W: hustleandscout.com.au

When fashion-lover Tegan McAuley attended last year's Fashfest she was in awe of the festival – the atmosphere, the designers and most of all, the garments. She was so eager to get her hands on one of the runway pieces that she created a twilight fashion market where the same designers, as well as other local emerging creatives, can sell their collection to the public in a more intimate setting.

"The idea started before Fashfest – a seed had been planted. But Fashfest sparked it and it sprouted to life. I remember sitting in the crowd, watching the buzz and how the audience was loving it and seeing all these amazing designers," Hustle&Scout founder Tegan McAuley says.

Hustle&Scout showcases high-end, one-of-a-kind designer fashion, vintage fashion, jewellery and accessories, and many Fashfest designers attend the seasonal market as a major platform for their exposure and sales.

The market's point of difference is that it also provides a way for designers to chat directly to consumers and encourages conversation to uncover the stories behind the one-off pieces.

"It's about the designers being able to form a client base, talk to potential new clients, conduct market research and sell," McAuley says.

"I really value knowing the life behind a garment – how it's made, who made it, what techniques were involved and where the fabrics or materials were sourced from. At the markets you learn all that."

After the success of the inaugural market in September last year, drawing 2500 people, Hustle&Scout has taken Canberra's fashion scene by storm, and it just keeps growing.

"There were 32 designers and collectors at the April Hustle&Scout, 13 of which were new stallholders," McAuley says.

"We have this extremely talented but hidden design community in Canberra and it's important to have these events because they are pulling that community up to the surface."

McAuley says Fashfest has personally enabled her to make fantastic cross-connections in the industry between the festival, its designers and the markets.

"There's been this wonderful momentum since Fashfest and I'm really glad that I can bring some of that with the market," she says.

"We have an ongoing relationship with Hustle&Scout and the crew behind Fashfest and HAUS models. They have been really fantastic in supporting me and the event.

"It's a really beautiful intertwining of passion and common interest, and it's important for us to keep working together because ultimately we're working towards the same mutual goal and that is to support and showcase local Canberra fashion."

Andrea Hutchinson

W: hausmodels.com.au

A swarm of modelling interest was sparked through Fashfest 2013. Hopeful beauties across Canberra were eager to get a taste of the modelling industry outside of the festival but were unsure as to which path to take.

Andrea Hutchinson saw a hole in the local industry and founded HAUS Models, Canberra's very own multi-dimensional modelling agency with a philosophy that echoes quality management of talent and quality service to clients.

Fashfest provided many new models with a first-time experience on the catwalk, participating in a major, red-carpet fashion event, and Hutchinson says she had many models approach her asking about opportunities after the festival.

"They said they loved the team and wanted to continue working with us somehow after Fashfest if there were any events we were planning on doing," the HAUS managing director and model director says.

"I've always wanted to do something in the modelling scene because it's a bit dated here and there are only a few agencies in Canberra."

Hutchinson, along with a small group of Fashfest key players, launched HAUS in September last year with about six to eight models on the books. Now HAUS has grown to have 28 models.

"I thought this was the best time to start the agency because we've gained so many contacts through Fashfest and we built really good friendships with the models so when we ran it past them they were all very keen and it just went from there," Hutchinson says.

The philosophy behind HAUS is to keep the agency fairly small in order to give all its models meaningful work.

"And that way we get to know the models on a personal level. I want to make sure that they've got the personality as well as the looks," Hutchinson says.

A former model herself, Hutchinson says being on the other side of the camera brings back a lot of fond memories.

"When the actual show is happening, it's such a great feeling watching it all come together with the music and the lights. Sometimes I want to jump on the runway myself," she laughs.

"But for me now it's more fulfilling and meaningful. It's great that I can still be in the industry but from a different angle."

HAUS also provides more than just models, with a dedicated creative team that can shape events, shoots, campaigns, launches, advertisements and marketing initiatives.

