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The Best Melbourne Labels & Brands for a Local Fashion Fix
Melbourne fashion is the best, and we'll accept no differing opinions. Here are the best Melbourne labels and fashion brands making everyone look ultra cool.
Melbourne fashion gets interesting when you look beyond the obvious names. The best Melbourne fashion brands in 2026 span cult streetwear, demi-couture swim, locally made tailoring, hand-painted prints, tiny made-to-order studios and labels now turning heads well beyond Australia.
Some have been shaping the city’s wardrobe for decades; others are still operating from small studios in Fitzroy, Collingwood and Brunswick, making the pieces fashion people clock from across the room. You’ll find A.Emery’s razor-clean wardrobe, All is a Gentle Spring’s corsetry, HoMie’s streetwear with purpose, Emily Watson’s wonderfully warped swim and the next wave of Melbourne designers worth knowing before everyone else does.
Consider this your shortcut to the Melbourne labels actually worth getting dressed for.
Oats The Label
Ruffles tumble down skirts, halter necks twist across the body and asymmetric sleeves tie exactly where you want them at Oats The Label. Bridie Davey’s Melbourne brand has built a cult following around clothes that look intricate but are designed to move, with stretch lace, ruching, ties and adjustable shapes doing much of the work. Every piece is handmade in Melbourne by a small team of five makers, largely to order or in tight runs. The 2026 Ruffles collection pushes that language further in jade, purple, French blue and black lace.
Romeo Waiting
Black and beige need not apply at Romeo Waiting. Maxine Wylde has taken the fearless colour combinations that built her fashion following and turned them into a Melbourne-made label of periwinkle tops, matcha separates, espresso tailoring and the occasional sequin mini. Pieces are produced locally in small runs, with enough structure in the cut to stop all that colour tipping into novelty. Barely a year in, Romeo Waiting already feels like a natural extension of Melbourne’s more-is-more dressing contingent.
Tara Whalley
Every Tara Whalley print begins as a painting. Florals, keepsakes, landscapes and odd little visual fragments are translated onto natural fibres, then cut into dresses, skirts, tops and matching sets made here in Melbourne. The colour is joyful, the shapes easy, and the sizing stretches from XS to 10XLovely, but there is real craft underneath the exuberance. In 2026, Whalley’s world has grown beyond clothing too: her Fitzroy flagship, Shop Gal, now hosts artist residencies, workshops and exhibitions, while a recent Gorman collaboration pushed those hand-painted motifs onto an even bigger stage.
Shop Gal, 248 Johnston Street, Fitzroy
Odysseus&Penelope
Some Odysseus&Penelope prints begin life as paintings by founder Caitriona Erskine’s mum, Cheryl, before making their way onto bamboo dresses, swim and bright resort pieces. That family collaboration sits neatly beside the label’s other defining thread: nature. Caitriona studied Wildlife and Conservation Biology, and flora, fauna and vivid colour run right through the collections. Clothing is made locally in Melbourne through an ethically accredited manufacturer, while limited drops keep production tight. In 2026, the brand is still growing through annual Fitzroy pop-ups and spring releases that feel very much built for leaving winter behind.
HoMie
At HoMie, buying the clothes funds the whole point. The Melbourne streetwear label directs 100 per cent of its profits into paid training, employment and support programs for young people affected by homelessness or hardship, with more than 4,500 young people supported since 2015. The fashion has kept moving too: rugby knits, tartan skirts, graphic tees, jorts and oversized fleece now sit beside collaborations spanning AFL clubs and the Los Angeles Rams. Then there is REBORN, HoMie’s circular line of one-off pieces cut, dyed and reconstructed from pre-loved and deadstock clothing here in Melbourne. Streetwear with real cultural weight, and an impact model that goes far beyond a slogan.
296 Brunswick Street, Fitzroy
Kloke
Kloke makes utility look clever. Its current Temporal Debris collection moves through washed denim, cord, quilted jackets, loose trousers and embroidered details, with Japanese fabrics and workwear references giving the range its shape. Pattern-making, print development and sampling still happen in Melbourne, and at least half the collection is produced in Australia. Fifteen years in, Kloke now spans two Melbourne boutiques and international stockists, but the clothes still carry that local mix of practicality, texture and a little left-of-centre charm.
