21 Fashion Insiders on Australia’s Most Underrated Labels

Australia is home to an underground legion of exciting fashion labels. To find them, you need to know where to look. The whisper network of industry creatives is typically how word travels about burgeoning brands.

We tapped that whisper network and asked people working in fashion – from publicists and photographers, to designers and models – to share the local labels they think are underrated. You’ll find everything from website-less jewellery brands with 200 Instagram followers to quiet makers who only release work on each solstice and equinox.

Kate Killey, co-founder of The Known Agency

Aaizel is a Melbourne-based designer label that’s made locally and truly stands apart. The pieces feel unique and authentic, with a strong point of view that doesn’t chase trends, and the quality is exceptional.

Erik Yvon, founder of Erik Yvon and Shop Dussy

I think Youkhana is really underrated. Designer Nathaniel is self-taught, and there’s something really powerful about the way he has built such a distinct visual language outside of a traditional fashion pathway. The work sits somewhere between fashion, sculpture and performance, but still feels deeply personal and emotional. I love that the garments celebrate the body rather than restrict it, and there’s a real sense of labour and care in the hand-sewing, draping, texture and colour.

Myles Kalus, fashion photographer

Shhorn is an artisanal label run by former architect Sean Tran. The attention to detail and craftsmanship, with the choice of textiles, makes them one of the best locally made-to-measure labels. The pieces they make are designed to last a lifetime, void of trendiness and shock value.

Dewi Cooke, CEO of The Social Studio

Remuse by Tamara Leacock. Tamara is inspired by musician Sun Ra and Afrofuturism, and her work is so thoughtful. She uses natural and low-impact dyes to create beautiful, textural colours, works primarily with organic cotton and bamboo, and releases her work on the solstice and equinox. She makes all pieces herself, and also balances her practice with her role as a fashion educator at Collarts, as well as showing up for her community. She’s the real deal!

Ben Tambyah, co-founder of Sucker

Pocket Money. The fact that they don’t have a necessarily large presence in the online space tells me that the brand doesn’t have a focus on the mass market, but rather on considered garment-making. I saw their incredible runway at Melbourne Fashion Festival and then on the racks at Error404, and it’s proven to me that upcycling always has a place in the market.

Jasper Mutimer, founder of Mutimer

Observe. I feel like people in Melbourne know of them on a surface level, but what siblings Massimo and Alessia Acquaro are doing is really great. They’re making tailored garments in really interesting technical fabrics that feel progressive, smart and natural for the silhouettes. They push an idea of Melbourne that I really resonate with, one that is cultured and sophisticated, not a foreigner’s idea of what an Australian brand should look like.

Sai-Wai Foo, Melbourne Fashion Festival programmer and visual artist

Jude Ng is a zero-waste artisan who makes genderless items through his label Jude. There’s sophisticated layering, texture and pattern cutting. Think vintage Etro meets Kenzo.

Go to Amy Lawrance for custom-made, thoughtfully handcrafted beauties in tussar silk. An insane level of craftsmanship and skill goes into these made-to-order future heirlooms.

Liz Sunshine, fashion and documentary photographer

Kahe is my pick for an underrated Australian label. Their denim often departs from traditional design lines, treating the shape of a jean as something that can be pulled apart and reconstructed through seams, buckles, lacing and proportion. The clothes feel easy to wear, but interesting enough to hold a short attention span. Cool wardrobe staples designed for a Brunswick cool girl, but are easily worn with commercial silhouettes, which make them more mainstream adaptable than most people realise.

Kara Otter, founder of Karameleon and co-owner of So Familia store

BYBL by Bettina Liano. She’s an OG ‘90s and ‘00s designer who disappeared and is now back making her own pieces using her old patterns. They are literally the vintage pieces we all crave, but are being handmade in Melbourne!

