By Rachel Weisz
The Australian fashion industry is a complicated paradox. For one, it’s rare to see popular Australian brands manufacture their clothes locally anymore. The demand for fast and affordable fashion has risen to extreme heights which means that small, local and made-to-order brands are losing momentum keeping up with larger-scaled companies.
On the other hand, there is a clear shift in appreciating emerging Australian talent, with some of our homegrown small labels gaining international recognition from the red carpet to centre stage. Take Caroline Reznik, for example, whose work has been recognised by the likes of Doja Cat, who recently took Reznik’s designs to the stage for Coachella 2022. Or Emily Watson, whose sartorial efforts have been recognised by actress and fashion savant Bella Hadid. Luxury brands such as Christopher Esber, Dion Lee and Zimmermann have also solidified their place in the international fashion scene, showcasing their collections at New York and Paris Fashion Week.
The narrative of a fashion designer is also changing, often accompanied by a multidisciplinary attitude that extends from fashion. Take Jordan Gogos, for instance, who creates anything from sculptural furniture to fashion, and is often in collaboration with industry legends such as Jenny Kee and Akira Isogawa. The notion of collaboration is also a part of the Australian creative experience. Alix Higgins often works alongside his friends, many he sent down the runway for his collection at the Afterpay Australian Fashion Week in 2023. Niamh Galea makes similar collaborative efforts with her creative counterparts, sacrificing part of her shop space to make room for other fashion designers whom she admires.
Despite our geographical location, there is no doubt that our fashion is fierce. Grown from the feeling of being underestimated by the top boys (Europe, North America etc.) designers in Australia have a fire in their belly that is hard to put out.
Whether you’re a sucker for a minimalist and quintessentially Australian resort-wear palette, or are after a brand more kitsch and maximalist, The Pull has gathered 10 Australian designers that are making waves in the Australian Fashion Industry, and where to shop them.
1. Jordan Gogos | Iordanes Spyridon Gogos
Jordan Gogos is a multidisciplinary designer known for his collaborative and sustainably focused approach to design. Based in Sydney, his creative vision is manifested through his namesake label, which explores fashion as an artistic expression through fabric experimentation creating fresh, youthful and maximalist designs. Embracing diversity on and off the runway, Gogos looks to fashion as a form of collaboration. Last year the designer collaborated with Japanese-Australian designer Akira Isogawa, which was presented at Afterpay Australian Fashion Week. He is currently a Creative Industry Resident at the Powerhouse Museum.
Shop Iordanes Spyridon Gogos here
2. Alix Higgins
Alix Higgins and his namesake label have taken the Australian fashion industry by storm. Studying fashion at UTS and then at Paris’s Institut Français de la Mode, this up-and-coming designer is a cult favourite in the industry. He also previously worked with Marine Serre in Paris as a Textile Designer, and has explored similar methods of print design in his work. His signature print work is inspired by the digital culture and exploring identity in the digital age, combined with statement silhouettes suitable for work and play. His art was positively influenced by the digital in a style which is graphic, poetic and emotive and has been donned by the likes of Hunter Schafer and Grimes.
3. Jordan Dalah
Jordan Dalah is an Australian-British designer whose imaginative designs bring a sense of theatric sensibility to a quite muted Australian retail palette. After graduating from Central Saint Martins in London, Dalah returned to the Australian shores, and held his first local runway show at Australian Fashion Week in 2021. Playing with volume and manipulation of fabric, the designer creates luxury pieces that take you to another world. His experimental nature often plays with historical silhouettes in a contemporary realm, adding a hint of dramatic flair to the luxury space.
4. Anna Hoang | Anna Quan
Legendary label Anna Quan recently celebrated their 10th birthday, and its success can contribute to Anna Hoang’s vision and timeless consideration of design by reimaging and reinterpreting classic silhouettes that are made to last. Hoang’s nod to subtle luxury also explores a transeasonal approach to dress. The brand is an Australian cult favourite, but has also had much international recognition worn by the likes of Kendall Jenner, Anne Hathaway and Greta Lee both on and off the red carpet. Her international success can be attributed to her steady relationships with luxury partners including Net-A-Poter, Selfridges, Bergdorf Goodman, Harvey Nichols and Neiman Marcus. Her approach to tailoring is thoughtful and curated, making the brand a no-brainer go-to for workwear and beyond.
