eBay Australia have been pushing their fashion offering, eBay Fashion Gallery a lot lately in print media and on billboard around the country. Recently they held a launch in Sydney for their new Lookbook and Style Seeker Program which stars model/photographer Candice Lake, fashion stylist/designer Ryan Lobo and model/socialite Nikki Phillips.
Launched last year in Australia, eBay Fashion Gallery sets its sights on taking over the mantel as the best source of fashion online in Australia. A fete which would be hard for anyone else but eBay, who already boast millions of visitors every day to their auction site. But it should be noted that eBay Fashion Gallery isn’t an auction site – it offers some of Australia’s top fashion brands an online retail platform that reaches a wide and resourceful audience.
The latest addition of the Lookbook sees the retailer draw inspiration from the popular editorial that it’s online rivals Shopbop, ASOS and Net-A-Porter produce – not a bad idea given the success of the three online retail powerhouses.
We took some time to chat with eBay Australia Head of Fashion Jo-Ann Hicks to talk about her new ‘baby’:
The fashion category on eBay has evolved so much in the last couple of years – what prompted the evolution from being a pure auction site to being a retailer?
Fashion is forever evolving, and we could see fashion sales account for 85% of all items sold on eBay and more than half of fashion purchased on eBay was in a set price format. This naturally led the development of a separate hub within the eBay website – Fashion Gallery, where you can buy direct from the brands you love.
To give you an idea of just how popular fashion on eBay is with shoppers, we know that a fashion item is bought every 8 seconds – which I think is just an incredible number. And there must be a whole lot of women out there who are just like me and feel as though they can never have enough dresses in their wardrobe, because one dress is bought on eBay every single minute. I always find that number astounding – and comforting because it means I’m not alone in my addiction!
When you hear those numbers it’s clear that there is a real appetite for buying fashion on eBay, and that explains in part why we are doing what we are doing with Fashion Gallery – feeding that demand by partnering with retailers and brands that the eBay shopper knows and loves to make the online fashion experience as enjoyable and convenient as possible.
What are your goals on becoming to be an industry leader in fashion retail?
- Continue to enable e-commerce
- Foster relationships with brands and designers
- Be a trusted platform for the 7 million people who visit eBay in Australia every month
How will the look book idea/campaign help achieve those goals?
Our lookbook has been shot featuring three incredible fashion influencers as the hero imagery – we were thrilled to have you as part of that shoot Nikki, as well as our favourite Candice Lake and stylist Ryan Lobo. I think its great that the men weren’t ignored here as they have really taken to Fashion Gallery too.
The lookbook campaign will help consumers familiarise themselves with fashion options from Fashion Gallery and identify and achieve certain looks handpicked by bloggers and key media influencers.
Why did you choose Candice Lake and Nikki Phillips as the faces of the eBay Spring/Summer 2012 look book?
We are always looking for new influencers to inspire consumers and both are great Australian personalities and fashion influencers with different styles. We worked with Candice during Mercedes Benz Fashion Week Australia, dressing her during the week while she shot amazing street style photos for eBay Fashion Gallery. Nikki MC at our launch event in Sydney and gives us her spin on our product ranges on the eBay Fashion Gallery page.
What was the shoot like with Candice, Nikki and Ryan?
They were very experienced and brought great energy to the shoot. We gave the, the freedom to mix and match their own looks from our great range of designers, from Suboo, Lisa Ho, Farage and Fleur Wood. The hardest part was picking our favourite images to use for the final lookbook.
What are the key trends you’re seeing come through for Spring/Summer?
- Inspired by the London Olympics – Activewear x Glam wear, meshed tanks, neoprene dresses, wedged sneakers
- Neon, peplum Bold floral and digital prints
- Continuation of colour blocking and bright prints into the summer.
What will you be wearing this spring/summer?
For work I will be wearing silk blouses by Farage and beautifully tailored shirts from Herringbone. Weekends I will be living in silk pants by Fleur Wood and printed kaftans and capes by Suboo. Dressing up outfits with bright accessories from Lisa Ho
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