The Translation On Trends: The Australian Fashion Scene
It has once been said that the Australian fashion scene is about one to two years behind the UK and European market in its trends. This may be due to various factors; including when London is welcoming it’s winter line Australia is usually lathering on tanning lotion and rocking out in flip-flops. Essentially that old seasonal difference; but does the variation in Australian Men’s fashion stem primarily from this or the idea of Australia being too conservative?
Perth, Western Australia, one of the most isolated cities and also the stomping ground for a good majority of my life. As a city it definitely has character however only recently has Perth and the rest of Australia caught up to where most of Europe are on the Men’s fashion spectrum. This was seen in new style and fashion label Injury’s Autumn/ Winter release. The line named Pandemonium is described as it was hailed as being outside of the box and some of the freshest contemporary designs for men Australia have seen yet.
I’ve always been quite eclectic in style and taste. However back in Australia, not just Perth you would find that Men who are willing to try different pursuits in fashion, whether it be bolder and brighter colours, may be considered a minority if not a rarity. I remember my first week here in London and experiencing Brick Lane and Spitafield Markets. I truly felt at home, seeing how guys here know how to express themselves through fashion. Australia is said to be a least one year behind in the U.S fashion arena, with most new trends not reaching their shores for that length of time. On the European style and trend frontier, almost two years. Now as previously mentioned I believe the obvious seasonal different to be a factor in the generating of new styles, but yes Australia as a conservative nation would also come in to play.
Let’s compare. Britain is lager rich full of history. Henry VIII was partying in tights long before Givenchy and John Galliano released “Meggings” in their 2009 collections. In England fashion dictates class and identity with London being less concerned on brands and more on identity. It’s who is working that “look” not the “Prada.” I’ve thoroughly embraced the vintage markets here in Ol’ London Town. Especially when you only came over here with 30kgs of life in your luggage. Foraging through mounds of vintage booty to find a treasure – a quirky denim shirt or checkered tie to assist with the mix and match of my lack thereof wardrobe.
Now Australia is the baby of countries. Being just over 200 years old Australia has not had the influence of history that England or specifically, London, does. England owned the 60’s and madeRock & Roll. Not sure if Australia even had a 60’s… we can claim ACDC though when it comes to that fandangled Rock and Roll. Now I wouldn’t go as far to say Australia is the Canada of England. I wouldn’t put my old stomping ground down that much. But I can say that as a civilization and in terms of their consumerism they are heavily influenced through the US fashion and UK trends, yet take a little longer to cotton on to them.
I spoke to Russell Brown, Visual Merchandiser for Globalize, a contemporary Australian fashion retailer. Mr. Brown works primarily for the Western Australian stores and I picked his brain on what he thought of the topic and when in comes to Australian mens designers, who to look out for. He agreed that Perth in particular was a little behind but Australia as a whole is really emerging with their feats in Mens Fashion. In terms of what’s the latest Mr. Brown reported, “Causal wear I would say Kiss Chacey and Nana Judy because they’re funky and they appeal to a large target audience and are affordable… Vanishing Elephant and Stolen Girlfriends Club very similar but a little bit more exclusive.”
Russell graciously linked me to the latest Aussie Men’s fashion designers (bottom of article) who have been turning heads and are planning to put Australia back on the map for it’s ingenuity and boundary pushing designs. I guess now the benefit for all of us over here in the UK gearing ourselves up for the fast approaching cold is that these Aussie designs were released for Australia’s Autumn/Winter which is now over. Letting us browse our search engines to see where we can source them.
I also spoke to Sunset Events Coordinator Angel Kwok and Perth Fashion Blogger Kenneth Nicholas on their views. Kwok, from a marketing background, admits the reason why most young Australians are online shopping is “the fact that we would get things quicker and before everyone else. I’ll admit that’s a partial pull, but Malcolm at the same time, it’s also a lot less cluttered than real life shopping a lot of the time you see the same thing over and over in a big pile of mess and it’s hard to sift through. Which I think outweighs the possibility of it not fitting or suiting… I also think Australia, in my opinion, particularly Melbourne and Perth tend to stay within a niche kind of aura like a scene, I wouldn’t say hipsta like London but comparatively.”
I liked this view as however I would say Perth is not essentially hipsta but more indie. Main difference being the lack of preppy chic that makes the hiptsta look stand out. Kwok was admittedly biased on stating what her favourite menswear brand would be as she’s partial to higher end mens brands rather than high street especially if you’re looking for an aesthetic brand as a whole including aesthetics, visuals, marketing versus what they actually put out that is ready to wear, it’s entirely subjective.
This also had me thinking, Europe, Australia and the US all have very different aesthetics. As I’m looking at this from a fashion POV and not necessarily from a people POV. Different aesthetics due to location is a huge factor as the aesthetics of the culture tie in with trends that are socially acceptable and how its people/ public receives them. This then reflects on what brands and type of clothing aesthetics are introduced. For example; Cheap Monday transcends down a wide range of demographics. On a marketing perspective they’re genius as Cheap Monday can be sold at places like Selfridges but also at cheaper stores.
Blogger and ex-Journo pal, Mr. Nicholas says, “it’s incredibly difficult to find originally “Australian” clothing in Australia. But if you search hard enough you can definitely find some gems. The problem being that because of Australia’s generally warm climate the pieces tend to always be the same season in and season out.” So again back to the seasonal difference, which allows us to see that yes Australia due to it’s climate is more orientated toward it’s Spring/ Summer pursuits.
Kenneth’s favourite wholly Aussie menswear label is Ksubi (formerly Tsubi). The boys behind the label create wearable, quality pieces that not only are commercially fashionable but also push forward the boundary of men’s clothing design. Similarly Saxony (one of my favourite lines) is found in department stores, which consists of a range of well (generally slim) fitted, tailored suits and more avant-garde style casual wear pieces. Also primarily female Aussie boutiques such as Witchery and Billie & Rose have added menswear collections to their ranges. Nicholas’ concluding note was “Australian stores fortunately stock some quality over seas labels but they are generally six months behind the rest of the world which is why the Internet is my one stop shop for the majority of my purchases!” Viva la ASOS!
Although I have departed its shores I do believe Australia has a lot to offer to the world of men’s fashion and am glad to have written about its current progression.
By Malcolm A Fretz.
Paul McGregor
Editor In Chief at Mens Fashion Magazine. I provide a variety of articles regarding the latest mens fashion advice and style tips. I've been a fashion journalist for a few years now, writing for sites such as FashionBeans, Styloko and The Style King.
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