Jetsetter has been my been my middle name lately. I’ve seen every country I’ve wanted to see in my life in the past three months.  For that, I am beyond grateful. From economy seats and airports turned to luxury shopping complexes to the ever changing environments of the countries I was in, I spent a great deal of time reflecting on who I was, where I was going and where the state of digital and fashion was going to go.

My last destination in June was Sydney, Australia. Let me preface this by saying it was Autumn Down Under, and raining to boot. Though tired, I welcomed the weather; the cooler climate led to a clearer head, and the introspection I was going through in my mind became amplified.

I’d read about Sydney’s culture and economic happenings in the latest issue of MONOCLE in May. I was intrigued by the country’s move to bringing in better broadband technology and more sustainable, eco practices as a whole. But what intrigued me more was a small statement about retail in the book and an article I later referenced in Women’s Wear Daily. The magazine stated that large retailers were finding it hard to break into the Australian market because of its strong independent retailer and designer community. I had to find out if this was true.

Though in a state of “I don’t quite know what was going on,” – a state one reaches when she’s been on a plane for 20 hours – I kicked my jetlag’s sweet little butt and decided to venture out and find my answer. I headed downstairs and grabbed a local shopping guide called Urban Walkabout Guides from the concierge. The guide featured the areas of Paddington and Woollahra.  I opened the map book and surveyed the places I could go. For whatever reason, I decided that I wanted to go to Oxford and Williams Streets. I don’t know why, but that’s where my instinct told me to go. That little hunch was correct, and led me to the best experience I’ve had in quite some time. The experience, though deeply personal, is something I want to share with FMM readers.

A $35 USD cab ride and 15 minutes later (yeah, cabs are expensive), I arrived on Williams Street. Walking down the street, which reminded me of Via Louisa Di Carretto in Torino, Italy, I stopped outside a shop called d’Portfolio. Why?  Because I fell in love with this:

Going into the shop, I was greeted by the shop’s owner, Stephanie Chu, whom I learned had been in business for less than one month. As I started to look through the racks, I realized something:  the brands Stephanie was carrying were from many of the designers I’d seen in Singapore just three weeks earlier. Turning and telling her this, she responded, “Yes, I was there. I am the first store in  Australia to carry Alfie Leong and his labels MU and A.W.O.L. (currently only available in Paris and Singapore). The funny thing was, aside from Eve, Possitillilly and All Dress Up, MU was the only brand I bought in Singapore. Stephanie and I had an instant collection.

As I started to go through her racks, as she had a few brands (including Adam) that I had not heard of, I just decided to try on as many modern, layered asymmetric clothing pieces I could find. Stephanie made me green tea (which I’d learned all retail establishments in Australia have for customers – good tea and strong coffee) and I started to play with the shapes and silhouettes of any dress she had in a size 4 or 6 (Asian cuts are narrow and I need room for flow). When I got my black A.W.O.L. dress, constructed in one of Alfie’s most notable shapes, Stephanie and I connected again. The dress I loved, but it wasn’t sitting quite right. She found an obie belt and refastened the buttons under the skirt that let you length the dress to skirt to make it work. An, obie belt? Oh I knew I loved this woman.

Stephanie talked about the state of Australia’s retail sectors, what economic conditions currently effected them and what were on the tops of the mind with all retailers. The answer was: Fast fashion retailers.  The day Zara opened its doors in Sydney was a sad day for many local indie designers and retailers. Why? Because many of them feel that larger brands are going to have a severely negative impact on their business. Williams Street was dead the day Zara opened, and there was a line for hours just so women could get a shopping bag with Zara’s branding. While no one doesn’t want to see big retail grow, local concern is more about sustainability and longevity. Many Australians don’t want to consumers pushed into spending habits of getting it cheaper, faster and at the expense of someone’s health.

Honestly, I agreed with her. That is the conversation across our industry as a whole. We’ve taught consumers to want it now, get it now and always be spending. But as we’ve seen with the recent recession, we burnt them out. Designers and retailers are now starting to try and figure out how to build and maintain most sustainable business patterns and produce clothing more conscientiously without hurting their financial viability. I think the answer is simple, as we drive consumers to buy as the seasons change, we have to teach them to make conscious purchases when they buy.

Hours flew by and before I knew it, it was time for me to return to my hotel. But before I went, Stephanie and I stopped to have short black soy macchiatos (espresso w/soy milk). As you can see in the photos, we adopted two puppies who were starved for a little love. That evening, we got together after she closed the shop and had dinner at a local wine bar and food market. She took me on a late night tour of Sydney and I got to see the city from an insider perspective. Now tell me, what independent boutique owner does that anymore?

Honestly, this experience was a first. I’ve never had anyone do for me what she had. The conference I spoke at the next day was amazing, but my day with Stephanie still resonated over anything else I experienced.

I encourage boutique owners to think of what they can learn by maintaining individual customer relationships. What can you do to make your relationships better? Figure that out and you’ll have a have a store to call home to.

You can find MU on Facebook and you can find d’portfolio on Facebook. Don’t worry, Stephanie is launching e-commerce soon, so you can all shop her amazing clothing.