'God' catches up on avant-garde label

Francis Hooper is working to build his export base, with sales to Europe, the US and Asia slowly growing. Picture / Nigel Marple

Fashion designer Francis Hooper thought it was a prank when Gucci's vice-president phoned last month.

Hooper was at Paris Fashion Week with his clothing label World, and it was a New Zealand Trade and Enterprise official who relayed the request: James McArthur, executive and vice-president of Gucci Group, would like to meet the Kiwi designers.

"God himself wanted to come down from his throne to see us?" asked Hooper of McArthur who is also president and chief executive of Paris fashion house Balenciaga and effectively controls some of the biggest fashion brands in the world.

But sure enough the "intimidating and powerful" McArthur "rocked up" to World's exhibition site at the Tranoi fair for a chat with Hooper about what was on the horizon for World.

What that meant to Hooper who, with wife Denise L'Estrange-Corbet, set up World 16 years ago, was that World existed.

This week, World returns to Australian Fashion Week.

World and Zambesi will show with first timers Cybele and Veronica Keucke.

With the chequebooks of international buyers open over the week, the designers have a small window in which to sell their collections, upon which the next six months hinges.

Not only that, on Thursday, World will burn $40,000 in just 12 minutes on the runway show itself - an amount Hooper said was "obscene" and made him feel sick to say aloud.

But for the most avant-garde of Kiwi labels the show, which blends fashion and theatre, is crucial to make the buyers fall in love with the brand.

However, Hooper and L'Estrange-Corbet know they will be lucky if they sign up just one or two international customers this week.

World was not mainstream and did not cater to the looks of the season, said L'Estrange-Corbet. Retailers needed to be like-minded and have to "get us", she said.

And increasingly, Australians are getting it, with that country World's fastest growing market where it has one store in Sydney and plans to open a second in Melbourne next year.

The label is also stocked in five other boutique stores, and Hooper expected the market would be close to saturation point when that number grew to 12.

In Europe, sales were embryonic but increasing every season.

Showing in Paris four times a year, as well as Australian and New Zealand Fashion weeks was important to building on that.

World was also stocked in a couple of US boutiques and the Japanese were starting to show an interest, said Hooper.

NZTE trade commissioner in Melbourne Sara Lochore said the size limitations of the New Zealand market meant designers needed to think globally from day one.

"Successful New Zealand fashion companies should be looking to export to Australia.

"It's our nearest and most significant market and has the benefit of sharing the same seasons and similar lifestyle, so New Zealand fashion converts well here," she said.

Fashion Industry New Zealand chief executive Mapihi Opai said showing at international fashion week events worked well as part of a multi-tiered approach to develop export markets.

Success depended on mutual appreciation between the designer and the buyer.

"Fashion buyers and media are looking for the 'right' designers and vice versa, and the chemistry is unique to each individual," she said.

Even though World was working to build its export base, New Zealand remained a big focus for the company where its three retail stores were still its bread and butter.