Is Australia the New Fashion Capital of the Southern Hemisphere?

Australia is by far one of the best destinations when it comes to beaches, surfing and food. However, when the term ‘fashion’ is thrown about, Australia is one of the last places that springs to mind. We’re so caught up with European and American brands that other designers around the world tend to get overlooked. But in-fact Australian brands are the ones we should be on the look-out for.

Australia is currently one of the biggest emerging markets in the fashion industry. With new brands popping up non-stop and fashion designers always stepping up their game. Of course it’s home to some iconic and well respected fashion labels such as Sass and Bide but there’s also various new up and coming brands slowly getting established within the fashion world. Also with the rise of Australian fashion bloggers and YouTubers taking over social media this has definitely helped to put Australian fashion brands at the forefront of the industry in recent years.

Sabo Skirt

That Pommie Girl wearing Sabo Skirt shorts

Established in 2010 by 2 Brisbane based fashion bloggers called Thessy and Yiota. The bloggers were also students studying for their undergraduate degrees when they started the label. Within the first year they grew a huge following on social media through visually appealing images that ranged from detailed product shots to behind-the-scenes posts of both designers. Today they have over 1.2 million followers on Instagram, equal to Net-a-porter . the brand sells trendy clothes at affordable prices but best of all the brand has an unique way of selecting models and shooting visual lookbooks for each individual item of clothing, which gives the brand an edge.

She Wears Fashion wearing Finders Keepers dress

Finder Keepers

Founded in 2007 by Melanie Flintoft, this Australian fashion brand provides attainable high street designs in quality on-trend shapes and fabrics. The brand designs 11 bespoke collections each year, which includes dresses, skirts, playsuits, outerwear and footwear all created with the highest quality in mind. The brand has been well received in the world of fashion and is now a hit with all the A-list celebrities including Kendall & Kylie Jenner, Jessica Alba and Iggy Azelea to name a few. Finders Keepers are available at Harrods, Harvey Nichols, Topshop and ASOS.

Blessed are the Meek

The Sydney based brand was created back in 2003 in Melbourne by a small group of fashion obsessives. Since then the brand has relocated to Sydney and have drawn inspiration for their designs from the 4 corners of the world. Their designs are based on edgy, graphic pieces with soft fluid lines. They quickly established their brand as reputable designers when they showcased their designs during Australian Fashion Week and became a big hit amongst industry professionals.

The Rise of the Australian Influencer

It’s official! The world is now fully digital, move over print advertorials and say hello to social media advertorials. It’s safe to say that many up and coming brands wouldn’t be where they are today without the help of an online influencer. Australian bloggers seem to be paving the way for creativity within their content and the growth of their following speaks for itself. From YouTube gurus with over 1 million subscribers to bloggers with over 1 million Instagram followers, Australian influencers are definitely the ones to look out for.

Australian YouTuber's advertising Colgate

Hit reality television show ‘Fashion Bloggers’ had a cast of top online influencers across the world and over half of them were Australian based. Brands are now realizing that their success is heavily reliant on building relationships with these influencers to broaden their reach.

Australian fashion week is also becoming more recognised each season, with more and more designers showcasing their collections. It’s now receiving much more press coverage and the locations are getting wackier each season with designers thinking outside the box such as brand ‘Ten Pieces’ draining a swimming pool to showcase his collection of monochromatic basics.

Australia has undoubtedly proved themselves as a fashion forward trendy nation over the years and I’m sure they have a lot more ground-breaking trends and collections for us.