For the past two years we’ve been trawling the streets of Sydney looking for creative people, new designers and daily inspiration. From street shopping to fashion week, our team has covered it and snapped some amazing street style along the way. Now it’s time for us to say goodbye. A heartfelt final thank you to all our dedicated contributors and readers. See you on the streets!

Photography: Jessica Kingelfuss

One rearing Arabian stallion bodysuit and three years later, We Are Handsome is the final word in bold and beautiful swimwear. With global stockists (hello, Net-A-Porter) and a cult following, things are on the up-and-up for this Sydney-based label. You’re probably familiar with their striking dreamscapes – made from photographic collages with super-saturated colours – and this season extends their limited edition apparel in the form of silk skirts and cover-ups.

This season the print stories are as eye-catching as ever with animals predominating including a grizzly lion, a fierce tiger and a bald eagle plus a splattering of diamonds and palms silhouetted against a setting sun. Even the patterns play with the eyes, on close inspection the rose wallpaper print features tiny hidden kittens. The zebra design splashed over the runway appeared on bikini tops as models walked out sucking on ice-blocks. The prints have also translated well onto several silk pieces although the low-cut necklines and sheer mean they are clearly intended to be worn over the swimwear for a beach-to-bar look. Of note was a long swishy silk skirt with an ombre-effect sunset cityscape.

The showpiece, a skin-tight jumpsuit with peek-a-book mesh no less, should probably be left to the celebrity fans – Tyra Banks and Nicky Minaj have been spotted in their pieces – but everyone else can enjoy their distinctive prints on bikinis, mini-dresses, leggings, body suits and signature scoop back one piece. Winter might be around the corner but there’s never been a better time to start dreaming of the sun.

Words by Lucinda Burtt Photos by Jessi White

Whether channeling kistch and dressing in the colours of bean cans (read lower for further details), wearing a helmet in mosh pits, or reading Kundera in Hungarian, Zsuzsanna’s style is entirely her own. Her eyes light up when she speaks about something that she’s passionate about – of which there is a lot – and ever since we shared our first conversation about National Geographic adoration, Zsuzsanna has never ceased to inspire me.

What inspires you? I guess the most inspirational thing is anything that breathes, so the living world and all its complexities are quite inspirational to me. But I guess, anything that has kind of an extraterrestrial element, that is foreign and I haven’t really grasped it yet… so from Gregg Araki films which are just, you know, an aneurysm of vibrantness, to British wildflowers – I guess anything that I can soak up and submerge myself in.

Who do you admire? Who don’t I admire?! I guess, I have a strange kind of peculiar niche for admiring strangers, people who I just observe on the street and I see them, you know, do little things… like admire a particular building and then I’ll admire them for kind of noticing what I haven’t. I think I admire strangers who make me believe that there is a certain kind of appreciation for beauty left and an appreciation for life.

Do you have a signature style quirk? Well basically… I usually go to convenience stores and just look up the colour and try to reciprocate particular shelves. Last week I based my whole outfit on bean cans. I just thought those bean cans right there (see picture above) – I bought them because they’re so beautiful and they’re so quirky and kitsch…

If you were reincarnated into any era, which one would you want it to be any why? I wish I could go back [to] 1988 and I wish I could be in a Soviet school room learning about the expired Socialist system and knowing that a change is in the air and that it’s so close – it’s a year away. I think that would be great.

Top three songs/musicians at the moment? Any song by Sleep Party People who are, like, my favourite band at the moment. Then I’ve been listening to a lot of songs by Plastic Girl In Closet – it’s this really cute Japanese girl who sings shoegaze and it’s just… it’s lovely. And my last one would be Queen Adreena because the lead singer is a fierce goddess of good old punk rock.

What was the most daring thing you’ve ever worn? I once made a dress out of just a Woolworth’s plastic bag and I forgot how translucent it would be and it was just not even daring it was just uncomfortable…

 Top three treasured possessions? (see images above)
1. My cult of instruments – (left to right) Ziggy, my bass guitar; then there’s my mandolin; and my zither who is a new prized possession and is yet to be  named.  And then I have Theo, my electric guitar with the solar system on it, and it’s back glowing and shining. This is my little toy box and it [contains] all my effect pedals, so I basically can disguise my playing and make everything sound as if it’s in outer space.

