2018 DS Dark Thorn Fashion - Business SA Design for Export Awards
Celebrating
South Australia's
Design-led
Exporters
Celebrating
South Australia's
Design-led
Exporters
Celebrating
South Australia's
Design-led
Exporters
Celebrating
South Australia's
Design-led
Exporters
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AWARDS > 2018 Gallery
2018 SHORTLISTED
DARK THORN CLOTHING
DARK THORN CLOTHING
Category:
PRODUCT DESIGN
FASHION
Design:
DARK THORN CLOTHING
About
Dark Thorn Clothing is an Australian Made timeless clothing line inspired by times past. It focusses on natural fabrics sourced from Australian wholesalers with an attention to detail. It does not follow trends and has its own personality making Dark Thorn unique and desirable.
Design Challenge
Dark Thorn was established after the designer, Tori-Anne couldn’t find anything she liked to personally wear that wasn’t cheap or produced horribly, often resulting in rips, holes and garments that eventually saw the trash can. She knew she wasn’t the only one having this problem, so decided to create a label that focussed on Victorian Era inspired clothing made from high quality fabrics and craftsmanship. Rather than spending money on garments that eventually were discarded, she wanted to create a label that clients could invent in that focussed on detailed garments made to last a lifetime timelessly in your wardrobe.
Design Solution
Dark Thorn prides itself in remaining Australian made and producing high quality timeless garments. Only small production runs if each design is available making each garment special to every client. We promote the importance of quality over quantity and supporting Australian made and small business wherever you can. Dark Thorn provokes a feeling, it tells a story and it makes the client want to be a part of that story. Each garment is a piece of art and it helps the women who wear the garments feel empowered and strong.
Design Impact
Socially, Dark Thorn has created a world of wonder and mystique, creating and evoking a feeling and a story that when a client wears a piece of Dark Thorn they feel like they have transported into the Dark Thorn world. Environmentally Dark Thorn prides themselves in supporting slow fashion and investing in low impact high quality garments. Many years ago, fast fashion never existed, quality garments were purchased knowing the person would wear that garment repeatedly. Dark Thorn strives to bring back that feeling, that era of personal style.
Other Key Features
Currently we have had no returns from international customers showing that every customer is satisfied with their order. Many post about their purchases on their social media accounts boasting about how beautiful their purchase is. We supply a 10% discount code with every purchase to encourage customers to return to purchase that second garment they have been eyeing off. Dark Thorn has been invited to participate and showcase their new collection during Paris Fashion Week in September/October 2018. There is also an influx of international social media bloggers posting about Dark Thorn to their accounts that have between 40,000 and 200,000 followers. These influencers include Oliviaemilyx, Threnodyinvelvet and poisonappleprintshop. Dark Thorn is currently an ecommerce business exporting all around the world. Currently 60% of online traffic come from the United Kingdom and the United States (36% United Kingdom and 24% United States) while Australia comes in at 13% and the rest is taken by Canada and Germany. Dark Thorn is looking at reducing the shipping costs to international customers so we are now focussing on stockists in these areas. This will help with sales conversions. After Paris there will be a trip to the United States to scout potential stockists for Dark Thorn.
