The Aje of affordability: Luxury label lowers prices for Gen Z

It hasn’t been seen on an Aje floral print dress for 10 years, but that hasn’t stopped the brand’s founders Adrian Norris and Edwina Forest from falling victim to the tall poppy syndrome.

“Everyone’s looking for a reason to bring someone down in this industry,” says Norris, who has heard plenty of rumours, including of a supposed rift between him and Forest. “People were looking at what was going on at other labels and trying to pick who was next.”

Models Serena Wardell and Amelia Qi in Aje Studio. Aje’s new, more affordable range puts rumours of a rift between founders Adrian Norris and Edwina Forest to rest.Credit: Louise Kennerley

Whispers that the 16-year-old label once referred to as the next Zimmerman might be facing the same economic problems that accelerated the demise of Dion Lee and Alice McCall started in March, when 20 staff, including senior executives, were sacked from the business.

“Globally, retail is challenging. When times are tough, you just need to be better and do things better,” Norris says. “This is a hard industry, and the tall poppy thing doesn’t help. Shouldn’t we be lifting one another up?”

To be clear, Aje is not closing down. Norris says the executive restructure was a response to the tough economic climate.

Instead, the business has been focused on facing financial headwinds by creating an affordable diffusion line called Aje Studio, launching on October 15 and aimed at Generation Z.

“We’re not calling it a diffusion line,” Norris corrects. “You’re not buying the cheap version of the expensive dress. Aje Studio is its own category.”

While a strapless Aje dress, printed with orchids – not poppies – costs $695, pieces from the youthful Aje Studio collection are priced between $79 and $299.

Sequin skirts from the Aje archives have been revived in plain white with linen waistbands that could be worn over bikini bottoms or beneath an extravagant bell-sleeve blouse.

Single-shoulder white dresses with pouffe skirts are ideal for a casual lunch at a cafe, where a bell-sleeved midi-dress might be considered over-the-top.

“You’re not buying the cheap version of the expensive dress.”

Adrian Norris, Aje co-founder

The Aje main collection is packed with florals, but Aje Studio has bright animal prints and summer-weight denim dresses, created with Gen Z’s spending power in mind.

“Our essential pieces were expensive, so this is an opportunity for us to not do all the bells and whistles, the stitches and the gold hardware,” Norris says. “We could pare it back.”

“Working on Aje Studio was nice because it’s creating beautiful, simple pieces with very Aje-like features,” says Forest, who recently returned to Australia after working remotely as creative director from Paris. “It’s like going back to the beginning, when we started in Noosa.”

While Aje could still be the next Zimmermann, Aje Studio might be the next Dissh, which attracted a $90 million investment from retail billionaire Brett Blundy in March. The popular and profitable brand, also founded in Queensland, sells youthful essentials with a twist from $49 to $399.

Aje founders Edwina Forest and Adrian Norris in their new Surry Hills, Sydney, headquarters.Credit: Louise Kennerley

Dissh has already attracted imitators, with some commentators drawing comparisons between the brand and Witchery’s controversial rebranding in July, which was greeted with an onslaught of negative feedback.

For Norris, the Aje DNA – with pearl embellishments on dress ties and sandals, along with playful logo T-shirts – makes Aje Studio stand out from the competition.

“There is a customer who’s more price conscious but still wants to look beautiful, and she’s buying that from other people, and it’s not as well-made,” he says. Aje Studio will be manufactured by the same factories as the main collection, with the business using 34 facilities across China, India, Indonesia and Australia.

Department store David Jones has faith in the potential Aje Studio customer, committing to a substantial initial order for 25 locations.

The label will also be stocked in Aje World, part of a retail reshuffle of the 12 Aje Athletica stores (dedicated to an athleisure spin-off launched in 2021) and 32 Aje stores. In a concept already rolled out at Emporium and Armadale in Melbourne and Pacific Fair on the Gold Coast, stores are combining to house the main collection, denim range, Aje Athletica and now Aje Studio.

Putting further rest to rumours is the label’s new headquarters sprawling across two floors of a luxury development in Surry Hills, Sydney, where some of the 500 staff are still in the process of moving in.

“Stopping has never been an option,” Norris says. “We were a very big small business, and transitioning to being an actual big business is a tumultuous time.”

Meanwhile, Forest and Norris have learnt to speak up about their accomplishments, because when you’re quiet, people are more than willing to fill the silence.

“I thought people were sick of hearing about us,” Forest says. “I was sick of hearing about us for a time.”

“It appears that everyone loves a bit of drama,” says Norris.

They should love it just as much from Aje when it costs less.

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