2. This is an Eastern European bark doll that my grandmother made me when I was around six, I think, and it’s just a beautiful reminder  of where I came from and also the kind of lifestyle where you had to dig into  your resources and make beauty out of it.

3. These are my most adored books that I would carry to the ends of the earth. I’ve got Henry David Thoreau’s Walden which is just a beautiful little book that describes so many different  perspectives to look at the world through and I carried it all through my trips to Europe and it’s really inspirational. Then I have a little book which is quite peculiar – it’s The Observer’s Book of Wildflowers and I guess I just appreciate the precious care that goes into documenting something so small and so petite as wildflowers. Then I have Caesar, the Gallic War… I think it’s a 1920′s book – 1924 – and it’s actually [from] Dymocks, George st – and it was just such a rare find and I think it brought a little bit of joy because it’s this unknown nostalgia for a time I never lived in… and it has Latin verses which really helps my Italian skill come along. And then I got this for Christmas – The Descent of Man by Charles Darwin and I think it’s just a great view on Darwin’s  perspectives on other factors than evolution per se,  so it really reveals his kind of scientific, philosophical notions. And my last favourite book was my mother’s – we’re a family of Kundera fans – and it’s the Hungarian version of one of his greatest books and it’s called A Lét Elviselhetetlen Könnyûsége – which is The Unbearable Lightness of Being.

What is your favourite item in your wardrobe? My favourite is my Korean textile dress (see above) – which is just, you know, [a] factory produced dress but it has such character to it… I feel like I’m wearing a skin; a vibrant skin of floral arrangements and it’s great.

What is the best present you’ve ever received? We were travelling through Croatia and I was on the brink of dehydration and I got a glass of water, which was the best present because I avoided death – it was lifesaving.

If you were to wake up tomorrow in a different country, where would you want it to be? I would want to wake up in a different world, Asteroid B-612 so I could be with the Little Prince and spend my time drinking from petite teacups and admiring the baobab trees.

Any words of wisdom that have stuck with you? “Nothing reminds you more of the future than the smell of gasoline, so breathe it up kid.” It was my uncle who said that gasoline was the smell of the future, he also subsequently works for a gasoline company so I think that there was a bit of propaganda in there – but it worked!

 
Zsuzsanna’s works

If you could bring a fictional character to life, who would you want it to be? Henry from Eraserhead, just so I can frighten him even more with real life because it’s even more peculiar than the life portrayed in the films so I think I would just scare him to his wit’s end and make him even more mad than he is and confused about his sexuality.

Where do you hope to be in five years time? I want to be in an infomercial for bean cans, or studying anthropology in Reykjavik.

What do you think it means to have style? It’s resonating yourself, your internal world, with the external world… I think style is chemistry based, there’s interactions, responses, reactions, and I think style is just resonating with who you are, who you want to be and who you were.

DIY steps
1. Choose your colours
2. Arrange the shape you want on a plastic grid
3. Lay a piece of baking paper on top of the grid and iron to melt the beads
4. Get creative using wire, ribbons and whatever else takes your fancy!

Photography Vanessa Low
Model Miranda Fagan

Stockist PYSSLA beads and grids can be bought from IKEA

On The Streets of Sydney caught up with exciting new jewellery designer Ray Cook of How Typical Of Metal in his new Sydney boutique, 4.5 Billion in Sydney’s newest up and coming precinct, Darlington.

How did the name for your jewellery label How Typical Of Metal come about?

How Typical Of Metal came about as I had been wearing bow ties for awhile and when I first created myself a set of leather bow ties my friends would mutter “how typical of metal” to make bow ties. My nickname is Metal but I am not a metal-head.

4.5 Billion is an interesting name for a shop, please explain its meaning?

4.5 Billion (years) is the age of the earth and since I am a stonemason by trade and I work a lot with natural stones creating carved stone rings for my label, the name has a nice ring to it. When people walk in I sometimes do this futuristic voice “welcome to 4.5 Billion” Maybe it needs to be more spaceship like to continue this though haha.

Your new collection explores themes of death and mortality, can you please expand upon that?

I lost one of my friends a few weeks ago. She was in India and her friend found her in her room gone. It was a spontaneous brain hemorrhage and like that she was gone, 22 years old.I have never known anyone to pass away and it had a really big effect on me. Since then I have been having this attitude like this could happen to anyone at any time.

