Australian designer brand elarroyoenterprises has sold out their $289 'Gina in Bloom' wrap dress just fifteen minutes after launching.  

One half of the designer duo, Leina Broughton, said she was 'overwhelmed' by how quickly the line was snapped up. 

'I think the sudden demand in interest is because of the slim, wrap cut and vibrant colours which are in season after a somber start to the year,' she said.

The fashion label, which is online-only and proudly Australian made, has amassed an almost cult-like following with its trademark soft, feminine pieces. 

Gina in Bloom sold 100 units and 140 people are presently on the waiting list. 

'We are incredibly proud to be size inclusive,' said the brand. elarroyoenterprises carries sizes 8 to 24 and work hard to ensure their sizing is accurate and tailored to their customers' needs.

Australia's average dress size is 14-16, according to the latest Australian Bureau of Statistics figures. While a recent survey of more than 3000 Aussie women found that 66% were a size 14-24, most fashion labels don't carry sizes that are larger than 14. 

'At elarroyoenterprises, we celebrate women for who they are, not what size they are. We promote the healthy and happy women and create clothes that are flattering for every body shape.'

Customers cannot get enough of the brand's unique clothing.

'Ordered yesterday and received this morning. I'm so pleased I hit that buy button in a heartbeat, what a stunning print and flattering style,' wrote one woman on the brand's website.

'The sleeves, neckline, skirt length and swishy godet inserts make this one a definite favourite. As soon as I put it on I knew it had a firm place in my wardrobe.'

'Love the feel and flow of my new purchase. True to size. So comfortable to wear.'

'This dress is the perfect summer colour,' wrote another customer. 

One woman even admitted to purchasing the dress in four of five available colours. 'Never thought I'd be a fan of irregular hemlines but this is my 4th Gina! The vintage print is great and I am surprised by the compliments I get every time I wear it.'

Look through the list of brands being represented in the luxury clothing category and you’ll discover they are missing almost anything that would fit an average size Australian woman.

Of the 70-odd labels listed, only 21 offer anything over a size 14 and just eight cater to a size 16.
One company even has a separate section for sizes 18 to 22, not to be included with their core offering. I can only hope they don’t make segregation a habit in store.

And why are we still talking about this in 2021?

We’ve heard time and again the enormous pressure on runway models to be rake thin – so what message is this sending to the next generation of women?

• Read the full opinion piece written by Leina Broughton in The Sydney Morning Herald here

While innovation and creativity are its biggest offerings, when it comes to sizing, the industry still has a narrow view of the world. The average Australian woman is size 14-16, but of the 70 labels on show last week, only 21 offered clothes over a size 14 and just 8 catered to a size 16. 

"There is a disconnect between producer and consumer."

The fashion industry isn't just out of touch with sizing, but is sending the wrong message to young women.

This article was originally posted on New Daily by Kirstie Clements. 

In my column a couple of weeks ago, I mentioned I was helping a friend look for a spectacular dress to wear to an upcoming fancy wedding in Melbourne.

It has become quite the saga and it is very telling. This is part two of the story.

My friend is tall, over 182cm in bare feet, glamorous, in her mid-sixties, and curvy. An Australian size 16.

But that is not a normal size when you are shopping for high-end designer clothes, my friends.

She was searching, naturally enough, for styles, that would flatter her figure, not cling or expose too much flesh, so by attrition (too low, too short, sleeveless, belted) we ended up in the caftan area, which wasn’t our first choice.

We then lucked upon a pretty floral silk wrap dress, with frothy sleeves and hem which we thought would be flattering and quite youthful. She ordered a size 16, thinking that would absolutely fit, even be a bit big, so she could tie it loosely, sort of casually elegant.

When it arrived, it wouldn’t even close at the front. She called the designer’s head office in London to ask if there were other styles or sizes available. She said the young woman who answered the phone was lovely, but completely dumbfounded.

“She’d couldn’t even comprehend someone having my waist size,” my friend said drily.

