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

It has been exceptional to see more menswear presented at this year’s Mercedes Benz Fashion Week Australia, often forgotten as a market of its own. With a dedicated group show in the largest venue, it is sure to renew confidence amongst designers, buyers and consumers that menswear is something to invest in.

The 6 premium designers From Britten P/L, Zsadar, Injury, Nathan Paul Swimwear, Mils, Kalb & Etiw have shown that menswear is more than just separates and is something that can be experimented with, even when using solid muted colours. Spring/Summer menswear is about loose tailoring, careful layering of shirts and outerwear and creating new shapes that should be easy to wear and not overly styled.

Nathan Paul Swimwear
In a country that has branded itself on beaches and beautiful bodies there are few options for men outside of a generic surf chain store forcing baggy shorts on those with a Y chromosome. Hopefully that will change with Nathan Paul Swimwear, who has given a European cut to swimwear that is both designed and made Down Under.

The collection is inspired by the Mexican celebration of ‘Day of the Dead’ with obvious prints of playful dancing skeletons and skulls printed in repetition. Others feature solid popping blues and reds with alternate colours along the waistband staying true to the theme of the ‘Day of the Dead’ which is both a remembrance of mortality and a celebration of life.

The line features a range of swim briefs, square leg trunks, swim shorts and polo shirts. Both the fitted swim brief and square leg trunk maintain a clean masculine look that is a far cry of the budgie smugglers favoured by Tony Abbott! With loud colours and a clean fit it gives a renewed take on the Australian icon that many men could unashamedly wear. The swim shorts are loosely fitted above the knee and provide a great escape from the typical board shorts flooding the beach. Some feature the morbid dancing skeletons and others are a sporty classic black short with curved white piping along the seam.

It is confusing as to why and how the label comes to describe itself as being avant-garde when it presents itself as a swimwear collection that any guy could proudly and easily wear. And when that’s what it is – a collection of men’s swimwear “contemporising” old ideas about men’s togs – does it need to be anything else?

From Britten P/L
From Britten Product Laboratory‘s collection ‘Correction’ takes cue from Lad culture of the 90s Britpop scene. For a movement born out of reacting to the feminist movement and immersing themselves in drinking, football and sex (has anything changed?) the collection looks exceedingly luxe and sophisticated, no doubt the touch of designers Tim and Alex.

‘Correction’ plays with proportions, layering, simplicity and restriction to balance the rugged style of Lad culture that contributes to this bigger conceptualised idea of being a man’s man.  Models styled with yellow baseball caps present a line of two-toned suits, trench coats and cropped jackets in muted greys, brown, white, black, navy and a loud coral-red. It seems the collection is one big oxymoron – muted colours, textured fabrics, sharp tailoring and smart layering never made lad culture look so distinguished and mature.  It’s this irony of turning streetwear into this bigger, formalised idea that makes this brand so interesting.

The layering of clothing is one of the best examples you would see in many menswear collections with many outfits characterised by a two-toned blazer, where two greys meet at a smart horizontal seam across the chest of the blazer, worn on top of a long white T-shirt with a severe dropped hem that stops below the crutch of chocolate brown shorts that come to above the knee. This is all worn over grey spandex-like tights that are scrunched over the knee that gives a very clean, grungy street look. Using muted, neutral colours, it creates a clever outfit that can easily be worn at night. With the repetition of lines of the seam across the blazer, the dropped hem of the T-shirt, the shorts over the tights it emphasises clever layering, all done in a way that looks natural and doesn’t add bulk to the body.

Zsadar
Pronounced “Sha-dahr” the label was launched in 2011 to create menswear using unconventional approaches to create avant-garde pieces that are devoid of gender. For such a new brand it understands its identity as a brand quite well, drawing inspiration from ideas of androgyny, subversion, anarchy, experimentation and the surreal.

The collection ‘Mysteries of the Organism’ explores the polarity between the masculine and the feminine where the dark aesthetic is balanced by the use of Australian wool, bamboo, silk, cotton, linen and jersey. Zsadar subscribes to the Japanese design philosophy of wabi-sabi where imperfections are celebrated. This idea is maintained through asymmetric points of design in the garments from uneven hems and draping of the fabric to the fabrication of the pieces where it rebels against standard textile patterns – hems have large shapes cut into them like triangles or semi circles, and shirts being buttoned on the diagonal instead of vertically down the middle.

