Clique Arcade takes over Perth streets
Traffic stopped in the Perth CBD last week when 60 models turned the streets into a makeshift runway, strutting the pavement in a collection of colourful local threads.
Streets were shut down during the guerilla-style stunt and social media was abuzz with images of the ruckus - it was even better than organisers Ross and Storm Wyness had imagined.
The brother-sister duo orchestrated the event to launch their new website The Clique Arcade, which offers up the very best of independent WA fashion.
Boasting more than 30 Perth-based brands including Bhalo, Revolution, Wild Horses and Jessica Bratich, the site aims to capitalise on the pulling power of having a collection of smaller labels banding together in one place.
Ross, who came from a background in marketing for Red Bull, said Friday's ambush on the city was a great opportunity to introduce the designers involved with The Clique Arcade.
"It was a good indication of what people can do when they collaborate and the buzz was incredible," he told AAA.
"It was by no means just us - the designers, models, hair and make-up artists and everyone else came together to help produce this thing.
"We caused a bit of a traffic jam behind us but that was sort of the intention - it was a statement on local fashion stopping traffic."
The Wyness siblings came up with the idea for the site a year ago when Storm struggled to get the word out about her own label, PET.
They realised there were more than 250 labels based in WA but many could not afford to maintain a large-scale online presence.
Rather than functioning like a web store, the project instead offers the designers a marketplace where they can retain control of their imagery, pricing and distribution.
"It's like we are giving them a little stall or boutique," Ross explained.
"But the advantage is that the consumer has one place to go to discover things, whereas people have trouble finding independent labels."
Storm added that they wanted to direct consumers away from the idea of fast fashion.
"People want more these days than just buying something, wearing it once and then throwing it away," she said.
"We want to make our designers into mini-celebrities because there are stories behind what they do."
The duo said they would eventually look at adding national labels to the mix but, for now, had a goal to double the number of local designers featured on the site.
