Nancy Macdonell reports from Australian Fashion Week
Monday, April 28

The first show of the week is Kirrily Johnston, who accessorizes her draped goddess dresses with gold sandals and cone-shaped, braided chignons. But despite the presence of Mischa Barton in the front row (note: Australian paparazzi are noticeably less rowdy than their American or European counterparts), the editors I'm sitting with seem distracted by the bare-chested muscle boys in scaled-down Victoria's Secret Angel wings who are handing out drinks. Turns out they're going to be around all week, trays of water and soft drinks at the ready. Which makes the New York practice of setting out coolers of bottled water seem a bit dull, really.

Fashion week media centers are generally pretty grim, even when they're not filled with journalists on deadline. But the one at AFW, I'm happy to report, is an exception. This is largely due to its location: The main venue for the week is the Overseas Passenger Terminal on Sydney Harbour, and the view from the media center is of the Sydney Opera House. Also much appreciated, if not quite as spectacular to look at, is the free coffee bar.

AFW organizes young designers into group shows, the first of which takes place this afternoon. Of the five up-and-comers in the kick-off presentation, former Boudicca assistant Dhini Pararajasingham, who shows a series of intricately cut, flowing chiffon frocks, is the standout. Her sureness of hand and knack for making complicated ideas look simple come to the fore in her finale look, which melds two menswear-style waistcoats into a bustled, Victorian hourglass silhouette. Brigid McLaughlin's easy, seventies-inflected cotton separates are imminently wearable. George Wu picked up on what are shaping up to be two of the week's emerging trends: big pants under sheer dresses, which I also spotted at Lee Mathews earlier today, and bulky gloves worn with summery dresses, which I've noticed several women wearing.

On a break between shows, I walk a few blocks over to the Strand, a covered arcade where several Australian designers (Lisa Ho, Alex Perry, Marnie Skillings) have boutiques. In a store called the Corner Shop, my eye is caught by the vaguely macabre ceramic jewelry made by Iggy & Loulou. The Bitten by Love charm, above, is part of a collection called I Will Eat You Alive.

The holy trinity of Australian fashion is streetwear, denim, and bathing suits. So it makes perfect sense that one of the week's more anticipated shows is the inaugural outing for Hotel Bondi, a new swimwear label launched by the designers of Kitten, a now defunct streetwear line that was sold everywhere from Harvey Nichols to Henri Bendel. Damion Fuller and Fern Levack decided to launch Hotel Bondi, which they named for a beloved old pub in Bondi, because, as Fuller puts it, "we love bikinis and we love Bondi and we want to bring that message to the world." The label's cheeky, retro-style prints all reference Bondi Beach. "You can get away with anything in swimwear, " Fuller observes. "It can be bright pink and really silly and no one will blink if it's on a bikini."