Carlan Pickings, co-owner of PPHH Store and Knickerbocker Australia

Man-tle for sure! Larz and Aida started the label in Perth and still operate it from their flagship there. They just opened a store in Fitzroy on Gertrude Street, and they are most certainly welcome to the neighbourhood! Their garments are made with beautiful Japanese textiles and are well thought through and sublimely designed. Simple and eccentric at the same time, it’s one of my favourite labels for sure!

Amelia Dowd, fashion photographer

Gail Sorronda. Gail is such an amazing part of the fashion landscape and continues to make well-designed gothic pieces created to last. It was also the first brand I ever got to assist a photographer on.

Chelsea Farquhar, artist and fashion designer

I’m a big fan of the brand Yur4h. I love their choice of materials combined with their armour-style silhouettes. I think Yur4h is doing some very cool stuff and I’m excited to see her brand keep growing.

Marissa Leppala, digital creator

I have to go with Karlaidlaw, a Melbourne-based brand that is genuinely pushing boundaries. Her designs are unlike anything else; you can wear her pieces in multiple ways, and putting them on feels like you’re wearing art.

Bernad Ngendakumana, artist and model

One Australian label I believe is underrated is Melbourne label Pkopz. I had the honour of styling a few of their pieces recently for Australian Fashion Week. They are a really well-curated label, with pieces that have life. I am a big fan of the way they play around with their shapes, colours and construction.

Shan Kerr, model and artist

The Australian jewellery label To Genesis is hugely underrated. It’s the perfect combination of unique Melbourne street style and NYC grunge, using recycled materials to create jewellery that I haven’t seen from any other designer. They’re one of those underground brands that have a small but devoted cult following, and they’ve even caught the eye of celebrity stylists for the likes of Tyla, Addison Rae and Kylie Jenner. Each design is bespoke and handmade, giving it a distinct identity. I may be a little biased – the jewellery is handmade by my sister Amber Kerr and her business partner Kaya Beagley – but I genuinely believe every piece feels like wearable art.

Daniel Cumbo, owner of Salon Archive

Paris Jade Burrows is an upcoming label based in Sydney that deserves recognition. Her sense of romantic historicism provides a perspective that has been somewhat lacking in the Australian industry. I recently met her and we discussed her references, which span Westwood and McQueen. It’ll be very exciting to watch her career grow.

Matea Gluscevic, founder of Cakey Sportsman

Niamh Galea is super cute, fun with a touch of sexy. This brand deserves way more attention, in my opinion. The silhouettes are often quite unique and interesting, with an aesthetic that feels familiar but simultaneously new. If I had more cash to spend, I’d be spending it there!

Amy Low, CEO of The Social Outfit

This is cheeky, but The Social Outfit is absolutely underrated! There’s been a real evolution for us, toward softer tailoring, silk separates, luxe fabrics and a more contemporary, elevated silhouette. Everything is beautifully made and handcrafted locally in small runs by refugee and migrant women in Sydney. Our team brings exceptional fashion experience to put the stories of refugees and migrants at the centre of the industry.

Olivia Cummings, founder of Cleopatra’s Bling

Van der Kooij. Natasha Veenhuizen has an incredible sensitivity to craft and silhouette. Everything feels deeply considered and made to be lived in, rather than consumed.

Carlos Mangubat, stylist

Heinous is a local Melbourne jewellery brand. It’s a small operation, but I love its vibe: wearable and tough.

I love Jack Hancock from The System’s point of view on tailoring and ready-to-wear. It’s intelligent, sexy and fun.

Niamh Galea, founder of Niamh Galea (previously Ramp Tramp Tramp Stamp)

I think a lot of Australian fashion labels are underrated, but no more than Maroske Peech, who, in my opinion, should be an international household name by now. I love what they do and think it not only represents a genuinely fresh point of view and fashion-forward approach in a sea of sameness, but also high quality design and beautiful Australian-made products. It always makes me feel cool and in character. If “classic wardrobe staples” are pieces that transcend trends and you return to over and over throughout the years, then ditch the perfect wool blazer and start wearing Maroske Peech.