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discuss and educate us your trends & scene in your locale here

melbourne often is dubbed the "creative capital" of the land down under and while there are some arguments to be made that a lot important fashion industry stuff happens in sydney i would still contend that the melbourne is really where it is happening.

melbourne until the last couple years has been dominated by black, black, black. known for its unpredictable and generally miserable weather, it fit the dreariness of the melbourne climate.

some influential local labels include:

you've probably heard of Chronicles of Never (and possibly their diffusion line, Black Noise White Rain) and may have seen them scattered around eBay, SZ, and the occasional consignment site. Chronicles of Never are an Australian label (I think out of Sydney) founded and designed by former Ksubi designer Gareth Moody and did a lot of rick-esque tees and l/s tops, some cool eyewear, and a smattering of boots, jeans, and leathers. they aren't really hyped or worn by anyone anymore but quite popular around 2011-2012 iirc. They were sold internationally and originally only in more upscale boutiques in Melbourne but as their diffusion line became more significant they were sold in crappy local indie kid stores like General Pants Co. (think the Australian version of Urban Outfitters).

their footwear has been characterised by a look i'd best describe as 'deflated', with very flat/low-profile soles:



their leathers were their strongest individual garments IMO and often were in washed lamb/calf finishes, generally black/earthy tones, drapey and crinkly and nice. they remind me a lot of obscur's leathers:



their lookbooks were/are generally put together well with the occasional awkward look - but not groundbreaking, again i feel they are quite derivative of the 'artisan'-esque labels without pushing new ground.

ss13



aw12



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Claude Maus appealed to a lot of the same crowd as Chronicles of Never but were always less expensive and less avant-garde. They started out as a boutique, more high-end, exclusive label with prices to match that did interesting pieces in a similar aesthetic to the above that was a bit more wearable - also with nice washed leathers - and recently have commercialised a lot opening more stores and having a lot more success in reaching mainstream Australian consumers. They have been around for about five years but they seem to lack a consistent creative and aesthetic vision and in the past have jumped around a lot from collection to collection.

fw09:




ss10:



fw10



next two collections i feel were very weird and inconsistent and them trying to break into the mainstream more

aw12 was when claude i feel really tried to define itself and create garments that had more mainstream appeal. i really didn't like this collection and remember walking by their stores very baffled as to what had happened to the brand





aw13 was i feel their actual successful mainstream breakout period, new models new looks and some new pieces that they seem to now be attempting to position as signature pieces (like their puffer jackets). this collection still feels a bit all over the place to me but i liked it more than the monstrosity that was aw12

[img]http://www.claudemaus.com.au/media/photoset/cache/1/image/9df78eab33525d08d6e5fb8d27136e95/3/6/36_2.jpg/img]



aw14 stuff seems to be gelling a bit more for them as their direction seems to be more clear and their mix of sportswear / blackdrape / slight avantgarde influences is not as haphazard and moving in a more natural direction from aw13/ss13

the last couple years seems to have involved a big climate shift in terms of how trendy melbourne people dress - this is due to a combination of factors but i want to write mainly about two labels that have done well on the international scene as well - P.A.M (Perks and Mini) and Verner.

the aesthetic that is becoming dominant now seems to be in line with a 90s clubkid style resurgence - there is also a distinct sportswear influence but it is far more garish, with neon colours, often is quite maximalist and i feel diametrically opposed to stuff like claude and CoN.

a bunch of mags and photogs are influenced by/influencers of this kind of aesthetic too. its often shot grungily on crappy analogue cameras, minimal / no retouching, often overexposed or washed out.



the two aforementioned labels are seriously hyped and popular and everywhere at trendy dance music events and fashion parties.

PAM (aka Perks and Mini) was founded by visual artist / dj / Misha Hollenbach with wife Shauna Toohey back in 2000 but have really picked up traction in the past few years as they have simultaneously broken largely into the overseas market. I think they were recently featured in the Tate Modern and have been getting praise from all places in the world. their work is very chaotic, with a lot of appropriated tribal prints, references to psychedelia, and nods to sportswear. some signature pieces include:

fuzz sweat top - wool detailing blends into a full cotton body


psy(chedelic) life tee


duplo slouchy dropcrouch pants


rousseau ladies sandals


to come i gotta finish this assignment first

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i am not an expert on melbourne fashions so if there are any other aussies here please share your knowledge and input! and you all from other places too. there is a lot more to add to these posts that i will when i get the excitement & time

to add to melbourne:

aforementioned poms earings



POC denim sets



neoprene bags by witu



i swear i've seen all of this in one outift too