These pieces are a reminder to society that you do live once and it can be taken in an instant, so instead of feeling sorry for yourself, live your life. Sure I admit they’re in your face but death should be to push you to strive in what you so if at any point you are to die you have died in a time of doing something you love in life instead of living a generic day to day life.

People seem so scared of their dreams and attempting to create them into reality, this is a series that says “hey if you don’t do it now, you may never get to do it” it fast tracks your thoughts with “I could totally be gone tomorrow and I have all these ideas I am wanting to do”

I have had alot of near death experiences, motocross accidents, electrocution both numerous times and hell I am scared as fuck to die. This is even a reminder to myself to stop feeling sorry for myself and see the great things I have in my life instead of dwelling on such pathetically small “problems” I have.

What compelled you to make the move to Sydney and open a shop here?

I had a massive breakdown living on the Gold Coast because I wasn’t being taken seriously by potential stockists being from a coast town that doesn’t have much culture or fashion sense. This is how I came to realize I had to be in either Sydney or Melbourne. I came here with $500, a bag of clothes and a bike.

You took a risk and opened up a boutique in an area known only for cafe’s, crime and commission flats, explain why you chose the Darlington/Redfern location?

This is a crazy story. I had nowhere to live so I went on gumtree and saw an ad for bedroom in Darlington $110 pw so I went and saw the guy, he was an Englishman, mid 30s with dreadlocks. It was to share a room with him. I did it hatefully, this house had a shopfront that taught Spanish lessons and was the whipping dread funhouse office or something (look up whippingdread funhouse) so funny. The landlord hated him and he owed $3000 in rent and the only way to get him out was for me to sign a lease so I did and then gave him 2 weeks notice. Then I locked my door to the shop so it had no bathroom ect. The people moved on and the shop was mine. The plus side is great coffee close, cheap rent, 20000 people a day in walking traffic that attend UTS and Darlington will be all about this in a year or so, why follow when you can lead?

What brands do you stock at 4.5 Billion? What brands will you stock soon?

At the moment I am stocking my own label, How Typical Of Metal as well as local Sydney labels Serpent and the swan, House of Humility, Alice Nightingale, Orphn and Walarts paper wallets. Everything in the store is made in Sydney and I do gallery commissions of 33% on the labels I stock. I don’t do the whole 100% markup, I support labels that work within the same scheme as my label and they are more supportive seeing that I don’t see their garments as money signs. Who am I to make the same amount of money as the designers creating these garments just for the fact of hanging them in a room. So criminal.

Whats next for 4.5 Billion/How Typical Of Metal?

4.5 Billion has turned dark early for Winter before everyone else does. I will be churning out some bad-ass antique bikes with spikes and barbed wire tassels for the girls. I have a couple finished, some 1940s- 1960s rare track bikes and I have quite the collection of the older girls frames which I will have displayed and for sale in a couple of weeks. How Typical Of Metal is finally launching into clothing this Winter so I will have everything I have ever created within my label and all of the new series in store.

As someone new to the city we have to ask you, what are your thoughts on Sydney so far?

Majority of the time I don’t even realize I am in Sydney. I am so busy all the time. I always wake up in the morning and go “what the hell, I live in Sydney, WHEN DID THIS HAPPEN?” I like it here, I’m pretty isolated due to running the store, running my label, running around. I do alot of running it seems. I like Shortlist cafe and that Outpost thing on Cockatoo island was cool. The Art scene is pretty wanky cough runway crew cough. I havn’t really found any great boutiques. I like that people here don’t talk about doing stuff, they do it and then say “I have done this”. But then I dislike it because it is hard to muse off people that reserve their projects and ideas.

Can you describe your personal style?

Snapbacks, tight black jeans, button ups with bow ties, collector worthy nike hightops, coffee in hand.

Where is How Typical Of Metal stocked in Sydney and online?

I stock at my own store 4.5 Billion and in Estate of Mind on Crown Street, Surry Hills. Online I stock on FINAL EPISODE. She does the same with the gallery style commissions for every label and gives 10% of your profit to a charity of your choice. Mine is the Black Cockatoo trust because I love cockatoos.

