘I think that when a lot of people think of me they expect that I would live in a Liberace-style house, dripping in chandeliers,’’ he says. ‘‘But my interior aesthetic is solid and clean. I like things to feel expensive. I like the stone counters to be thick and wide. ‘‘I want that sense of luxury. It’s not that it’s tricky with cornices and panelled walls but there’s a classicism about it. ‘‘Clean, beautiful, solid, good finishes: that’s what I’ve tried to imbue on this rather that walking in the Grand Palais in Paris.’’
THE store wars have gone beyond the registers of department store giants David Jones and Myer and into cyberspace. Australia is online retailer Net-APorter’s third largest market and Mywardrobe.com and Asos are now chasing their share of antipodean shoppers. Recognising that it takes more than a stocktake sale to lure customers away from their computers, Myer last week added to its fashion offering in its Sydney store. The Row by Mary-Kate and Ashley Olsen, Matthew Williamson and Catherine Malandrino joined Myer’s growing stable of Australian talent. ‘‘Labels such as The Row and Balmain are arguably some of the hottest labels in the world right now and their presence at Myer Sydney will attract the most discerning of Sydney shoppers,’’ says Judy Coomber, group business manager of fashion and accessories . Many of Myer’s labels are also available online so the store is focusing on personalised service at a VIP shopping suite staffed by stylists with a luxury fashion focus. ‘‘Shoppers can make a one-on-one appointment with one of our consultants and take their time to try on different pieces in the privacy of the personal shopping suite,’’ Coomber says. ‘‘Our stylists have extensive product knowledge across womenswear, footwear and accessories so that our customers can walk out with an immaculately styled wardrobe from head to toe.’’ On a fleeting visit to Sydney during Australian Fashion Week, My-wardrobe.com founder Sarah Curran said online shopping sites were matching department stores sale for sale when it came to service. ‘‘E-commerce businesses are shaping the way people are shopping, with easy to navigate sites, engaging and exciting editorial content, personalised style advice and one-to-one expertise from customer advisers,’’ Curran says. ‘‘This creates a unique experience, which is difficult for bricksand-mortar stores to compete with in today’s fastpaced environment.’’ Expect this war to last longer than M*A*S*H.
Back in Vogue EVERYTHING old is new again at Vogue Australia with the return of Paul Meany as art director. Meany went home to the US in 2007 after almost five years as the magazine’s art director to pursue commercial work but has been lured back to his former stomping ground. ‘‘Paul has been working on big accounts such as Revlon and Avon for the past four years,’’ says Kirstie Clements, editor-in-chief of Vogue Australia. ‘‘He brings with him incredible wit, style, intelligence and, being a New Yorker, a global understanding of the fashion and media business.’’ Meany starts work on the magazine next week, so expect changes to Vogue’s look and feel in coming months.
London calling BURBERRY is going back to its British roots with a renewed focus on London as it embarks on a £20 million spending program during the next year. The fashion label, famous for its trench coats, says it will double its presence in London and overhaul stores in Paris, Milan and New York. The rapid acceleration of its expansion comes after profits soared 40 per cent in the past year. Angela Ahrendts, the chief executive, says it is time to turn the spotlight on the prime luxury shopping cities after years of pushing hard in emerging markets, including buying back stores from its China franchises. ‘‘The growth of the brand has not kept up to speed in core flagship markets. If you look at the contrast between the success of Burberry stores in emerging markets, compared with London, Paris and Milan, the opportunity I think is glaring.’’ She says Burberry’s store presence has to catch up with consumers’ perception of the brand, especially in London, to capitalise on expected double-digit growth in the sector next year. ‘‘London is our headquarters. We should shine here greater than we shine anywhere in the world,’’ she adds. Burberry plans to increase the amount of space in new stores by up to 44 per cent. It is forecasting space growth of 12 per cent to 13 per cent this year, up from 9 per cent in the past year. As a result, capital expenditure will rise from £108m to about £200m, with new stores planned in under-exploited markets including Armenia, Israel and Egypt. ‘‘We have spent the past five years focusing on the back end of the business . . . we are shifting our focus to the front end,’’ Ahrendts says. Chinese visitors account for 20 per cent to 30 per cent of spending in its London stores. Britain’s largest luxury goods maker reported pre-tax profits of £296m in the year to March 31, with revenue up 27 per cent to £1.5 billion. The company highlighted large leather goods, and bags in particular, as strong performers. Burberry has been attempting to regain control of its brand in recent years after it became synonymous with ‘‘chav’’ style in the early part of the past decade. EMILY FORD AND MARCUS LEROUX THE TIMES
Burberry coat GETTY IMAGES