Australia has officially welcomed the first store for international fashion brand RAOUL, located at Crown Melbourne. The store was officially launched alongside RAOUL’s stunning Spring-Summer 2010 Collection last Thursday 19th August with a lavish cocktail reception for invited guests.
RAOUL marked the celebration with welcome addresses from Douglas Benjamin, F J Benjamin CEO & RAOUL Creative Director and Ann Peacock, Crown General Manager of Public Relations.
The launch saw the Crown store transformed into a beautiful cocktail area decorated with fresh flowers and a custom designed RAOUL bar where mixologists created bespoke RAOUL cocktails and mocktails for guests to enjoy along with Mumm champagne and delicious canapés.
The guestlist featured some of Melbourne’s most prominent social identities including international model Alice Burdeu, swimming star Michael Klim, music entrepreneur Grant Smillie, fashion designer Zoe Weir, former Victorian Premier Steve Bracks’ son Nick, fashion identity Dhav Naidu and many more.
It was also an opportunity for Melbourne to meet the creative forces behind RAOUL, Douglas and Odile Benjamin and key members of the F J Benjamin team who flew from Singapore especially for the night.
Douglas Benjamin said, “This was a fantastic evening and the warm, enthusiastic response to RAOUL’s brand of accessible luxury has shown that we are well-placed to serve an interesting niche in the Australian market.”
Celebrity DJ Lindy Klim who wore a beautiful lilac RAOUL blouse kept guests entertained all evening with her distinctive sounds.
During the night, guests viewed RAOUL’s Spring-Summer 2010 collection on some of Melbourne’s top models who mingled with the crowd. Many guests noted that the collection should be a hit with race-goers as they start to choose their outfits for the upcoming Spring Racing Carnival.
Check out the collection on the runway below and visit our gallery to see images from the night.
