Robert Buckingham
Robert Buckingham has a long association with Australian design, fashion and retail sector as well as government and arts organisations through his work with Craft Victoria (1992-1996), the establishment and leadership of the Fashion Design Council of Australia (1984-1990) and Melbourne Fashion Festival (1996-2004). In these roles he has been responsible for the creative direction of events and exhibitions, cultural programming, publishing, communications, marketing and developing international associations through business events and seminars.
In 2004, Robert established his own consultancy, Mr Buckingham and became the Australian Associate of the London based trend forecasters, The Future Laboratory (2006-2012) and its global network of consumer trend intelligence and insights. Understanding how cultural activity, events, consumer and retail trends, planning and a unified marketing approach enrich brands is central to his work as a strategic planner.
Since 2012, Robert has worked with Melbourne entrepreneur and philanthropist Naomi Milgrom AC to establish the Naomi Milgrom Foundation and MPavilion project. These endeavours focus on promoting contemporary art, design, architecture, urban planning, civic engagement and cultural collaboration. Together, they have contributed to Melbourne’s reputation as a creative capital and developed many significant national and international partnerships. Robert recently edited MPavilion: Encounters with Design and Architecture.