Looking at the collection a number of times, it becomes clear that the garments are both easy to wear and easy to work into your wardrobe which is a fantastic feature when you want to give a little punch, but not being too literal to the style. With numerous fabrics used, shirts give subtle details through the grain and texture in the material which gives an understated, refined character than just being a classic button up shirt. That said the collection can easily become lost in the market with many brands already subscribing to the dark, grunge aesthetic.

The whole runway collection was very dramatic thanks to the styling of pieces together with jewellery designed by Alister Yiap whose pieces are very in sync with the collection using metal nose rings, chains that connect the model’s nose and ear and even a metal brace that stretched across the model’s back in the style of the torso of a skeleton. In other pieces what looked like thin strips of muslin was tied as a belt to give a sort of bohemian vibe that became a little tawdry.

From humble beginnings in South Korea, emerging designer Gabriel Lee is one to watch. After debuting at MBFWA in the Raffles College of Design and Commerce Showcase, Lee has sent the media into a fashion frenzy with his elegant designs and skillful artistry. Moving to Sydney after he completed high school, this fresh-faced newcomer has everything going for him. At just 24, he’s won several design competitions and awards, including the coveted Tessuti Award, which saw him travel to New York. Graduating from Raffles in 2009, not even the sky seems the limit for this talented designer. OTSOS was lucky enough to catch up with Lee, in his North Shore studio, for an exclusive sit down interview, post-Fashion Week!

Gabriel, can you tell us how you got started in Fashion Design?
I finished high school in Korea and then I decided to come to Australia because many of my relatives live here. When I was young, I came to Australia a lot for holidays and with family, so, when I finished high school, it was like automatic that “I have to go to Australia!” (laughs). My parents said I had to study in Australia, so I came here. When I was in high school and when I was a kid, I liked drawing and so I was going to do drawing, but my parents, especially my dad, were saying things like “Why are you drawing? You have to do business!”, or something like that, so I was like “Ok, well I will study then”. I hadn’t studied since high school where it was just “study, study, study”, but then I came here and realised studying wasn’t my way. My mum was a singer so she knows the arts and she supported me in everything. Then I decided to study Fashion Design and went to Raffles [College of Design and Commerce].

Did your know how to sew and design before you went to Raffles?
Pretty much design, yes, because I loved the drawing and all of those kinds of things, but sewing was not my way, I hadn’t done it before the school, and so it was a bit hard to learn. But I practiced a lot!

How did you find the Raffles Fashion Design Course?
Some people say it’s the best school in Australia, in Sydney, so that’s why I joined it and I really enjoyed it.

Since graduating in 2009, you’ve won numerous awards and competitions. Can you tell us which of them has been a highlight in your career thus far and why?
The Tessuti Awards! I went to New York because of that award! It was really good because my birthday is the 29^th of September and the awards were on the 28^th September, so I got a big birthday present!

You debuted at Mercedes-Benz Fashion Week Australia this year, how did that feel to see your SS 12/13 collection being paraded down the catwalk?
Very good! This is Fashion Week Australia and it is the biggest fashion week, so it felt so great. I was like, “Yes, this is what I want to do!”

Can you tell us the inspiration behind the most recent collection?
This collection is 1930s inspired. After the war, the silhouette changed to a more ‘girly’ shape, whereas in the 1920s it was influenced by the war, so there was more of a manly style. But with the onset of the 1930s, things changed and a more feminine silhouette came about; the silhouette is very high and slim and long, but that was only because of the First Class. The Middle Class and Lower Class were still wearing 1920s [style] in the 1930s. Every book I researched was only on the First Class, so, I decided to do my collection based on 1930s Middle to Lower class silhouettes, so it’s more of a manly style, but still feminine. The colours were very pastel, because my inspiration wasn’t that happy mood, but I didn’t want to use ‘serious’ colours either, just because this is serious inspiration; so like black and grey. I wanted to use pastel. But very toned down pastel; there’s still pink, but it’s not ‘pinky-pink’, it’s one tone down. I like to use pastel colours in this way.

