Why now? Melanie Levis,Cue’s co-executive director,says fashion week’s shift away from being solely a trade event to introducing severalticketed consumer events made it an attractive proposition. “[We want to] reestablish the brand’s relevance in more of a premium fashion market,” she says.
Her brother and co-executive director,Justin Levis,adds that fashion week may help shed Cue’s overriding image as a mass-market brand synonymous with department store Myer,where it has been stocked since the 1970s.
“We have restructured,and we have[exited lower performing Myer] stores because we felt it was brand damaging. We really want to be ... more elevated for the future,” he says. “We see ourselves as affordable luxury fashion. There has been some misconception in the marketplace that we’re just workwear,or we’re the same as other Australian mass-market brands.”
To shift perception of Cue as a brand that makes nice ponte de roma skirts or a “work top”,the siblings launched a subtle rebrand (the 2022 logo is sharper,less cursive) and injected higher-end pieces and fabrics.
Melanie,who oversees design,says the fashion week runway,to be styled by the respected stylist Karla Clarke,will showcase Cue’s staples as well as event wear,casual denim and potentially even a few made-to-measure “showstoppers”.
Adds Justin:“We are trying to do some more expensive pieces to show the consumer we can cut it with the more elevated brands.”