Karen Walker's global fashion 'tribe'

By SIMON COLLINS

Fashion designer Karen Walker has never run a focus group in her life and says she never will.

The 34-year-old Aucklander, whose garments are sold in 13 countries, says all her customers belong to the same "tribe" no matter what language they speak.

"Our market is a global niche market. We talk to a small part of the population on a global scale," she told the Employers and Manufacturers Association's Innovation Voyage event on Friday.

"They find us. It's not us who find them."

Karen Walker said she did not need focus groups because she designed simply for people like herself.

"The label is me," she said.

"My brand has been built on honesty and authenticity, creating product we love. That's the most important thing for any brand - to be authentic and real and honest.

"Today, Karen Walker is recognised in the world's leading fashion markets as an original and desirable label. We are designer-in-residence at a leading UK chain. In the coming 24 months we are extending into another four brand categories.

"Karen Walker is new ideas. It's not for the most popular girl at the party, it's for the most interesting girl at the party. It's irreverent, it's fun."

Walker said she could not have articulated her philosophy so well when she started her business as an 18-year-old, still in her final year at fashion school, back in 1988. But she knew what she wanted and put $200 into a bank account to make it happen.

"I made a shirt and asked a boutique to sell it. They rang the next day and said they'd sold it and could they have another one," she said.

"It's continued like that for the next 15 years."

She never tried to follow the latest fashion trend, but to create the next trend.

After September 11, 2001, she designed a range based on themes of "homeliness and safety" which hit on exactly how people wanted to live at that time.

Her next collection was about "running away" and had a freshness that excited office workers crowded into subways in London and Tokyo.

People at a London art gallery, who picked up some of the publicity material, tracked her down within a day and asked if they could include it in their art show.

"People in London and Japan love newness. Obsoleteness is huge in those markets," Walker said.

"That's why Sony demands that every layer of staff comes up with at least one new idea every week.

"Karen Walker generates $12 million to $15 million worth of publicity a year with an ad spend of $3000. The people around the world who write about us are intelligent people with journalistic integrity. They can't be bought with a drink."

In Japan two weeks ago, she met 500 people at a fashion store promotion who wanted to meet her even though she could not speak Japanese and the only English word they knew was "okay".

"We could still have a natural fit and get on well with everyone, because there was something more than language. There was an emotional connection," she said.

"We are all in the same tribe. Our girls all love the same films, have the same music on their i-pods, shop in the same kinds of streets.

"When you are a member of this fashion tribe, you can recognise your fellow tribespeople. You don't need to say anything."