Viktoria & Woods
Merino wool was the starting point for Viktoria & Woods, and more than two decades later it still runs through the Melbourne label’s DNA. The wardrobe has expanded far beyond knitwear into sharp denim, fluid tailoring, outerwear and event pieces, but Margie Woods’ eye for proportion keeps everything connected. Just over half the collection is still made locally, with Melbourne makers handling signatures including denim and selected knits. From one merino cardigan in 2004 to a full wardrobe now, the through-line has stayed remarkably clear.
Mode Mischief Studios
Mode Mischief has carried its ’90s obsession well beyond Melbourne. Backless tops, low-slung shapes and close-fitting separates still anchor the wardrobe, now joined by capris, mini shorts, lounge pieces and layers that are built to play off each other rather than live as one-hit outfits. Vintage references remain close to founder Mia Zotos’ design language, but the brand itself has moved into a much bigger orbit, with pop-ups in New York and Los Angeles and an extended Sydney run through September. The clothes still have that slightly cheeky twist in the cut, only now they are travelling a lot further.
Allorae Studio
With a vision to help her customers channel an off-duty model’s ease, Allorae Studio founder Imogen Kent set out to create pieces that feel comfortable and effortlessly sexy. “The communities built between small businesses and their customers are so special,” she tells Sitchu.
Allorae leans into 90s nostalgia, weaving mock necks, boxy tees and streamlined, form-fitting shapes into polished, contemporary staples. Imogen loves Melbourne for its appreciation of craft, and hopes everyone who wears Allorae feels as gorgeous as they look.
Permanent Vacation
Permanent Vacation doesn’t do seasons. It works in numbered Projects instead, letting an idea, fabric or mood dictate what comes next rather than the usual fashion calendar. The current wardrobe moves through slinky jersey dresses, low-rise denim, soft tailoring, sculptural knits and unexpected jolts of colour, with deadstock and Japanese textiles appearing throughout. Everything is made in Melbourne in small runs, with most of the work happening within 15 kilometres of the Collingwood studio. The result is clothing that feels directional without becoming difficult, and local in a way that goes far beyond the postcode.
Unit 6, 35A Johnston Street, Collingwood Yards, Collingwood
Girl Clumsy
The trouser comes with its own detachable mini skirt. That tells you most of what you need to know about Girl Clumsy. The Melbourne label likes clothes with a second move built in, from the Akari Skirt Pant to fitted polos, tiny skirts and swim designed to stack, swap and style a dozen ways. Its vintage roots show up less in nostalgia than in the insistence that clothes should feel worth keeping, with sturdy fabrics and shapes made to survive more than one season of obsession.
Muse the Label
Texture does much of the talking at Muse the Label. Handwoven silk-cotton, deadstock fabric, traceable knitwear and natural dyes give the Melbourne brand a richness that feels more tactile than trend-led, with pieces often shaped through bias cutting, embroidery, soft structure and small artisanal details. Mother-daughter duo Christine and Sarah work closely across the whole process, from design and in-house production to collaborations with makers in India, Bali and China. The result is a wardrobe that feels intimate without becoming precious, with craft sitting right at the centre.
Henne
Henne has sharpened its wardrobe considerably. Denim, fitted tanks, soft tailoring, outerwear and sculpted evening pieces now sit alongside the minimal staples that first built its following, with new capsule collections arriving every week. The Melbourne label still works in that sweet spot between Nordic restraint and a little Italian confidence, but there is more shape, texture and after-dark energy in the mix now. Armadale carries the full boutique experience, while Prahran adds a dedicated styling suite for one-on-one wardrobe sessions.
1008 High Street, Armadale
122 Greville Street, Prahran
Coreprêt
Coreprêt has always treated tailoring as a place to push rather than preserve. Historical menswear codes, strong shoulders, recycled textiles and playful proportions run through the label’s archive, all filtered through a distinctly feminine point of view. Founder Jess Redgrave put the brand on “Long Service Leave” after its AW24 collection, stepping away from production at scale to rethink what comes next, but custom work and one-off pieces still keep the practice moving. Existing collections can be found through Post Sole in Abbotsford, making this less a conventional shop-and-scroll label in 2026 and more a cult Melbourne name worth knowing before its next chapter arrives.