5. Christopher Esber
Christopher Esber’s eponymous label launched in 2010, and since then has become internationally recognised as a face of the contemporary Australian fashion industry. Winner of the 2023 Fashion Laureate Designer of the Year, Esber’s signature designs imbue a sensual and poetic nature. He has a deep understanding of material and fabric and its interactions with the body — fabric manipulation being Esber’s pièce de résistance. The designer is now a force on the Paris Fashion Week schedule, debuting his first spring/summer 2024 collection on the official Paris Fashion Week calendar.
6. Caroline Reznik
There’s no one else who understands movement quite like Caroline Reznik. After studying a Bachelor of Fashion Design at the Whitehouse Institute of Design and then receiving honours in fashion and textiles at the University of Technology in Sydney, Reznik’s resume of a classical ballet dancer turned fashion designer combines the craft of movement and body to create dreamy and intricate designs. Noticed by the likes of Doja Cat, her designs tickle the senses, whether that be through strands of crystal embellishments that wrap the body or visually appealing yet complicated construction. Her designs have a sense of grunge combined with the beauty of the bejewelled. Reznik is bringing international luxe couture for the stage to the Australian shores.
7. Elisa Keeler and Jordan Conder | Maroske Peech
Maroske Peech is run by Melbourne-based duo Elisa Keeler and Jordan Conder. The pair graduated from RMIT University and began their collaborative journey, sharing their work online. Their designs evoke an ethereal and whimsical exploration of individualism, often inspired by their backgrounds as dancers. Maroske Peech, named after both of their mothers’ maiden names, explores fashion through a sustainable lens, and its non-gendered designs allow the customer to play through layer, colour and pattern. Whether the offering is a silk bow collar blouse, or a floral bustier or lace leotard, each piece offers a type of main character energy that is like to a dancer on centre stage.
8. Niamh Galea | Ramp Tramp Tramp Stamp
Niamh Galea is a designer and store owner based in Sydney, Australia. She studied both at UTS in Sydney and Parsons in New York, and later on established Ramp Tramp Tramp Stamp (RTTS) in 2018. Often using vintage and deadstock fabric, Galea’s work is playful and experimental, teetering off sexy in an unserious manner. Her designs feel reminiscent of the LA skater boy culture, yet offer a more fluid aspect to the designs. With an understanding of the marginalised nature of the fashion industry, Galead aims to prioritise fit flexibility and designs her pieces are made with comfort-first fabrics. Her runway shows are inclusive and diverse, offering a taste of the incredible world that is Galea’s mind. Galea also runs a storefront called RTTS Land, where she stocks independent Australian labels.
Shop Ramp Tramp Tramp Stamp here
9. Emily Watson
Named one of Next Gen 2024 Emerging Designers, Emily Watson is a creative who takes the Australian resort and swimwear culture to the stage, creating subversive and fanciful clothing that interlaces swimwear with avant-garde design. Her pieces have been featured on the likes of Bella Hadid, Suki Waterhouse and Madison Beer. Graduating from fashion school in 2019, the young designer blends two divergent fashion words, introducing the international space to radically authentic Australian design. Expect a delight of pleats and frills and cutouts in bright bold colours, all designed and made in Melbourne.
10. Denni Francisco | Ngali
Denni Fransisco’s 25-year tenure in the fashion industry has come with a formidable change towards inclusivity in the industry, especially for First Nations artists. Fransisco is a Wiradjuri woman whose brand Ngali collaborates with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander creatives to design and produce high-quality silk garments drenched in an explosion of colour and pattern. Fransisco has won Designer of the Year at the National Indigenous Fashion Awards twice now, and was the first Indigenous Australian designer to hold a standalone show at Afterpay Australian Fashion Week in 2023. Her pieces are like wearable art, communicating a larger story to her consumers through exhibiting Indigenous art on the fashion canvas.
The Pull 