As thousands of shoppers attend a pop-up event in Perth this weekend, local designers are struggling to keep afloat. The appetite for affordable clothing amid a cost-of-living crisis has given greater power to fast-fashion and it is limiting the scope for small businesses.
Category
📺
TVTranscript
00:00There's no denying the demand, some waiting hours for a chance to shop at a multi-billion
00:09dollar online fashion giant in person.
00:12I've been waiting here since 6am, it was really dark.
00:17$130 for all three of these items, which is an absolute bargain.
00:23As customers flood this three-day pop-up, Perth designer Shannon Malone is packing her
00:28last orders.
00:29They've got the quickest turnaround, there are giants that have got, like, they'll proudly
00:36boast that they've got 120 new styles a week.
00:39There's no way that a brand like mine at this scale could compare to the turnaround.
00:46She's one of many Australian-made labels shutting up shop.
00:50A surge in offshore manufacturing means clothes can be mass-produced at a cheap price.
00:56Research shows Australians are buying more clothing per capita than any other nation,
01:02but we're buying cheap, racking up about 50 new items each year.
01:06More and more households and consumers are wanting to know where the food, where our
01:11food comes from, but that isn't the case with clothes at all.
01:16Leaving it up to designers like Luca Ray to make buying local labels appealing.
01:22We're able to track our supply chains, we're able to be more considerate about where we're
01:26sourcing our hardware from, our materials from.
01:31Designers are wanting more awareness of Australian-made options.
01:34I don't think it's fair to necessarily say that everyone should just be spending more,
01:37but it's about encouraging people to keep their values in check and know that if you
01:42want to live in a world where diverse creativity exists, then you need to support it, otherwise
01:47it is just going to disappear.
01:48An appeal to keep the local fashion industry alive.