Aussie a la mode

Given the fierce evolution of Australian and New Zealand fashion in the past decade, it’s strange no one’s sought to chronicle the rise of the great southern lands’ stamp on the market in hardback form.

Enter Mitchell Oakley Smith, a young man fast making his impression on the scene himself, as GQ Australia’s associate editor and regular fashion contributor for The Australian.

Seeing the glaring hole in the market, Oakley Smith was quick to pounce on an opportunity to profile leading designers in both countries as part of his new book, FASHION: Australian and New Zealand Designers.

“I found there was no tangible reference for people who wanted to know about our fashion designers. I found I needed that in my line of work and assumed others, such as retailers and students, would also,” he said.

Fast forward nearly two years, and Oakley Smith’s portent about the demand for such a reference has indeed proved true. Pre-orders from the ever-growing number of fashion schools across the country and interest from the wider fashion community have been palpable.

From Dion Lee to Lisa Ho and groundbreaking label Romance Was Born, what’s abundantly clear from the stunning photography and Oakley Smith’s engaging commentary is that the Australasian market has really come into its own.

“In the late ’90s, Australian fashion was mostly influenced by what big companies were bringing to our shores based on overseas trends. Now, it’s all about the niche designers,” he said.

“As well as our multiculturalism, it’s got a lot to do with climate. Take men’s fashion: men can’t wear suits year-round here, so we’ve been forced to find alternatives and approach fashion from an angle very different to countries in Europe.”

Oakley Smith grew up in the small coastal town of Norah Head, just outside Newcastle. During his school years he said his love wasn’t particularly fashion, but the areas that seemed to influence it.

“I was more interested in the arts during high school. My interest in fashion grew from how clothes could move into the art sphere,” he said.

Now in his mid-20s, the fervent fashion-lover lives with his partner — a fashion stylist — in Woollahra. Despite his young age, he’s has been a regular contributor to Vogue Australia and Men’s Style for some time.

He is now contracted to publisher Thames & Hudson for more works, including an update to his almanac of fashion with new designers in coming years, as the landscape undoubtedly changes once again.

As a gay man chronicling an industry filled with them, Oakley Smith said he could understand why so many prominent gay men featured in a field that caters mainly to women.

“Men, especially gay men, have always been interested in the female form, you only have to look back into art history to see that obsession. Whereas female designers, like Stella McCartney, are rooted in functionality for women, men tend to interpret the female form with a different eye and go for more avant garde design,” he said.

info: FASHION: Australian and New Zealand Designers is published by Thames & Hudson Australia and is on sale from August.