Post Sole, 340–342 Johnston Street, Abbotsford
All is a Gentle Spring
Corsetry, silk polonaise skirts, severe little wool minis and immaculate boatneck tees make All is a Gentle Spring feel as though someone raided two centuries of dress history and edited very hard. Isabelle Hellyer works almost exclusively in silk and wool, preserving hand-sewn details and traditional tailoring techniques through independent family-run workshops in Melbourne. The clothes arrive outside the usual seasonal calendar, only when the cut and fabric are exactly where she wants them. Up on the eleventh floor of the Century Building, the label’s light-filled showroom opens by appointment for fittings, bridal and workshops in lacemaking, knitting and crochet, extending that obsession with making right down to the hands.
125 Swanston Street, Melbourne (showroom by appointment)
búl
Travel sits at the centre of búl, shaping everything from colour and texture to the names of individual pieces. Virginia Martin’s Melbourne label works with natural fibres, deadstock and small production runs, translating landscapes into clothes that feel clean without becoming severe: checked sets, easy denim, ribbed knits, soft tailoring and dresses that carry a little movement through the cut. Two collections arrive each year, keeping the pace intentionally slow, while the Fitzroy flagship has anchored the brand on Brunswick Street since 2011.
241 Brunswick Street, Fitzroy
Donna’s Daughter Co.
Butter yellow, soft florals, lace trims and easy bias-cut shapes give Donna’s Daughter its sun-soaked, slightly nostalgic language. The Melbourne label keeps things small, with most pieces handmade by founder Maddie and selected styles produced through manufacturing partners in Bali. The name comes from her mum, Donna, who still helps behind the scenes, adding a genuinely personal thread to a brand that feels intimate by design rather than scale.
SHÉ
SHÉ began in Melbourne in 2020 with one very clever shirt. Founder Courtney McGregor’s Ace wraps, crosses and buttons three different ways, setting the tone for a label that likes femininity with a sharper line through it. The wardrobe has since expanded into silk shirting, fitted tailoring, leather, sculpted coats and after-dark pieces, with the current AW26 collection moving confidently between office hours and much later plans. Most garments are produced in limited runs with a Melbourne maker, while Kings Arcade in Armadale gives the growing label a permanent home.
Shop 3, Kings Arcade, High Street, Armadale
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SISTER Studios
SISTER started in 2015 with Emma Cutri and Alice McIntosh sewing apron dresses for friends from Emma’s house; more than a decade later, that same close-to-home instinct still shapes the label. Now led by Emma, each piece is designed in-house and made locally with a small network of Melbourne makers, many of them family-run, using natural fibres and deadstock wherever possible. The clothes have moved well beyond those early pinafores into lace, layered tees, easy trousers, denim and dresses with a nostalgic streak and a little irreverence. The Fitzroy North store remains the best place to see the whole SISTER world in one room.
105 Scotchmer Street, Fitzroy North
Caves Collect
Caves Collect has been making clothes in Melbourne since 2014, when founders Sarah and Jo were still cutting and sewing every piece themselves. The operation has grown, but not very far geographically: clothing, knitwear and leather goods are still made entirely in Melbourne by a small network of local makers. The clothes have a relaxed tailoring language of their own, built around Japanese cotton, Italian wool, Australian merino and vegetable-tanned leather, with familiar shapes returning in new fabrics rather than disappearing after a season. The showroom now sits at Abbotsford Convent beside the studio, which feels especially fitting for a label this committed to keeping design and making close together.
SHG.04, Sacred Heart Courtyard, Abbotsford Convent, Abbotsford
With Harper Lu
With Harper Lu began with Lucia Hanna and her mum, Cathie Burke, swapping vintage references and designing the holiday clothes they could never quite find themselves. That instinct still runs through the Melbourne label, only the wardrobe has become much broader: sweeping mesh dresses, bias-cut minis, swim, lace separates and eventwear in colours that refuse to disappear into the room. The latest After Hours collection moves through cobalt florals, forest-green sequins, white lace and velour, giving its usual resort sensibility a moodier after-dark shift.
