We love searching the globe for ones to watch and this season, Australian fashion arrived in Paris through Australian Fashion Rooms, a new international initiative by the Australian Fashion Council, bringing twelve designers together at Galerie Poggi. From couture and experimental ready-to-wear to First Nations-led practices and artisanal craft, the selection resists the idea of a single Australian aesthetic. Instead, these designers offer twelve different ways of looking at place, culture, material and identity, shaped by the particularities of a country that exists both within and apart from the traditional fashion capitals. During Paris Fashion Week, we visited the showroom to discover the names bringing a distinctly Australian perspective to the international fashion conversation.
“Fashion is most powerful when it tells the story of where it comes from. Australian Fashion Rooms in Paris showcases the unique intersection of Australian music, food and art, highlighting the depth and diversity of our creative industries.” Stated Create NSW Executive Director, Kerri Glasscock and we had so much fun seeing what they brought to the fashion capital.
Amy Lawrance
Based in Naarm/Melbourne, Amy Lawrance founded her eponymous label in 2023, drawing on the dressmaking skills and traditions passed down through generations of craftswomen. Her fourth collection explores the transformation from two dimensional paper pattern to three dimensional garment, folding, interlocking and suspending rudimentary shapes of greige silk around the body. Inspired by vintage dressmaking manuals and paper patterns, the collection makes its construction visible through tailored blouses, singlets and skirts, with a restrained palette placing the focus on shape, structure and the intimate processes of making.
BUAI
Founded and creatively directed by Lukas Vincent, BUAI treats clothing as a tool for self-fashioning, exploring how identity is constructed through dress, ritual and inheritance. Born from Vincent’s experience on Australia’s southern surf coast and shaped by time in New York, Paris and South America, the label takes the position of the participant observer, looking at the codes and rituals that shape different cultures and translating them into contemporary garments and objects. Its approach spans menswear, womenswear, footwear, bags and accessories, with each piece conceived as an artifact and part of an ongoing archive rather than a seasonal statement.
Caroline Reznik
Caroline Reznik’s approach to fashion is rooted in movement. A former classical ballet dancer, the Sydney-based designer draws on the body, femininity and physicality, translating the discipline and theatricality of dance into sculptural clothing. After studying Fashion and Textiles at the University of Technology Sydney, Reznik developed her namesake label during the isolation of 2020, experimenting with movement and the body from home. Her designs have since been worn by Doja Cat, Rosalía, Cardi B, Bianca Censori, Kendall Jenner and Shakira, with her work occupying the space between fashion, music and performance.
ESSE Studios
Founded by Charlotte Hicks in 2017, ESSE Studios approaches the wardrobe with a quieter, more considered rhythm. The Sydney based label creates slow release editions designed to work together over time, rethinking familiar wardrobe staples through refined silhouettes, quality materials and subtle details. Hicks’ philosophy comes from a desire to push back against fashion’s culture of excess, favouring longevity, conscious consumption and the craft of dressing.
HALUMINOUS
Founded by Korean Australian designer Hannah Teresa, HALUMINOUS is a darkly romantic fashion house that explores the duality of femininity through fluid, sculptural forms. Jersey is treated as a structural medium, draped, twisted, wrapped and tensioned directly around the body to create elongated silhouettes, suspended lines and asymmetric forms. Drawing on the strange beauty of nocturnal flora and fauna, Teresa transforms organic movement into cut, proportion and volume, while the contrast between delicacy and strength emerges through a language of soft armour: fluid textiles shaped into protective, almost otherworldly forms.
ILIO NEMA
Founded by Australian Katia Kelso and Paris-born Ariane Leondaridis, ILIO NEMA builds contemporary womenswear around a close relationship between textile, maker and design. Rather than working against the limitations of traditional craft, the label embraces them, collaborating with specialist artisans across handweaving, crochet, dyeing and embroidery to let materials and techniques shape each collection. Between them, Kelso and Leondaridis bring decades of experience from labels including Ulla Johnson, Thakoon, Fleur Wood and Maison Margiela, combining technical expertise with an intuitive approach to creating clothes that feel tactile and effortlessly wearable.
MAARA Collective
Founded by Yuwaalaraay designer Julie Shaw, MAARA Collective translates Indigenous Australian perspectives into contemporary fashion, drawing inspiration from the landscape, people and artistry of Country. Working between Australia and London, Shaw combines fashion with a strong commitment to community, using the brand to celebrate Indigenous creativity while supporting emerging talent through mentoring and local fashion programmes. Her work has received international recognition, including an Australian Fashion Laureate in 2021 and the Marie Claire Designer of the Year award in 2022, while MAARA’s ongoing community partnerships place giving back at the heart of the label.
MADRE NATURA
Australian luxury house MADRE NATURA explores the space between structure and ease, balancing tailored precision with fluidity through sculptural silhouettes, distinctive fabrics and natural fibres. Designed and manufactured in Australia, the label takes a considered approach to longevity, creating pieces intended to be worn and kept rather than replaced each season. Plastic free materials are prioritised wherever possible, while complimentary repairs and mending allow garments to evolve with their owners, extending their lives beyond the moment they are made.
Miimi & Jiinda
Founded by Gumbaynggirr artist and creative director Melissa Greenwood, Miimi & Jiinda brings painting, Country, culture and family into fashion, with the artwork always coming first. For Migaana, the label’s first Day to Night collection, an original painting created collaboratively by Greenwood and her mother, Lauren Jarrett, is transformed from canvas into 19 momme silk, where it shifts with light, movement and the body. Fluid slips, wide leg trousers, wraps and refined tailoring are designed and made in Australia, offering a more elevated expression of Greenwood’s practice while remaining rooted in Gumbaynggirr culture and the rhythms of Country.
NGALI
NGALI is a First Nations founded brand with relationships to artists, creatives, country and community. Led by its founder, the brand translates landscapes, markings, stories and existing creative works into sophisticated prints and fluid silhouettes rather than simply placing artworks onto garments. Collectible silk scarves sit at the heart of the offering, alongside a trans seasonal wardrobe designed to move easily between environments. With commercial growth supporting economic opportunities for First Nations creatives and children’s education, NGALI connects design with a broader purpose rooted in culture, community and Country.
Paolo Sebastian
Founded by Paul Vasileff at just seventeen, Paolo Sebastian began with a collection he designed, drafted and hand-sewed himself in 2007, growing into one of Australia’s leading couture houses. Based in Adelaide, the label is known for its romantic, often fairytale-inspired creations, combining intricate hand embroidery, French lace, delicate tulle and sculptural draping. Its clientele has included Taylor Swift, Ariana Grande, Kim Kardashian, Katy Perry and Anya Taylor Joy, with Swift most recently wearing a Paolo Sebastian gown in The Fate of Ophelia music video. Each piece is made by hand in the house’s Adelaide atelier by Vasileff and his team of specialist seamstresses, preserving the traditional techniques and meticulous craftsmanship of couture.
Romance Was Born
Founded by Anna Plunkett and Luke Sales, who met while studying fashion in 2005, Romance Was Born has built a singular place in Australian fashion through its maximalist approach to storytelling. The Sydney-based duo turn everything from art and history to seemingly unexpected references into fantastical collections filled with statement silhouettes, exuberant prints, intricate beading, embroidery, appliqué and sequins. Playful yet painstakingly crafted, their work treats fashion as a world to be entered rather than simply clothes to be worn.
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