Kmart Australia employees made up 50 per cent of the model talent at the low-price retailer's runway at PayPal Melbourne Fashion Festival over the weekend.
It is the second year in a row that Kmart has partnered with PMFF, and the first time it hosted a runway inside the Royal Exhibition Building - the core venue for PMFF’s premium runway series. Kmart hosted two runway shows last year in the Melbourne Museum across the road.
As well as team members, Kmart’s runway this year included professional dancers and children, making up over 100 models.
"We were really happy with our partnership last year," Kmart CEO John Gualtieri said. "We had two sold out events at the museum just across the road from here.
"We've got over 50% of the team on the runway today, so it's a good opportunity to showcase product, and a good opportunity for our team."
A majority of the designs featured in the runway were created through 3D sampling processes, which now covers womenswear, menswear and kidswear at Kmart. The design team consists of 60 people in its Melbourne headquarters, and is led by Kenny McLaren, head of design and forecast.
Gualtieri said the rollout of its 3D design software is now 18 months in the making.
"It removes a whole lot of waste, because you don't have to have samples and check samples and send samples to Melbourne and then you send them back to the supplier," Gualtieri said. "So it's all done virtually with the suppliers."
Speaking on the runway, Gualtieri said it attracts influencers which drives requests from social media users on when certain product will be in-store.
“And that can come anywhere from Queensland to WA, and then you've got Melbourne,” he said.
“So we’ve got the buy now, wear now, and then we're also showcasing which things are about to come. So you get you get immediate, and then you've got a buildup of interest as you go through into the season.”
Around 40 per cent of the runway featured upcoming styles.
Gualtieri said he’d like to see the partnership with PMFF as a long-term, strategic relationship, adding that the deal is currently working for both parties.