Rack and ruin: Australian fashion is going through its own spring cleaning

Brands that once needed retailers to stock their products are now bypassing bricks and mortar altogether to sell directly to consumers online. Since joining Myer, chief executive Olivia Wirth has been vocal about her vision of being a house of brands coveted by younger shoppers, to some early signs of success: sales in the women’s youth category nearly doubled in the 2026 financial year, with Wirth calling out Topshop, Gap and Lioness as top performers in this category.

Lioness, founded in Sydney in 2009, began as an online store, and now wholesales to major domestic and international e-commerce platforms.

“We have a very strong brand, but it’s the commercial discipline behind it that has allowed us to sustain that growth and scale,” says managing director Wendy Lin.

Rather than growing for growth’s sake, Lin has learnt to stay focused on the quality of sales. “You can grow revenue while losing margin, carry too much inventory or make wholesale sales on bad terms,” she says. “Maintaining margin as we scale is more important than growing the top line.”

Following every trend and trying to be everything to everyone is a sure-fire way to erode a brand’s identity. Having a team that can respond to the market quickly without being locked into decisions made months prior is crucial, says Lin.

Sometimes, Lioness is ahead of the trends; other times, it gets it wrong. “We’re not precious about our planning.”

Global trend cycles are moving faster than they ever have before, and department store executives are at pains to stock in-demand labels at the forefront of those trends.

“It takes a much shorter period of time for a trend to be on the runway, including high-end fashion, and then to make it to the high street,” says Wirth.

Social media and e-commerce have rewired how retailers need to reach customers. Digital natives (Gen Alpha, Gen Z, Millennials) are much more willing to try new brands and products – but often don’t stick around.

“It’s very easy to get them through the door. The problem is, they’re just not loyal,” says Rigby. Speed is also of the essence, with Amazon and The Iconic setting expectations for delivery times that are now same-day or one-hour windows. Personality-driven marketing is also shifting away from A-list celebrities to micro-influencers.

The reverse tends to be true for older generations, or “digital immigrants”, who are more difficult to coax into trying a new brand, but are harder to lose, Rigby adds.

But Baby Boomers are the generation with the money to spend on higher-quality and more sustainable clothing.

“Because they’re one of the hardest-hit around cost of living, Gen Z are openly seeking and even flaunting fashion dupes. We find [with] Baby Boomers there’s more stigma around not buying the real thing,” says Rigby.

Resetting brand direction is fraught with risk, and executed to varying degrees of success. Witchery, which has more than 100 stores and is facing the same slowdown in workwear as Cue, unveiled its youthful rebranding in mid-2024 featuring trend-driven designs – bubble skirts, oversized jackets – that alienated many existing customers.

“The problem was that this established woman had been Witchery’s main customer, and the brand appeared to stop designing for her. It was targeting one woman aesthetically and another woman financially,” says Stewart.

“Reinvention is important, but it should bring your loyal customer forward with you, not make her feel that she has been replaced.”

On the other hand, heritage leather goods label Oroton has enjoyed a revival. Since being rescued by billionaire fund manager Will Vicars after collapsing in 2017, it has been held up as a successful case study in how to successfully pivot to contemporary tastes without losing its identity.

The 88-year-old brand grew sales by 9.4 per cent and lifted profits by 69 per cent to $12 million in the 2025 financial year by reimagining classic handbags in different materials, expanding its clothing and gifting ranges, and revamping stores.

Today, some of the country’s fastest-growing fashion retailers aren’t ones you can visit on the high street. White Fox – emblazoned on buses, billboards, and countless hoodies – has dominated the tween market coveting the “It girl” aesthetic. In the year to June 2025, sales hit $542 million, all without setting up a single permanent physical store. Online fashion business Meshki is a similar success story, growing sales by a remarkable 51.3 per cent to $182.6 million.

“What I’m seeing now is the brands that are winning started online. They built a community and then earned their way into physical retail,” says Rigby.

“A lot of the ones struggling did it the other way around; big store networks and long leases first, then trying to bolt on online and social later.”

The new and emerging generation of shoppers wants to dress for the moment and the camera, says costume designer and University of Technology Sydney honorary research fellow Dr Emily Brayshaw.

But “traditionally safe” brands won’t help them do that. “Many younger consumers also are now looking for something that gives them an edge and helps them to stand out, particularly on social media,” she says.

“Mixing cheaper fast fashion pieces with a thrifted find can help them stand out, however, and develop their own personal style, and younger people are increasingly doing that.”

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