Most Aussie labels are crap and produced in China. Don't miss them at all and could find them if I really wanted.
I am a male...
1) Living in HK, do you still want to shop/discover Australian labels?
I mainly buy from farfetch etc. I don’t goto any hk local Shop. My favourite brand is Boris Saberi and Carol Christian Poell.
2) Would you pay eg. AU$25 to get the items shipped to HK?
ive paid for more
3) Would you be interested in attending a pop-up shop that showcased only Australian independent labels?
yup...
4) Would you rather shop these labels via a personalised shopping suite event (eg. by invitation/booking only)?
Excellent.
5) Do you care about any causes like sustainability, ethically made, made in Australia, plus size clothing...or do you just want something that is stylish & unique?
yes I also care about where it’s made.. and if it is from a substainable source and also fair trade etc
I lived Down there for some years. Moved there from HK and then came back. One of the "not so important" reasons for moving back was the stark contrast between what was on the consumer market in Oz and what was (and is) on here. To be honest (and unpopular, I know), Made in Australia wouldn't get anywhere here in HK which is just a bus ride away from China. I wouldn't go so far as to say Aussie labels are craps. They are simply NOT VALUE FOR MONEY. The going minimum wage in the States is about US$10 and down there in Oz it' s I think AU$16. I just can't see why and how that rate down there is justifiable in terms of productivity and quality. Personally i am not a fan of "labels". However, I buy most of my stuff online from the US fully knowing that many of the things are made in China (but not available in shops in HK). Sounds unbelievable but sometimes true - the freight is lower than the local HK rate! Please don't hate me for being honest.![]()
I would be interested!
I miss the unique clothing that Australia has to offer; Cue, Manning Cartell, Nobody Jeans, Ellery, Zimmermann. Online shops like theiconic don't do international shipping which doesn't make sense!
I would attend a pop-up shop / event but wouldn't pay $25 for shipping. I prefer made in Australia but am also happy with some brands with cheaper price points made overseas.
There's definitely a lot of this perception out there. I would say this is definitely true of a lot of the more commercial/larger ones - our mission is to focus more on the independent labels who are genuinely good quality / made well etc. >> the issue faced then is that lots of people outside of Australia just don't have this on their radar at all.
Honesty is totally what I'm after, so thank you!!!
Haha yes while minimum wage rates is not something we'll get into now (Economics / cost of living / a whole other can of worms) production costs are definitely higher in Aus. Also, sourcing sustainably etc. is a more costly exercise, however we know that while there are a lot of people around the world who care about this very passionately (and let's face it, HK is not the most environmentally conscious place) frankly we also know that a lot of people couldn't give a sh*t about sustainability.
So it's just about speaking to the right niche. Thanks again for your opinion, really helpful!
I don't do any clothes shopping in Hong Kong anymore. Either online (plenty of Australian labels ship to hk) or when I travel (which I do frequently). What's important for me is the experience, and when dropping a sizeable chuck of cash in HK, the service is so underwhelming and often downright rude, and it sours the experience. I know that's not important to everyone, but it is to me.
Anything you do in HK would need to have friendly staff with people skills, otherwise people like me will just continue to avoid shopping here and do it in places where it's a given.
That's a really good point. People often forget about the environmental impact of all the shipping back and forth. I was definitely thinking more about sustainable fashion in the sense that the designer is making a very conscious effort to only source sustainable materials and/or produce in an ethically sustainable way. You're totally right about the impact of the shipping though. This would be a very relevant consideration - also pertains more to the online ordering rather than, say, a pop-up done locally.