;s a real interest for Australian design in the international market,” Kelly Atkinson, co-founder and creative director of We Wear Australian, told Inside Retail. “I think our aesthetic, our way of living, our innate ability to be sort of relaxed but beautiful at the same time has [helped us] find our feet in this international market,” she added. We Wear Australian’s first international showroom is designed to not only expose Australian brands to consumers abroad but also international retail and wholesale accounts. A new platform for Australian fashion We Wear Australian is ready to build on the success of its 2024 initiative, which resulted in over 750 competition entries from brands and generated $350,000 in sales and more than 4 million impressions over the 12-day campaign. Despite having the opportunity to put a show on the New York Fashion Week schedule, We Wear Australian decided to go with a bricks-and-mortar approach. “When you look at the data the most engaged imagery is not runway imagery, in fact, the least engaged photos are models on catwalks,” revealed Atkinson. “You spend so much money on a show that lasts seven minutes, and all you get from it is a content opportunity, and a bunch of influencers in the front row – it doesn’t make sense anymore,” she added. Atkinson’s experience in retail design at RM Williams when it was owned by Louis Vuitton has informed her understanding of consumers and what they are looking for when it comes to a premium experience. After an extensive site search We Wear Australian decided on New York’s West Village to host its Fashion Week retail experience. “You’ve really got to talk to people that want to buy the clothes. I ended up [locating the showroom] in the West Village because, to me, the consumer was right there,” stated Atkinson. “There were people that really liked their fashion, they weren’t afraid of being different and they were happy to take risks, and that’s why we’ve ended up in the West Village as well,” she added. “I wanted to make sure that we were talking the right language to the right consumer.” Expanding the horizons for new talent We Wear Australian is expelling a few domestic stereotypes when it comes to Australia’s fashion industry. “I think the beauty of We Wear Australian is that there is a camaraderie in it and that we band together,” said Atkinson. “It’s about really joining forces as a creative industry to stand together – probably the biggest thing that sets We Wear Australian apart as well,” she added. In a highly competitive industry, 12 Australian brands including Acler, Mariam Seddiq, Ngali, RM Williams and Viktoria and Woods will make their New York Fashion Week debut together with a backdrop that is a departure from the typical Bondi Beach scenes that are synonymous with Australian fashion.. Surprisingly, there are very few resort-based brands showing at the We Wear Australian retail activation at New York Fashion Week, despite it being one of Australia’s most successful fashion exports. “We’re so much more than resort… I’d like to be able to break those preconceived notions of what the international market thinks Australian design is and remove us from that stereotype and sort of put us back in the space that I think we deserve to be in,” Atkinson stated. To bring this new perspective of Australian fashion to life, Atkinson drew inspiration from a different part of Australia’s landscape, Australian red earth. The floor will be covered in a carpet of Australian red earth and big eucalyptus installations will cover the roof and walls. “I wanted it to be a full 360-degree moment for everyone when they stepped in, so they were really immersed in Australian fashion,” concluded Atkinson. “This initiative represents a tremendous opportunity to showcase our industry’s strength, creativity and unique voice.”