The Australian Fashion Council Launches Australian Fashion Trademark Campaign
SYDNEY — The Australian Fashion Council has launched a campaign to promote its new Australian Fashion trademark.
Unveiled at a Melbourne Fashion Week event on Thursday morning Melbourne time, the digital campaign, which is titled ”Down Under in Front” and will appear on the AFC’s social channels, was lensed by Charlie Dennington, styled by Bridie Gilbert and features new faces Angelina Kendall, Finn Vojlay and Tatyana Perry, an Indigenous teenager from Darwin.
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The first cohort of 32 companies to be accredited under the new federal government-funded industry certification program include Aje, Romance Was Born, Nobody Denim, Ngali, Carl Kapp, Helen Kaminski and Dinosaur Designs.
First unveiled at Australian Fashion Week last May, the Australian Fashion program aims to promote the country’s fashion both domestically and internationally. Brands can apply for certification via the Australianfashion.org website and must meet at least two of the following criteria: the demonstration of a contribution to jobs and the local economy; having majority Australian employees, and being Australian-made, Australian-owned or Australian tax-domiciled. They must also pledge to make commitments to upholding standards of creative integrity and authenticity and social and environmental responsibility.
The AFC is developing point of sale material for brands and aims to target the U.K. as its first international market for the program, ideally timed to coincide with the imminent implementation of the Australia-U.K. Free Trade Agreement, which was signed in December but has not yet taken effect.
“No other country in the world has attempted to brand and market its national fashion identity before” said AFC chief executive officer Leila Naja Hibri, who notes, of the campaign name, “Australia wakes up first and celebrates the New Year ahead of the rest of the world. We host the first tennis Grand Slam and the first Grand Prix of each year. Our seasons start before the rest of the world, not the other way around. Down Under in Front celebrates the joy of our effortless, raw, boundless and fearless creativity and lifestyle.”
Sustainable Sydney brand Bassike was the first to be accredited, adding to its burgeoning list of credentials. The company, which operates eight of its own stores in Australia and has more than 80 international wholesale stockists, is committed to making 95 percent of its production in Australia. Certified carbon neutral under the Australian government’s Climate Active standard, Bassike also earned B Corp certification in July.
“Consumers around the world are seeking more of our key values in the brands they choose to wear – integrity, sustainability and responsible business” said Bassike cofounders Deborah Sams and Mary Lou Ryan. “This trademark and campaign puts us front and center, with authentic design and progressive values that prioritize people and planet together with prosperity.”