Who do you see as the ideal Gabriel Lee woman?
I don’t really have the ideal woman because I don’t want to make them fit into a box. I want young girls and professional girls to be able to wear my garments. I don’t want to make a box for a particular ‘Gabriel Lee girl’. I want a lot of different girls to be able to wear my collections.

What sort of style and aesthetic do you hope to portray through your work?
When I was in school, I did more couture things, but I soon realised that they were the showpieces. But now, I really like to make my collections simple and then very strong structures. I like simple lines, I focus on that. But, I also add really interesting details.

Where to from here; what do you hope to do now?
I want to keep developing my brand and then I want to show at the other fashion weeks, hopefully in Korea, I haven’t yet done so in Korea. I want to continue designing and selling my garments.

How does your creative process inform your design practice?
Everything inspires me. Seriously, EVERYTHING! I really love talking with the other designers. Not fashion designers, more so with graphic designers and PR companies, because a lot of my friends work in fashion, but in different categories, like PR and visual merchandising. If I talk with them, the other people think they are just hanging around having coffee, but for me, I get my inspiration from everywhere. I have artistic friends and I do lots of research on top of my initial inspiration. So, when I get inspiration from my friends, I then do research – research is very important. I don’t want to design meaningless designs. I think design should be done in a meaningful way. Meaningless design is… I don’t know what!

Any fabrications or influences that you come back to every season?
I always want to try new things. Sometimes I keep the design silhouette or detailing, but I try to change it. I’m always researching for new fabrics and new techniques, but I do love silk and chiffon.

What can we expect for AW 12/13?
I haven’t decided yet because I’ve been so busy, but I want to try print because I’ve never done print before in a collection. Some very similar prints and then maybe integrated with leather or silk. But this is not 100% decided yet, I’m just thinking at the moment. Regarding colour palettes, I want it to be dark, and I want to use fur, but not real fur! I want to use a very good quality fake fur. And today, you can find really good imitation fur. But, if I can’t get a good quality fur, I’m not going to use it!

What’s your favourite food?
I love Thai food! When I was in Korea, I really missed the Thai food of Australia! I tried to find Thai restaurants in Korea, but no, Sydney is the best! Chat Thai in the City is my best Thai restaurant!

Where do u go out to socialise?
I love the Paddington area!

How does living in Sydney affect your designs?
Well, when I was in Korea, I wasn’t interested at all in bodysuits or swimwear, but I realised that in Australia, you HAVE to do swimwear!

If you couldn’t live in Sydney where would you live?
I went to London, and I thought it was similar to Sydney, so I’d like to try and live in London one day.

Who do you look up to in the design industry?
I don’t have favourite designers, because if I choose someone, I don’t want to ‘follow’ them and their designs. The editor of Japanese Vogue, Anna Dello Russo, is very interesting. She’s not my style and not my brand’s style, but she’s very interesting! I love her! Oh, and I also really love Alexa Chung, she’d look really good wearing my garments!

Gabriel Lee’s Spring Summer 2012/13 line will soon be available online. Check out Gabriel Lee’s website for more details.

Words by Rebecca Glaser Photos by Jessi White

Fashion Week for photographers can be one hectic, sleepless, unintentional meal-skipping time. It can feel like you are jumping into a whirlwind of colours and fabrics, show after show, the week turning into one big extravagant blur. Every now and then, however, there are shows that just stick in your mind. They create a series of “Wow’s” throughout the media room. This was, to me, the best time of the week – that rare quiet time where I could to pick and choose my favourite moments. The countdown has already begun for next year, only 10 months to go!

Lisa Ho
I’m a sucker for a great venue and this was possibly, the best of the week. The natural light coming through the halls of The Art Gallery of NSW, the gorgeous stone floors turned into a runway for those incredible floaty fabrics. Lisa Ho‘s SS12/13 show made it worth the race to the venue in peak hour traffic with barely minutes to spare!

Bec & Bridge
The sheer feminine printed fabrics, hints of floral and the very on-trend peplum, Bec & Bridge put on a show which made you long for the summer days to return. And that plant wall, what more I can say?

Manning Cartell
The venue was small and moody and the clothes were popping with florals, sequins and vibrant neon hints. The music had all of the media and some noteable front row-ers tapping toes (or in my case, mouthing the lyrics) to Die Antwoord, M.I.A and Santigold.

