Our Fashions Impress in Germany
AUSTRALIA’S top fashions should be energetically promoted in West Germany, Mrs. Irene Newton-John, a German-born officer of the Victorian Employers’ Federation, said yesterday.
Mrs. Newton-John is just back after three months overseas. She spent most of her time in Germany and England.
Although the main reason for the visit, she said, was to see her parents in Germany, she also inquired for the V.E.F., into export possibilities.
“I wore high fashion Australian woollen clothes, and I showed some to a leading Cologne store an enormous place, bigger than Myers,” she said.
“They were very interested and thought the quality of the wool was quite exceptional”.
“They said there was nothing like my knitted coat in Germany, and they could be interested in high fashion woollen clothing of that quality.
There is an openign there obviously.
“We have not done very much about exporting to Germany, now the richest country in Western Europe. We could do a lot more.”
“But you can’t know what’s wanted without on-the-spot representatives. We’ve only recently had a Trade Commissioner in Germany.
“We’re selling raw wool to them, but other than that we’ve made no impression.
“It’s hard, admittedly, because they have the pick of the world’s goods”.
Research Needed
“Market research is needed. For instance, German women are very conservative about colors. A lot of black and grey is still worn. And the older women are elegant rather than smart.
“Sizing would have to be different for Germany. You see very few slim middle-aged women there, because they all eat well and they still have servants.”
Mrs. Newton-John also took an off-white kangaroo fur coat.
“It attracted a lot of attention,” she said, “but the furriers were not really very interested, because German women prefer their traditional Persian lamb and sealskin.”
But there were other Australian things that Germans might want.
“I think our ski-wear is gayer than theirs,” she said.
“And there are sea foods. They’ll buy any kind of unusual and interesting foods.”
Mrs. Newton-John had a complaint on another score. The Germans were already buying Australian dried fruit but they didn’t know it.
“Dried fruit is sent in bulk to Hamburg, where it is packaged, and it does not then carry a label saying “Made in Australia,” she said.
“The Germans know about Californian fruit, but they don’t know good good fruit comes from Australia. It’s such a pity.”
“Even if we paid for the labels it would be worth it.”
<h2Standards Stay High</h2>
Taking a look at modern German education, Mrs. Newton-John saw a lesson for Australia.
Germany was keeping up its traditionally high standards”, she said, “and this policy resulted in success.”
“Authorities are very concerned at the moment with the time it takes to turn out a professional person.”
“Students matriculate at 19, and they are often 28 by the time they have finished at university and are qualified: “The standards are high, and they have a wider, more liberal education than they would have here”.
“But it’s a very great cost to the community to have them studying so long and not contributing anything.”
“Another disadvantage is that they don’t become independent for so long.”
“But authorides decided that the advantages of the system outweighed the disadvantages”, Mrs. Newton-John said.
“Having these very high standards of education gives Germany an edge over other nations,” she said. “They are a reason why German commerce and industry are so good.”
“In a small country like Australia, with a relatively small population, trying to export and to and to build up commerce and industry, we can’t afford to waste any ability at all.
“Any money spent on education pays off.”
Mrs. Newton-John has lived in Australia for 10 years. She is a daughter of Nobel Prize-winning physicist Professor Max Born.
She went to school in Germany at a co-educational boarding school, Schule Schloss Salem, conducted by Kurt Hahn, founder of Gordonstoun.
She left Germany at the age of 17 with her parents, and brother and sister to live in Cambridge, England, when Hitler came to power.
Mrs. Newton-John has three children, all living here, Dr. Hugh Newton-John, Mrs. Rona Goldsmith, and 16-year-old Olivia, who will go to England next year to study music and drama.
She also has three grand-children, Mrs. Goldsmith’s children.
Mrs. Newton-John has worked for the V.E.F. (Victorian Employers’ Federation) for the past two years.
Edited Book
Since she has been at the V.E.F. one of her biggest tasks has been editing a secretarial manual for the federation.
It deals with commercial subjects, how to address officials in Australia -“this has never been done here before,” Mrs. Newton-John said - “how to dress, skin care, banking and posting and how a job should be regarded”.
“There will be a cheap paperback edition soon”, she said.
Now Mrs. Newton-John is busy with another book. “This time I’m writing the history of the V.E.F.” she said.