Cashing in on celeb glamour

How do you combine tourism and retailing, that’s the real challenge? I love the idea of ‘Chic in the City’ as a marketing concept in combining retailing as part of the tourism experience. This article, in The Perth Sunday Times, shows what can be done in Sydney. What could you do in your town? SYDNEY has stepped up in the style stakes with its own celebrity shopping tour now on the road. Chic in the City is run by Sydneysider Siobhan Young, who takes walking and limousine tours to the top designer names and fashion celebrity hotspots in the city. “In recent years celebrities have really been hitting the shops in this city and people love to know where they go,” Ms Young said. Top shops on the tour include Scanlan & Theodore in Paddington where Nicole Richie indulged in some retail therapy when she visited last month. “She also checked out Kirrily Johnston’s store in Paddington and people love to know this,” she said. Other celebrity shopping haunts included on the tour include Marnie Skillings at Bondi Junction, a favourite of The Veronicas, and Theodora and Martin in Double Bay, where Natalie Portman visited on her stay here. There is also the chance to check out Little Joe, where supermodel Cindy Crawford has picked up some favourites from Sydney-based former supermodel Gail Elliot. Tour hostesses give plenty of gossip about celebs and their favourite designers, including how Delta Goodrem loves the look of another music industry type, former DJ turned designer Brooke Benson, who has just opened a boutique in Paddington. After living in fashion capitals around the world including London, Paris and Milan, Ms Young is well versed in designer haunts. And she said Australian designers are now seen internationally as some of the cream of the crop. “When I go back to Europe, Australian designers are pitched as very exclusive and celebrities also know this and track them down here,” she said. Running Chic in the City Tours is a far cry from her previous job. “I was marketing commercial explosives and travelling around mining towns around Australia,” she said. “I was in Kalgoorlie but my mind was on shopping in Sydney.” Prices range from walking tours at $95 through to limousine service at $200.