Camilla
The colours were punchy, the mood was exotic and the children in the finale were so sweet. Camilla stormed the runway with her SS12/13 collection, bringing such a presence in her designs that more than a handful of female photographers were oo-ing and ahh-ing about after the show. My favourites in particular were the Kimono style kaftans and the brilliant tribal patterns.

Alice McCall
Babushka doll chic! It’s hard to shoot some collections with a strong theme without thinking they could never be worn in real life, but this show convinced me that Alice McCall’s new summer line will translate directly from runway to street. I loved the splashes of yellow, pastel blue and metallics, and even though I am usually too afraid to wear white as a feature in my outfits (mostly due to klutzy issues with food) I was swayed with more than one outfit in this collection, for sure.

Jenny Kee
Jenny’s presentation felt to me like the first to utilize (the new MBFWA venue) The Box correctly. It transported you straight into her fabulous fantasy world. Her line was just so decadent, there was so much rich texture and beautiful fabric I wanted to shoot every little detail in the short time we had, barely able to draw myself away without feeling I had missed something hidden amongst it all.

Words & Photography by Jessi White

It wasn’t a question of who did digital prints this Fashion Week (they were everywhere), it was a case of who did them the best. One contender is certainly Adi Setiadi, the designer behind emerging Sydney label An Ode to No One. Working in collaboration with graphic design agency Helm, Adi developed a series of architectural prints derived from photographs of various structures. Printed on wool and silk, the overlapped and mirrored images – at times verging on the kaleidoscopic – were a perfect match for tailored shift-dresses, skirting and shirting.

Ice-blue and cobalt lead the colour palette before moving into cool grey and pastels set against hot orange. The collection title ‘Visions of Symmetry’ manifested itself in both the considered application of the prints and crisp tailoring – most visibly on sharp-shouldered jackets and a pastel pink pant-suit. Miniskirts were explored in tulip shapes but most lengths fell demurely at or just over the knee. There were nods to sportswear in the use of a hot orange stripe and the addition of slouchy tops but it wasn’t the same overt sporty-luxe theme running throughout MBFWA.

Although diffusion line A.D. has a collaboration with Sportsgirl under its belt, with An Ode to No One Adi is chasing a decidedly more grown-up girl. There was softness and a maturity to the collection, making An Ode to No One a very promising one to watch.

Words by Lucinda Burtt Photos by Vanessa Low

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

“Feeling matching floral prints”- Jess, blogger

Blazer Camilla and Marc
Pants Camilla and Marc
Shirt Zara
Heels ASOS
Bag PS11 Proenza Schouler
Watch Michael Kors

“I felt grungey today” – Christoph, stylist.

Sunnies Vintage
Jacket Vintage
Boots Vintage
Bag Danindelimma
Watch Tommy Hilfiger
Cuff Hermes

“Just teaming all my favourite bright and cheerful pieces” - Katie, buyer.

Coat Karen Walker
Dress Topshop
Sunnies Thierry Lasry
Clutch Romance Was Born
Heels Isabel Marant
Necklace Karen Walker

Everyone wanted a slice of Ellery at Fashion Week. Editors, designer friends and international bloggers queued on the streets before packing into a refurbished warehouse to witness designer Kym Ellery’s Spring Summer 2012/13 collection ‘Delicatessen’.

Perhaps only Kym Ellery can get away with being both referential and respected. There’s no avoiding that this collection wears its inspiration on its sleeve (or in this case, its shoulders) but something feels fresh and more importantly, very wearable. Could it be the pared-back colour palette? Deviating from the brights and prints that dominated the runways, Ellery explored oxblood red, forest and moss green with ivory, black and silver. Worked in suede, linen, silk organza and a dash of glitter tulle, shapes were voluminous with emphasis on the shoulders or softly stream-lined with peplum detailing.

Kym Ellery’s dedicated followers talk about her label in superlatives – favourite, perfect, hypnotically cool – and it’s easy to see why. There’s something in that kick of red suede, sleeveless jacket dress or swathe of molten-like silver. It’s all a bit dress-upy and after you know Kym was inspired by the loss of her childhood teddy-bear (affectionately named ‘Delicatessen’) some of those references fall into place.

Words by Lucinda Burtt Photos by Vanessa Low