Edgars partners with SA Fashion Week, launches Designer Capsule Collection

This demonstrates its firm commitment to supporting the local fashion industry by means of enterprise development, while increasing access to designer labels through a department store experience and credit facilities. Available to purchase, the designer-wear will be seasonal, including catwalk looks.

According to Hugues, fashion lovers can look forward to a world of choice in the form of seven permanent designers, namely Black Coffee, Clive Rundle, Colleen Eitzen, Lunar and Two. There will be accessories and underwear by Robyn Lidsky and hats by Chanelle Vlok.

Three more designers will rotate on a monthly basis:

• Hermanna Rush, Rubicon and Sies! Isabelle in September/October;
  
• Ephymol, Naked Ape and Silver Spoon in October/November; and
  
• Ephymol, Gert Johan Coetzee and Kottin & Twille in December/January.

"This is the first time that many of these designer brands will be available in a department store setting," says Hugues. "Previously, they may have been confined to boutique operations or admired from a distance in the pages of glossy fashion magazines. By providing a mainstream retail platform, we are giving local designers a unique opportunity to really grow their brands and expand their businesses. While they are going to experience a whole new set of challenges and dynamics, we will be a guiding hand every step of the way."

Designers participate in retail

The designers are responsible for choosing their own ranges and making any adjustments that are necessary in terms of improving performance. They will also check and maintain stock levels in their respective areas, educate the sales assistants regarding their creations and monitor progress by means of regular store visits. The retailer will provide the commercial infrastructure in the form of back-end processes and technology, as well as merchandising and planning. This tried and tested operational model underpins its other high-profile designer partnerships, such as Jo Borkett and Marion & Lindie.

Lucilla Booyzen, director of SA Fashion Week, adds that the launch of the SA Fashion Week Designer Capsule Collection is an important achievement for the fashion industry. "For the most part, fashion weeks are the prerogative of buyers and press. However, the partner's commercial strategy removes these logistical barriers to entry and packages the fashion week experience in a commercially viable format that is open and well-known to everyone."

The partnership kicks off with winter 2012, which is taking place at the Crowne Plaza Johannesburg in Rosebank from 22-25 September 2011. In the future, the retailer will be the official retail partner of winter 2013 and 2014, and summer 2012, 2013 and 2014.

For Hugues, the Designer Capsule Collection reaffirms the company's position as South Africa's leading fashion retailer. "We are looking forward to launching the collection, which will become the benchmark for seasonal styles that are on-trend and deliver designer pedigree and quality."