Location 4.5 Billion is at 116 Lawson St, Darlington, Sydney
Open Tuesday -Friday 9am – 9pm & Saturdays 9am-6pm. Closed Sunday and Monday
4.5 Billion

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It takes a certain kind of fearlessness to completely transform your life but that’s something that Seema Duggal, a former journalist now online boutique owner has in spades. An acrimonious split from Oyster magazine prompted Seema to not only re-evaluate her writing project Side Street, Sydney but also launch Final Episode. Fast-forward a year later however and the Sydney lifestyle has been traded for the seclusion of Avoca Beach, the furs have been ditched in favour of vintage pieces and she’s even become a vegetarian. Final Episode remains but the vision has sharpened.

Disillusioned with the speed and unsustainability of the fashion industry, Final Episode is dropping the designer names to support emerging and ethically minded designers. This isn’t just a glib promise; Final Episode has chosen to cut their profits to ensure that 60% of all monies made will go back to the designers and 10% to the charity of their choice. New names include Serpent & the Swan, MAN and Disce Mori by Julia deVille plus there’s several in-house projects in the works. I met up with Seema at her leafy home to chat about sustainable fashion, running an edited marketplace and the importance of following your own path.

Had you always been interested in working in fashion?

Absolutely not. I started my career in journalism and human rights – even working at Amnesty International for a while – but I became heavily disillusioned with the level of difference I could make after I spent 2 years working for News Limited. When I moved to Sydney, I applied for a few jobs and scored one in fashion PR pretty quickly. I always loved aesthetics so it didn’t seem so bizarre at the time. I then started freelancing and wound up being asked to be the sub-editor and later web-editor at Oyster magazine.

What prompted you to start Final Episode?

I’ve always wanted to run my own business and especially my own store. Journalism is probably still my first passion but Final Episode is perfect because of its editorial spin – we did a zine last year. I think of it as an edited marketplace.

Final Episode launched in September 2010 but relaunched in September this year. Why the change?

I was getting a growing disillusionment with fashion. I just didn’t like the way people treat each other and the philosophy that drives it. Working with Oyster really shifted me. I was working 14 hour days on Oyster and Side Street, Sydney. I pushed myself to go above and beyond and was exhausted. Eventually my work on Side Street, Sydney became a “conflict of interest” for Oyster and I was let go. Most people assume that the reason for the relaunch was because Final Episode wasn’t doing well but actually it was doing very well. It was the philosophy behind it that didn’t sit well with me.

The new philosophy is quite fearless and honest…

There is an element that’s about giving a finger to the fashion industry because I don’t agree with the way they do things. I felt I’d lost my soul by wearing fur and supporting all the waste. Now I’m supporting emerging designers, working with fair trade designers and trying to bring some consciousness into fashion. People often say I should reduce the amount I give to charity and make a bigger profit but I have no desire to do that. I’d love the fashion industry become more sustainable and supportive.

Why do stores struggle to support emerging labels?

It’s hard to get young labels out the doors because customers shop the labels they know rather than focussing on design or quality. Fortunately with Final Episode we deal directly with the designers and don’t have to do pre-purchase orders. I’m all about supporting emerging designers. It really takes guts for them do what they love as it’s such a competitive industry. I fully appreciate that Final Episode wouldn’t have come about without my opportunities in the industry.

Can fashion really be sustainable and supportive?

It has to be! We’re trying hard to be sustainable. We’re working on getting in Bachhara a label that produces all of its pieces at a sewing centre in Bangladesh.

Tell us about the new Final Episode in-house label.

It’s about all about giving ourselves full creative freedom. I’m really passionate about the new vintage line which encourages recycling and we’re also launching an objects line soon. I’d love to do shoes in the future maybe using recycled leathers. I’ve become a vegetarian and won’t buy new leather again.

How would you describe your style?

I love vintage, I like messy. I love humour too – Troy Parker and Matt Stone [South Park creators] are my heroes – and fun pieces that don’t take themselves too seriously. I have no desire to wear all designer. It’s all about nice shoes and cool jewellery for me.

As a former LA girl, what do you think about Sydney?

The fashion industry in Sydney is very tall poppy, very who-you-know. Come on, this is Australia! It’s not Paris. I love Sydney though; it’s truly the best city in the world. I love the coffee, the beaches and the amazing nature.

What’s next for Final Episode?

Aside from the objects line we’re launching a print project later in December with artists Shannon Crees, Bec Winnel and Belinda Suzette amongst others. I think I need to learn to take one step at a time! It’s fun to have a project you can play with.