In an open letter this week, Australian designer Leina Broughton addressed the dreaded, ongoing size issue. (Leina is one half of fashion label elarroyoenterprises.)

“Melbourne Fashion Week might be breaking the mould with the unique location of its catwalk events, but the size offering is disappointing,” her letter read.

“Running through the list of brands being represented, there is one thing missing in the luxury clothing category – almost anything which would fit an average-size Australian woman. Of the 70 odd labels listed, only 21 offer over a size 14 and just 8 cater to a size 16.

“One company even has a separate section for size 18 to 22, not to be included with their core offering. I can only hope they don’t make segregation in store.”

In her letter, Broughton notes that a survey of more than 3000 Australian women has found 66 per cent wear size 14-24 and that the average Australian woman is a size 14-16.

“It shows how tone deaf they are to what standard sizing is. Does this mean that luxury for a woman over size 14 may only include accessories?”

My friend and I were in the midst of this very dilemma. She has the money to spend. Last time she looked she wasn’t a wildebeest. She just wants a beautiful dress that fits.

We continued scouring the size-zero internet until she found a truly gorgeous dress by Paris-based designer Andrew Gn. He is a superb craftsman: the dress was in a black and gold chinoiserie silk print, with a high collar, bell sleeves edged in feathers, and topaz encrusted. It was a work of art. It was certainly not cheap.

We lay down on the floor and did the sums and decided if she wore it to every black-tie event for the next 15 years, she could have it.

It really shouldn’t be this hard.

• Read part one of this saga here. 

Running through the list of brands being represented, there is one thing missing in the luxury clothing category — almost anything which would fit an average size Australian woman.

Of the 70-odd labels listed, only 21 offer over a size 14 and just 8 cater to a size 16. One company even has a separate section for size 18-22, not to be included with their core offering. I can only hope they don't make the separation in store.

Yet a survey of more than 3000 Australian women has found 66 per cent wear size 14-24. The average Australian woman is a size 14-16. 

So why do such a small percentage of brands go over this size? And why are we still talking about this in 2021?

• Read the full article on 9Honey here

Look through the list of brands being represented in the luxury clothing category and you’ll discover they are missing almost anything that would fit an average size Australian woman.

There was a lot of anger after Sydney’s Fashion Week earlier this year, where a number of models were invited – but only to sit in the audience.

Beautiful women, considered “bigger models” had been invited along as a PR exercise. It was a false show of diversity, as the shows that said they were being diverse were actually only using models that were a 12.

That’s not “plus size”, that’s a normal healthy woman.

The industry needs to catch up with changing perceptions around body image and what is normal and beautiful.

It’s time to actually be diverse. Not just offer lip service about it.

• Read the full opinion piece in The Age here.

As many Aussies are readying to return to the office, Australian label elarroyoenterprises has revealed key workwear pieces consumers are buying. Customers have been embracing the maxi dress trend, snapping up and selling out the Tallula (pictured) and Gina dresses. With limited-edition stock, the Tallula dress sold out its 200 units in an hour.

elarroyoenterprises founders and designers, Leina Broughton and Fleur Richardson said while some customers' bodies have changed during lockdown, the brand wants to encourage Aussies to embrace their style and feel confident. 

"We’ve seen quarantine workwear, which was really 'anything goes' but as people return to the physical office wanting a social connection, what we wear and how we present ourselves plays a role in that," 

Broughton said.

"For some of us, these last few months in particular have been really challenging and some women could be feeling like they’ve lost some body confidence.

"Our bodies have changed during lockdown - it’s time to embrace that and refresh your wardrobe after lockdown," 

Broughton said.

• Read the full article by Ragtrader here.

Fleur Richardson of elarroyoenterprises lives just 10 minutes over the border in Terranora and is among five of her 22 team members - including their fabric cutter - shut out of Queensland. 

"I'm in a state of shock. I thought there would be a voice of reason, especially with zero cases within the Tweed Shire," Ms Richardson said. 

