Designer Toni Maticevski says the layers of silver leaves on this garment took “weeks of work” to prepare. The silhouette, on the other hand, “just sort of randomly happened”. He sketched dramatic trapezoid shoulders while working with a team member, then thought: “What if we actually put her head inside it? That could be really weird and kind of dumb but kind of amazing.” - AG
Denim totes are a new item for activewear label Nagnata. It’s hard to make basics like bike shorts and shopping bags look interesting, but show director Joel Piccini and stylist Jessica Dos Remedios struck gold by looping the tote over a model’s head and belting it. Wearing a bag as a top may be a joke, but the punchline is me when I try it at home. - AG
Each season, designer Alix Higgins says he’s been trying to grow up. This time he went back to basics with a newfound sense of fun, manifested in reworked polo shirts cut in half to become bottomwear. Additional frivolity came in small doses: ribbons, internet-forward patterns and droopy headgear. The tangy yellow and pink paired with a monochromatic shirt makes the unserious shirt-as-skirt creation serious. - IL
Sometimes the biggest shift is an unexpected colour palette. Carla Zampatti continues its reign as the go-to label for Australia’s C-suite business leaders and high-glamour cheerleaders. Designer Tanya Emon Beattie understands certain boxes need ticking while pushing customers forward. That cohort traditionally leans toward neutrals, perhaps with “a pop of colour”, so why not suggest a refreshing combination of lilac and crimson? The tailoring remains refined, but the surprising shift in tone shows leadership that leaves the beige brigade behind. - GTN
This dress was a refreshing bolt of blue on a week otherwise gloomy both in weather and size inclusivity. Gary Bigeni showed fluid, draped jersey dresses in his first collection 20 years ago. It’s a style that worked then, still looks fresh now and has always rivalled pyjamas for comfort. The sky shade was particularly pretty with model Bruna Lapinskas’ copper hair, credit to unfussy styling from Jana Bartolo. - AG
Opera gloves with everything, preferably in leather: one of many takeaways from this week’s shows. Bianca Spender demonstrates the item’s appeal for daywear while tapping into sheer fabrications, drapery, bubble-hemmed skirts, midriffs and tonal dressing. This look best personifies aviation motifs throughout the show - olive greens, buoyancy of parachutes and nonchalance of unzipped flight suits suggested in a jacket tied around the hips. - GTN
Christian Kimber is on a one-man mission to infuse the relaxed Australian male’s approach to dressing with refined European sensibilities. It’s elegant but not highbrow. The fit is loose but not oversized, the fabric tactile in natural fibres. Colours are tonal, but points of interest allow the eye to travel, as the late Vogue editor Diana Vreeland would say. The ikat-adjacent shirt pattern offers subtle contrast to the suit fabric’s warp and weft, while the neck scarf adds punctuation. - GTN
Open any woman’s wardrobe, and you’ll find what is unsexily described as a “going-out top”. You know the one: paired with jeans or plain black trousers, it’s the Goldilocks combination for occasions requiring a look that’s not too little, not too much, but just right. Mariam Seddiq’s draped bodice with trailing hemline is such a top, much sexier in person, worn here with leather trousers that seem to be giving denim a run for its money. - GTN
This is that dress. If you didn’t buy it at the time, you still live with regret. If you did, you will be smug, concocting events as excuses to wear it again. Esse designer Charlotte Hicks understands inherently what women want: the drape offers ease and flattery, the fringing adds drama, and the colour draws you in with dulcet tones rather than screaming. Serotonin in satin. - GTN
Designer Denni Francisco had space, softness and light in mind for her collection - all things we need more of, plus covetable water-resistant cotton coats. Subtle circle embellishments represent waterways found on country and the concept of coming together, she says. The lavender headscarf featuring a print from Gija artist Lindsay Malay was one of many. “We wanted to show all the different ways that you can wear scarves,” Francisco says. “It’s not always about buying something new.” - AG
It wouldn’t be a resort wear season without a standout kaftan, and what a kaftan this is. L’Idee Woman co-founder Breeana Smith says their signature pleating is engineered to flow over and flatter the body. Trailing sleeves flapped like wings on the runway, appropriate since it was modelled by former Victoria’s Secret angel Taylor Hill. - AG
This is the only acceptable way to close a show. Student designer Luke Rutherford-Durney presented “The Heiress” as the final look at the Tafe fashion design school runway, to audible gasps. “It’s a hoodie tracksuit for a princess,” he says. The tabletop silhouette was created by a “floating belt” made from plywood and discarded building materials. The bottom half moved on its own, accentuated by the shredded hemline and train. I would be scared to square off against her. - IL