Often people from the fashion hub of the world infamously say that “Australians do not care much about how they look”. It is generally due to the casual attitude of Australians towards their dressing. The regular attire is dominated by jeans, boots, and hats (unless Australians require business attire to meet their formal requirements). Even though the ‘Fast Fashion Industry’ is now on a flourishing side and has witnessed the involvement of state governments in the form of huge investments, people dress according to the climate, and the majority dress informally.
Dresses in Australia have hues and casts which are dull and conservative. Thus, cities such as Melbourne generally have clothes colours in the shades of black, grey, blue, crimson, and cream. Sydney, on the other side, is seen to include brighter and secondary shades such as orange, purple and green.
Fashion is vibrant and dynamic. It keeps changing and evolving as per the needs of the consumers. Here are a few factors which affect the type of dresses people wear in Australia:
Climate
Australia has relatively a hot climate. People are usually seen wearing shorts and t-shirts as their general attire.
Rural/Urban
While Australia has been exposed to western-influenced fashion styles, the rural area is still somewhat less affected by them. Traditional Australian garments are a regional component, and people are still seen wearing them in rural Australia.
Occasion
While it is not uncommon for Australians to wear jeans in Sydney opera, it might be shocking to many in other parts of the country. Australians generally wear formals only when it is a special occasion. However, trends are slowly changing, and cities such as Sydney are seen with tacky clothing trends.
The boom of the Fast Fashion Industry
Generally, seasonal attires are not repeated as Australians generally believe that clothes are only for a season or two, and they again make their purchases of relatively low or medium quality. However, the Australian fashion sense is pretty relaxed. The acceptance of affordable and up-to-date fashion clothing has provided support to the fast fashion industry’s performance. Unfortunately, the Covid-19 pandemic situation has hit the markets badly. With the increased influence of online retailers, the revenue of the fast fashion industry has declined at an alarming rate.
It must be noted that this industry is comparatively new in Australia. Even though it saw a decline in its revenue, the demand force of consumers has seen increased allurement towards new clothing. Last year, New South Wales (NSW) had announced that it would spend 380 million dollars to convert the city’s Powerhouse Museum into a fashion and design hub.
Changing trends
With an increase of new dresses in Australia, many companies have come up with unique ideas and have even opened online retail stores catering exactly to the need of what the consumer desires. It usually targets the demands of women consumers. Even though there are many sites offering general clothing, various merchandising techniques have been used, which have brought in new ideas and made their product available in a unique manner. Nowadays, the clothes are not classified as ‘bottom wear’ or ‘upper wear’, but it is shown as ‘maxi dresses’ or ‘mini dresses’. For women, many categories such as ‘breastfeeding clothes’, floral prints, animal prints, et cetera are on-trend.
As per leading reports, the fashion and textile industry contributes more than 27.2 billion dollars to the Australian economy, equivalent to 7.2 billion dollars in exports every year. Astoundingly, the fashion industry is the leading sector that promotes women empowerment as it employs 5 million people, out of which 77 % are women. The industry has a physical presence in every shopping centre throughout the country. Interestingly, this industry plays an essential role in treading the path towards regional prosperity and the growth of tourism. Global events such as Mercedes-Benz Fashion Week Australia (MBFWA) are signs of growth of such industry in Australia. Shockwave of the Covid-19 pandemic has hit the fashion industry badly. The future lies in reviving the devastated retail outlets and expanding their global reach through competitive measures.
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