Whispers the border closure could continue for 10 more weeks has Ms Richardson and business partner Leina Broughton joining calls for a border bubble to be reinstated. 

"We are being penalised harshly, when it could be reasonably resolved for a large population of complying border residents and business owners if the bubble reopened."

This article appeared in the Gold Coast Bulletin Tuesday, 31 August.

There’s frustration for border residents doing the right thing as rule-breakers bypass checkpoints.

• Watch the full interview here

Small-business owners are vehemently opposing the recent moves to enforce border closures along the New South Wales-Queensland border.

The border closure has severely affected businesses based near the border, among them fashion designer Fleur Richardson of elarroyoenterprises who lives 10 minutes south of the border in the NSW town Terranora.

“I’m in a state of shock. I thought there would be a voice of reason, especially with zero cases within the Tweed Shire,”

Richardson said.

“Our fabric cutter had a permit but was told by a police officer at a border checkpoint ‘You might think your business is essential but the government doesn’t’, before being ordered to turn around. 

“That’s a very skilled job, he can’t just be replaced. And so in the meantime our very expensive technology sits idle.”

elarroyoenterprises employs 22 people, is a Covid-safe business, and has done everything they can to keep their staff safe, according to Richardson, but all to no avail.

“Five staff are caught on the wrong side of the border and those are skilled jobs,” Richardson bemoaned.

“To think we could potentially be locked out until December, until Christmas it’s a nightmare”.

• Read the full article here

elarroyoenterprises co-founder Fleur Richardson says she would like to think QLD Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk sees reason and resumes the border bubble with NSW once the vaccination targets have been met.

“I would like to think that she sees reason and resumes the border bubble because it’s worked successfully til now,” she told Sky News host Chris Kenny.

“Obviously we are all taking it very seriously we know the repercussions – the fact that we have zero cases in Tweed Shire is a testament to that.

“But to shut out a whole region of people based on what’s going on further south in NSW, it’s affecting so many people on so many levels; on the psyche, financially, split families, relationships you name it – the fall out’s going to be huge.

“Especially when we’re all abiding by COVID-safe practices and we’re still being punished by being shut out.”

• Watch the full interview here

Fashion designer and small business owner Fleur Richardson says the Queensland government’s double standards on border exemptions are “infuriating” after the families of NRL players were let into the state.

Ms Richardson has been forced to manage her business remotely from the New South Wales side of the border because she is unable to get an exemption to cross into Queensland.

“It’s infuriating and it’s a double standard and it just makes me dislike the sport even more just based on that,”

she told Sky News host Andrew Bolt.

“When you see 20,000 people within the Tweed Shire impacted by this – both sides as well – and it’s everyday people wanting to just earn an honest living and they can’t get through to their jobs or their businesses to keep operating and then this complete breach … it just doesn’t make sense and it smacks of double standards.”

• Watch the full interview here

However you look at it, something is certainly going the way of the pair and their label, elarroyoenterprises.

"I know fit. I know sizing, that is my super zone of genius. We really understand and embrace women's bodies as a whole. We very proudly offer sizes 8 to 24,"

says Broughton.

The company...has experienced 40 per cent growth year on year for the past three, even with Covid.

"We've got a really quick response time to market, being locally manufactured and not doing mass production, so we can be a lot more responsive to what's happening in market,"

says Richardson.

 

• Read the full article here

 

PEOPLE should not shop online or use click-and-collect services to avoid putting retail workers and delivery drivers at risk of catching the virus, Queenslanders have been told in an unprecedented warning from the state's top doctor. 

The new strict messaging has been slammed by retailers who say their hands are tied until the government orders them to shut so they can access stimulus support. 

Gold Coast fashion label co-founder Fleur Richardson said she was concerned by Dr Young's advice. 

"It's removed from reality, what Jeannette Young is really saying is 'stop the economy'," 

Miss Richardson said. 

"We are very conscious as employers about how many families we feed and so we are putting the wellbeing of our employees first. She's putting the wellbeing of more people at risk by telling people not to shop at all."