Take a look at Final Episode to browse their labels and find out more.

Article was updated to correct inaccuracies.

Have you missed us? Well we have missed you, but here is the good news On The Streets of Sydney.com is re-launching very soon. Before that can happen we are looking for fresh and enthusiastic new contributors. Are you a young photographer keen to build up your portfolio? Have you got ideas aplenty but no where to publish your work? On The Streets of Sydney has openings in all departments; Writing, Photography, Styling and Beauty so if you want to get your work out there feel free to email us a small sample of what you do to hayley.h@onthestreetsofsydney.com and good luck. xoxo

Osmosis. A darkness overhead, a feeling from within, something has been brewing in the petri dishes of Japanese designers for years now.

ONE

Han Ahn Soon orange jacket, Comme Des Garcons purple top, Issey Miyake flying saucers skirt, Miu Miu 90′s mules.

TWO
Issey Miyake a-poc dress.

THREE
W&LT dress, Stylists own wedges.

FOUR
Helmut Lang dress.

FIVE
Issey Miyake 1997 pleats please dress.

SIX
Miu Miu sheer dress, Stylists own wedges

Team
Photographer Hyun Lee
Stylist Hayley Hughes
Hair & Make-up Kristyan Low
Models Cathy Cowdroy from Romel Model Management and Sarah C. from Chadwicks
Styling Assistant Christoph Parsons

All clothing from FdeC the Tokyo Pop Up Shop mentioned in this post
Location 1/374 Crown Street, Surry Hills, NSW 2010 (just behind Blank Space Gallery)
Open Wednesday’s, Fridays and weekends after 12pm
salle-FdeC.com 

Bright rope necklaces are easy to wear and surprisingly simple to make. Soft stretchy cords are ideal for this project and can be purchased from most fabric or craft stores. Once you get the hang of the braiding technique, try experimenting with thicker cords or patterned climbing rope. Keep in mind that the thicker the cord, the more you will need. For long necklaces, start with at least 4 metres of cord and see how you go.

You will need:
2-3 metres of cord
Needle and matching thread

Create a knot on one end of the cord, leaving a small loop. Try to tuck the end of the cord into the knot as you tie it. Secure the knot with a few stitches to prevent it unravelling.

Start to braid the rope using a figure-8 movement. Create a loose knot, then pull the end of the cord through the outer hole of the loop. Repeat.

Continue to braid the cord forming a consistent pattern. (See gallery for more images of the braiding technique).

Make your last braid with approximately 10cm remaining. Finish the necklace by knotting the left over end into a simple ball knot. Stitch if necessary. Your finished necklace can be fastened around the neck by passing the ball knot through the looped end.

Make up gets fun with bright colours making a splash at RAFW and on beauty counters across the country. We asked top make-up artists to share some tips on how to make brights work for you.

From Left to right
Top Row Sisley Paris hydrating long lasting lipsticks in L30 (orange) and L9 (pink) $62 each, available at David Jones. Bright lips were all the rage at RAFW, be brave and colour block your lips by painting the bottom lip a different shade to the top. These lipsticks are fantastic as they don’t dry out your lips and last all day.

Middle Row Kit Cosmetics High Impact nail polish $15.95. OPI On Collins Ave nail polish $19.95 and OPI That’s Hot Pink nail polish$19.95, both available at David Jones. Fuchsia, yellow and orangey-red are the hottest colours for nails. Did you know you can mix nail colours to create a new shade? Well now you do, so get mixing to make the custom shade you’ve been looking for. Napolean Auto Pilot Pre-Foundation Primer $49.50. Just like an artist must always paint their canvass with a primer before starting to paint, so must you. A good primer is essential for laying a good foundation and getting the most from your pigments.

Bottom Row  Sisley Paris Pressed Powder in Sand $125, available at David Jones. A great blush is a must and this shade is perfect for most skin types. Mac Cosmetics Wonder Women pigment in bright fuschia $42. A fun limited edition eye shadow from the pigment specialists. Mac Cosmetics Select SPF 15 foundation $49. A great matte foundation which also hydrates and protects your skin from the sun’s harmful rays.

Stockists
David Jones (Sisley Paris and OPI)
Kit Cosmetics
Napolean
Mac Cosmetics

Team
Stylists Hayley Hughes & Rachel Yabsley
Photographer Jessica Klingelfuss

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