st Spring 2024 global campaign, while soft suiting in neutral tones was in the spotlight at Kmart Australia’s Family Runway as part of last week’s PayPal Melbourne Fashion Festival. Bridget Veals, David Jones’ general manager of womenswear, footwear and accessories, recently observed that suiting was a key trend in designers’ Autumn-Winter collections. “Minimalism is very much the mood this season, with refined tailoring, monochromatic colour palettes, sleek slip styles, and denim taking over. Tailored separates were in almost every collection, alongside tonal dressing with the occasional pops of red,” said Veals. “Understated luxury has come through as another key trend, putting a focus on wardrobe staples and sleek evening wear,” Veals added. Meanwhile, in the northern hemisphere, Kate Spade’s Spring ‘24 collection encapsulates a modern take on suiting by incorporating clean lines, a relaxed sportswear-inspired aesthetic and casual silhouettes, all with the brand’s classic signature of colourful exuberance, that nods to its core DNA.  The collection is brought to life through a cinematic film campaign, ‘Time to Spring’, featuring Academy Award-nominated actress Stephanie Hsu.  Meet Furlong & Gale Compared to Kate Spade New York, which launched in 1993, Furlong & Gale is a relative newcomer in this space.  Started as a passion project by Greta Gale, a lawyer and former Woolies X senior marketing manager, who needed a classic black everyday suit, the premium women’s suiting and tailored separates brand officially launched in January 2022. Gale named the business after her mother’s maiden name Furlong and her father’s last name Gale. “I spent a long time trying to figure out what to call it, and what would work,” she told Inside Retail. “And I just kept coming back to law firms – their [business] names are always just [family] names, and I thought, that works.” The idea for the business came from her experience working in corporate environments, as a paralegal, project coordinator at Deloitte, and in marketing at Woolies X. Gale struggled to find quality, well-made, classic corporate pieces that could be worn daily. “I had a real need and understood as a customer what it was like to purchase suits and corporate wear. I started Furlong & Gale as a passion project because I wanted things to wear to work. Honestly, it was that simple,” Gale said. To create a premium product, Gale is selective about the partners she works with and manufactures all garments in Australia. This also reduces the brand’s carbon footprint by minimising transit and emissions. The brand currently only sells within Australia. Furlong & Gale’s designs pay homage to the likes of Bianca Jagger’s wedding suit and former US First Lady Jackie Kennedy’s iconic style, with its signature use of crisp lines, flattering designs and sophisticated silhouettes.  The designs are brought to life by what Gale describes as her “secret advantage”, the Italian pattern-maker she works with and the time she invests in the design process to achieve classic shapes and silhouettes that are fitted, flattering and streamlined. “Our pattern-maker is absolutely incredible. She has over 50 years’ experience in women’s tailoring and the knowledge about how to fit shapes and achieve the kind of look that we have,” Gale said. Preparation for launching Gale’s marketing and legal background equipped her with the knowledge and practical tools she has used to start the business and build it into her full-time job. “I was fortunate that, in terms of launching the brand, I had a marketing background. That really helped,” she said, as did her e-commerce background from working at Woollies X. “I had very practical tools in actually getting it out to our target customers.”  She used tools like Shopify and Meta ads to run the business solo in the early days. “If you had to kind of outsource all of that from the get-go. It’d be quite tricky,” she said. The business is currently an online-only brand, but that could change, as Gale hopes to one day have a physical presence. “We do try and make it as easy as possible to shop online with us – we do free express shipping and free returns with Australia Post for all orders, returns and exchanges,” she said. “I would love to have somewhere for customers to come and see us in person as well. I think that that is such an important part of where we could go as a brand so nothing nothing firm at the moment, but it is absolutely on the radar for us,” she continued. In addition to a large number of customers living within the metropolitan areas, Gale has noticed a significant volume of shoppers situated in regional areas. Delivering orders to customers within three days is pivotal for the business to reach its target market of women who work in corporate environments and require mainstay basics to interchange as part of a staple wardrobe. The customer experience has been designed to be as seamless as possible, as the business has identified that its customers are busy and time-poor, and ensuring it can provide this same experience to overseas customers will be imperative when the brand expands internationally. Growth strategy and social media spiking sales With suiting fashion trending on social media, Furlong & Gale has become a lot more active on these platforms and has seen big sales spikes for particular products. Currently, the business strategy is social-first, which guides how the brand initially engages with customers. “We’re a lot more active on socials than we used to be. I think it’s important to remember that your customers want to hear from you,” Gale said. “Our navy longline trousers have been sold out now for, oh gosh, far too long and that was because of interest from TikTok.” In contrast to when social media platforms such as Instagram first launched, Gale said the expectation now from customers is for brands to be “over-engaged”.  “TikTok is really exciting as a brand because you can be a lot more casual and relaxed. Which is another lovely way to engage with customers,” she finished. Looking ahead, Furlong & Gale is considering wholesale partnerships with a focus on iconic Australian retailers; however, the founder said it’s “too early” to say what that will look like. “What I love about what we’ve achieved at the moment is that we’re very Australian,” she said. “The fabric that we use is just right for the Australian climate. Internationally, it would be considered very lightweight. And manufacturing in Australia, I’m so proud that we’re able to do that.”