Susan Dlouhy of SZN and Mitch Thompson of Perpetually Five

W: facebook.com/threelittlebirdsandlittleboyblue

Fresh from graduating out of CIT's fashion design course and straight onto showcasing their collection on the Fashfest runway, Susan Dlouhy of SZN and Mitch Thompson of Perpetually Five show no signs of slowing down with the establishment of NewActon's Hotel Hotel Marketplace pop-up store Three Little Birds and Little Boy Blue.

Also featuring fellow designer Gina Poulakis of G.Ginchy and vintage hunter Netti Vonthehoff of April's Caravan, Three Little Birds and Little Boy Blue is a space where they can sell their garments and work on their commissions and collections in their down time.

"After Fashfest Mitch and I started looking for a joint space where we could showcase working and selling at the same time," Dlouhy says.

"I spoke to some guys at Hotel Hotel and that was how I was introduced to the pop-up space."

"Working within the precinct you very much feed off of the creativity that's happening within the space and that vibe. It's just oozing from everywhere you look," Poulakis says.

Mitch says Fashfest was a valuable stepping stone into the industry that made a name for his label and gave him the exposure to build recognition and direct sales.

"The main thing about Fashfest is having a connection with all the other creatives around Canberra. It's opened up an opportunity to talk to other people, get to know them and spread your ideas," he says.

"Fashfest was my first big fashion show and I thought because I got so much PR out of it last year that this year it would be less, but that's not the case, it's still helping my business grow."

For Dlouhy, being involved in Fashfest and Three Little Birds and Little Boy Blue is a great vehicle for developing a network of relationships based around an appreciation of fashion.

"It's a hard thing to convert a typical Canberran into thinking about their engagement in fashion. I find about 80 per cent of people still see the space as an installation and you have to fashion educate them," Dlouhy says.

"Every day I get into conversations about how we got here, the manufacturing industry in Australia, about policy, sizing standards, self-confidence and body issues, trends, material use, colours, and all these crazy things, which is great because you don't get that in normal retail stores.

"People are surprised that this is even happening in Canberra."

Karen Lee, and Gemma Jameson and Francesca Altenburg of 4 Minutes 33

W: assemblageproject.com

Gemma Jameson and Francesca Altenburg of 4 Minutes 33 and Karen Lee of label Karen Lee were always planning on opening up a collaborative studio and retail space but after Fashfest 2013 the two labels had the exposure they needed to make it all happen.

Assemblage Project opened its doors on Lonsdale Street, Braddon in August 2013 and prides itself on selling innovative, highly wearable women's wear.

"Francesca and I have been wholesaling throughout Australia for the last five years and Karen has been doing markets and private sales," Jameson says.

Although the search for a space had begun before Fashfest, the event gave them instant recognition once the shop opened.

"Karen found the space and invited us to join and it came at the perfect time because we wanted to change the direction of our label and move away from wholesale, and Fashfest had just promoted us to a wider market and audience not only locally but nationally as well," Jameson says.

"Off the back of Fashfest people knew our labels more."

It's not just the clothing that is well designed at Assemblage Project. The space is innovative too. The only fixed elements are the lights. Everything else can move to change the shape of the space and accommodate special events and exhibitions.

Towards the back of the retail section is a design studio where customers are invited to watch the designers at work.

"We want to get back to the roots of why we're designing," Altenburg says.

"It's getting to know our customer. Before it was a conceived idea of who our customer is and now that person walks in the store, so we get to talk to her and know her much more intimately."

Looking forward to showcasing once again at Fashfest 2014, Lee reminisces that being a part of Fashfest is an unforgettable experience. It enables the designers to get even more excited about fashion again.

"You get to interact with the other designers," she says.

"Working in our own little environment, particularly working from a studio at home, you get isolated so you don't get that contact with the design community."

"Most of the time it's pretty unglamorous," Jameson laughs.

"We're always in our studio, no make-up just sewing away with no public contact, so just to have a platform that screams 'We are here!' is amazing."