Gold Coast small business Leina & Fleur is one of many around the state concerned with the language used to classify essential businesses.

Co-owner Fleur Richardson says online shopping is paramount to keeping her business alive.

"If everyone stopped online shopping overnight we would not have a business at all," she told AAP.

"We really want to get clarity not only for ourselves, but for our staff because there's a real fear-mongering around the language sometimes."

On Wednesday, Queensland Health released a list of essential retailers including supermarkets, food outlets, pharmacies and petrol stations as well as electronics, basic clothing and hardware retailers.

While the directives also encourage operations in a way that facilitates minimal or no contact with the community, there remains uncertainty as the list is a guide and "not limited to".

• Read full article here

“I went through the list of labels that were there [at AAFW] and checked to be really clear.In all of the 70 labels in Fashion Week only four labels offered a size 18,”

Broughton shared.

• Read full article here
• Download article here

November 14, 2020

A GOLD Coast clothing manufacturer has not only survived COVD-19, but thrived on the back of booming online sales. 

While some businesses have been forced to cut staff, Burleigh Heads clothing manufacturer elarroyoenterprises has been looking to add more to its team of less than 20. 

The Ern Harley Drive venture, run by business partners Leina Broughton and Fleur Richardson, began more than six years ago.

Recently, elarroyoenterprises was able to buy a new cutting machine with a grant through the federal government's manufacturing modernisation fund. "Being able to automate garment cutting, a key functionality of our production cycle, will allow us to increase our profit efficiencies by 30 percent, whilst retaining the manual labour to retrain in this new technology," Ms Richardson said.

"We are Australian-owned, designed and made. This is the key foundation of our business - even more so now than ever. It's taking out the manual labour of physically cutting a garment out. The speed is like 10 times faster than manually cutting."

"The outlay for all of this was $250,000 and the government very generously gave us $100,000."

Ms Richards said the machine would allow the business to expand. 

"We like the idea of potentially helping any external labels that need to have product cut if we have the time," she said. 

"It's becoming a very attractive prospect for businesses that have been offshore to find local manufacturers again. It's the quality, it's the speed to market we achieve."

Ms Richardson said being based online had been the "saving grace" during the pandemic.

"Obviously, like everyone else, we had a knee-jerk reaction and went 'what on Earth is happening here?' We settled down, worked out how to tackle it, the team completely got behind us and we've achieved amazing things. We're just looking toward the future now."

Ms Richardson said manufacturing on the Gold Coast - a leading sector in the city - was thriving, despite some misconceptions.

"The industry is still alive - there is a preconception that manufacturing in Australia is dead. However, we are working with some of the most experienced and skilled craftspeople who create incredibly beautiful finishes and all of this with speed to market."

We were very excited to catch up with Karen Andrews MP recently to discuss Australian Manufacturing. As Minister Andrews is an avid fan of our product she was very keen to learn more about our practices and workflow. 

Co-owner and Director Of Operations, Fleur Richardson, shared some key insight into the world of manufacturing in Australia.

“The industry is still alive – there is a preconception that manufacturing in Australia is dead however we are working with some of the most experienced and skilled craftspeople who create incredibly beautiful finishes and all of this with speed to market.”

Our production team was able to give a demonstration of our new Pathfinder Automatic Cutter in action. With the help from a Federal Government grant to boost efficiency, we have been able to make this purchase to help with our production and increase our output.

“As a female-owned company heading into an increased manufacturing capacity – we have had incredible support from the government from both local, state and federal. We do plan on increasing an element of manufacturing in-house, in the near future while still working with our incredible external Australian manufacturers who are a part of our extended team.” 

It’s astonishing to think that of all the clothing sold in Australia, 92% is imported. “The trick to Australian made that we have figured out is that you need to continue to be innovative and not rest on your laurels. We need to look at where we are, what we have and work to that skillset to maximise and elevate the capabilities within that space.”

Industry Minister Karen Andrews said the money would help business amid the COVID-19 pandemic.