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Key points
- This spring, David Jones is shelving plans for its traditional season launch in response to what it calls a changing consumer landscape.
- The once-sacred runway show will be replaced by an event in October, focusing on the store’s work with Indigenous Fashion Projects.
- Despite breaking the long-running tradition this season, the department store won’t rule out a return to the runway in the future.
Sending Megan Gale, Miranda Kerr, Jesinta Franklin and supermodels such as Linda Evangelista and Karlie Kloss down the runway was how David Jones once celebrated the arrival of new season collections.
This spring, instead of a champagne-fuelled event featuring the latest collections from Zimmermann, Aje and Alemais, the department store has reached the end of the runway, shelving plans for its traditional season launch.
Miranda Kerr at the 2008 spring launch for David Jones at the Melbourne Town Hall, making her runway debut as store ambassador.Credit: Paul Rovere
“A lot of our designers are travelling and most have spent August in Europe,” says Bridget Veals, David Jones general manager of womenswear. “Everyone’s in Europe.”
“This time last year our customer was in party mode, now she’s travelling. With our top customers away we had to think of new ways to share our stories.”
Loyal customers can relax the grip on their pearl necklaces– the annual spring flower show, running since 1985, will proceed. “That’s sacred,” Veals says.
The once-sacred runway show will be replaced by an event in October, focusing on the store’s work with Indigenous Fashion Projects through the Pathways program, mentoring emerging First Nations labels.
“Designers, many of whom have been mentors, will be invited to that event,” Veals says. “We are trying to adapt to what’s going on in Australia currently and this seemed more important.”
The David Jones season launch was once one of the most important events on social calendars.
“The salon would be full of customers on the day of the David Jones launch and the invitations were coveted,” says Double Bay salon owner and blow dry maestro Joh Bailey, who was a regular guest.
“In the late eighties and nineties the front row was full of customers and they were there to shop. There was champagne and glamour but it was business. This was before Dior and other international labels became available directly in Australia. You could only get it at David Jones.”
“Later on the season launch morphed into something else, with designers sitting in the front row instead of putting the looks together backstage, which was bizarre. Then came the influencers and reality stars who have probably never bought anything from David Jones.”
“Now it’s completely off the radar.”
The fashion landscape has changed since David Jones flew Linda Evangelista to Australia to walk the runway in 2004, and spent an estimated $1.5 million on Karlie Kloss’s participation for the 2017 show and campaign.
These shows competed with equally extravagant productions from department store rival Myer starring former Miss Universe Jennifer Hawkins, when the stores competed for labels such as Toni Maticevski, Kym Ellery and Alex Perry. Myer’s last runway season launch was in March 2018.
Fashion brands now prefer to communicate directly to their customers through social media, exclusive trunk shows and private masterclasses. David Jones is planning smaller events to engage with their premium customers in the coming months.
“There are other ways than a runway show that brands can communicate their values,” says Carla Zampatti chief executive Alex Schuman, just back from Europe. “We host private events for our clients but also tell our story through the Carla Zampatti Foundation working in the areas of culture and multiculturalism.”
Rebecca Vallance, which is stocked in David Jones, also takes the direct approach.
“For our latest store at Melbourne’s Emporium we will be focusing on our customers by letting them know directly when new stock is delivered and by organising personalised styling sessions, as well as after hours appointments for our VIP clients,” Vallance says.
It’s more effective than the single runway look Vallance scored in last season’s dour autumn launch by David Jones, held beneath the unforgiving lights of Melbourne’s Bourke St store, enlivened only by the return of former store ambassador Megan Gale to the runway.
Last year’s spring launch was another low-key affair held in an intimate space on level eight of the Sydney flagship, above the once grand banquet area where Christian Dior held a couture show in the 1960s and Jesinta Franklin walked over tables for the lavish 2017 spring launch.
“The David Jones customer is changing,” Veals says. “She’s even changed since last year and we need to be nimble.”
Despite breaking the long-running tradition this season, Veals won’t rule out a return to the runway, should it return to relevance.
“I’m not saying that we won’t do another runway launch again. It’s not off the cards. I just think that if we do one again, it should probably be a good one.”
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