The Real Deal Down Under - Part Two

In our second, post-Rosemount Australian Fashion Week installment we take a look at establishment brands—the notable Aussie labels that fall into that sweet spot where casual meets cool.

Sass & Bide had us crazy for their S&B Vie diffusion line, which was hotly anticipated at Rosemount because of the debut of "rats," their new line of jeans. The duo delivered (read more in last week's runway report), and brought an international air of cool to the catwalk with Eve and Miranda Kerr in the audience.

Kirrily Johnston holds her own cache in the region, and she showed what amounted to a basics-plus collection—oversized T-shirts worn over leggings, saucy jersey dresses for nighttime and heaps of the flowy separates that are on every designer's hit list lately. Johnston amped up the boho style on the whole affair, which was called "Modern Nomads," with elements like gold roping and zip and rivet detailing.

Over at the Ginger & Smart show, it was the accents that sealed their collection's "it" status. They led the multi-color, tribal trend, jazzing up silk shirt dresses with netted tanks and reining in liquid dresses with cropped vests. Pocahontas-style sandals snaked up models' legs and knitted plaids dangled from their hair. This is one brand that clearly understands the power of presentation.

The kitsch-loving crew at Romance Was Born also explored the tribal trend. They decked their models out in geometric-printed headgear and lashed looks in colored roping, finishing off the effect with flirty pom-pom pumps. Strip away the O.T.T. factor, and Romance's silk dresses and delicate knits are destined for fashion-forward girls who are partial to prints and unique shapes.

Some brands, however, kept things more measured. Life with Bird can be likened to Stella McCartney for their fluid off-the-shoulder tops, lightly-printed trapeze dresses and jumpsuits. Tina Kalivas, meanwhile, worked the retro-futurist angle, juxtaposing '70s-ish high-waisted shorts and denim tank dresses with tough-looking undergarment detailing and corset features that hinted at Victoriana. Sretsis, a label run by a trio of sisters (the name is "sisters" backwards), rounded out this hipster group of accessible brands, delivering easy separates that were dominated by dresses in thoughtful prints.

Look out next week for the final two installments in our post-Oz series; we'll be delivering a rundown of buzzed-about up-and-comers and the hottest swimwear lines.

—Jason Campbell