Successful young designer QUT fashion graduate Jo Turner has made a name for herself in Queensland with her acclaimed label Francis Leon and now she is ready to take on the European market with the help of QUT's Fashion Incubator.
With a loyal following of established clients and having already opened her Francis Leon flagship store in 2010 in Brisbane's prestigious James Street shopping precinct.
Ms Turner is concentrating on expanding the Francis Leon label Australia-wide and internationally.
To grow her flourishing brand, she joined QUT's Creative Enterprise Australia (CEA) Fashion Incubator's Emerging Brand program where she receives intensive, industry specific business development coaching from mentors with vast experience in every facet of the fashion sector.
"I have reached the point where I need specialised fashion business knowledge; I want to increase the label's presence throughout Australia and online, as well as expand into Europe so it is wonderful to access such specialised advice on wholesaling and industry contacts through the incubator," Ms Turner said.
"Fashion is seasonal which poses specific challenges for our industry in that collections must be designed and produced months ahead; as we not only create the label but also retail it through our stores, getting the continuity between the two is important.
"We have recently added wholesaling to the business in order to aid expansion so we need expert advice on planning and strategies to harmonise the process; the Fashion Incubator is perfect for this."
Francis Leon's flagship store, Studio One, is unique because the cutting table is in the middle of the shop. Bolts of fabric and sewing paraphernalia are found among the racks of elegant clothes and beautiful accessories, such as sculptural hats from Germany, Italian shoes and French jewellery.
Here customers can see the entire creative process from design to pattern making and sampling, ultimately revealing the heart and soul of the label.
"The idea of the store was to create a space which integrates the consumer into the Francis Leon brand; where they can understand the origins and appreciate the evolution of each garment," Ms Turner said.
"Our customers appreciate the fact we can see if we need to alter a garment for fit and that we can do it for them. They also like feeling they are part of the process."
As well as the Francis Leon pieces, Studio One stocks European labels Rike Feurstein, Fleet Ilya, Philippe Roucou, Warmi, Coopertive Designs, Les Nereides, Swash and Wolford as well as J Brand and Daydream Nation.
Fashion Incubator business development manager Paul Bow said the incubator exists to help start-up and emerging fashion enterprises through the make-or-break period new businesses face.
"We tailor support services to each designer with one-on-one business development coaching, technical and product support and day-to-day guidance if required," Mr Bow said.
"Incubator designers also have access to studio space where they can exhibit and sell their designs and can call about the practical and technical expertise in our Stitchlab where we have professional machinery, technical advice and services such as pattern making and sample garment construction."
Media contact: Niki Widdowson, QUT media officer, 07 3138 1841 or n.widdowson@qut.edu.au.
** High res photos of Jo at Studio One available for media use.
