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During
the 1970's MEREDITH IMPORTS was the sole Australian distributor
for many of Europe's leading Fashion Houses. Now, some 40
years later, the ML VINTAGE COLLECTION is recognised as
unique for its diversity and because most significantly,
all of the garments, now offered for sale, are BRAND NEW.
The
Size of the treasure trove came to light only after Mary
Lipshut moved her company, Meredith, to spacious new premises
in Richmond.
“Our old warehouse was on land owned by a property developer who
needed our site immediately … and we had to move fast,”
the Melbourne fashion veteran recalls.
“It
was chaos. Boxes were mislabelled or not labelled at all.
I didn’t have a clue what was in some of them until I finally
started unpacking.”
The boxes filled with
two seasons’ worth of Courreges recalled an earlier trauma.
Ah, yes: the ill-fated collections hit by the wharfies’
1972 ban on French goods after the first atomic tests in
the Pacific.
Then
there was the rest – unsold stock, showroom samples, forgotten
lay-bys – which had accumulated since the late ‘60s: Missoni,
Versace, Pucci, Krizia, Armani and more. A cache of luxury
garments, all in mint condition.
“I
first learned about the worldwide demand for vintage garments
from Anna Piaggi and Vern Lambert in the mid-‘70s. On one
of his trips to his hometown of Melbourne, Vern came to
see me because he wanted a Pucci for Anna. Then he saw a
1966 Missoni and said, “Put these clothes away. They’ll
be worth a fortune.”....read
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