Perple Women
Perple Women lives in the tension between softness and structure. Founder Huiliana Chandra-Curry launched the Melbourne label in 2019 after almost a decade working in Australian fashion, bringing an RMIT-trained eye to sculptural dresses, sheer layers, cut-outs and sharply engineered silhouettes. Every piece is pattern-made, cut and sewn in-house only after an order is placed, using mostly deadstock fabric, with made-to-measure available for something even more personal. The brand calls its aesthetic “delicate androgyny”, which feels exactly right: feminine without sweetness, strong without losing fluidity.
Gotham
Gotham captures the spirit of individuality and personal expression through fashion that transcends convention. Inspired by history and infused with the imaginative edge of sci-fi and dystopian aesthetics, the brand offers a stunning array of distinct silhouettes, striking prints, and experimental fabrics. Each piece reflects an artful balance of the bold and the avant-garde, crafted for those who see fashion as a canvas for storytelling and self-expression.
Lucinda Babi
Lucinda Babi makes clothes that can turn a silhouette slightly sideways. Since launching her label in Melbourne in 2018, the UK-born designer has worked with silk dupion, puffed skirts, bows, hand-tucked draping and low-slung shapes, pulling historic dress references into something stranger and far more current. Every piece is made to order from her Clifton Hill studio, with custom commissions available for anything from weddings to album covers. The latest collection takes off from runaway brides, passenger princesses and the open road, which feels about right for clothes this good at escaping the obvious.
E Nolan
E Nolan has turned traditional tailoring into something far more personal. Emily Nolan pattern-makes in-house, building made-to-measure jackets and trousers around the wearer rather than forcing them into a conventional menswear or womenswear template. Fittings happen at the Gertrude Street Dressing Room, with more than 600 cloths to choose from and part of the construction now completed at the label’s West Footscray workroom. Ready-to-wear shirting is still made in Melbourne, while the footwear line heads to Italy for hand-finishing. The result is tailoring with real rigour, but none of the old tailoring-house stiffness.
235 Gertrude Street, Collingwood
Push Pull
Push Pull started in a Melbourne garage in 2019, when vintage sneakers, second-hand finds and a screen-printing press slowly turned into a streetwear label of its own. The brand still works through limited drops rather than traditional seasons, moving between graphic tees, hoodies, denim, shorts and accessories with a distinctly youthful, DIY streak. Community has become part of the design process too: recent releases have included artist collaborations and even pieces chosen by follower vote. Everything is designed in Melbourne, with production split across China and Europe.
A.Emery
A.Emery began with barely-there leather sandals in 2017 and has since built out an entire wardrobe around the same clean, restrained point of view. Footwear is still the foundation, but the Melbourne label now moves confidently through sharp coats, supple leather jackets, bias skirts, knitwear and easy tailoring, with fabrics sourced from Japan, Italy and China. Nothing shouts, but the proportions, texture and finish do plenty of work. It’s an elevated Melbourne fashion brand that makes getting dressed feel simpler without making the clothes feel anonymous.
Emily Watson
Emily Watson has been warping the boundaries of swimwear since launching her namesake label in 2020. An RMIT graduate and Australian Fashion Week Next Gen winner, she works in ruching, ties, frills and saturated colour, stretching bikinis into boleros, tankinis into skirts and resortwear into something far stranger. Everything is made in Brunswick, either inside Watson’s atelier or with nearby makers, and that proximity shows in the construction: close-fitting, highly worked pieces that sit somewhere between beachwear, ready-to-wear and demi-couture.
Friends With Frank
Friends With Frank started with coats in 2012, but Julia McCarthy’s Melbourne label now stretches far beyond outerwear. Tailoring, denim, knitwear and softly structured separates sit alongside the pieces that first built its following, all tied together by rich fabrications and a preference for clothes that can keep returning season after season. The brand opened a second Melbourne store in Armadale in 2026, a full-circle move for McCarthy, who grew up locally and once worked her first retail job on High Street. Fitzroy still carries the original north-side energy; Armadale gives the label a sharper south-side chapter.
120 Gertrude Street, Fitzroy; 1022 High Street, Armadale
Neuw Denim
Neuw Denim began in 2009 when three friends from Melbourne and Stockholm turned a shared obsession with vintage jeans into a label of their own. Creative director Pär Lundqvist works from a denim archive stretching back more than a century, reworking old fits and details rather than starting each season from scratch. Look closely and the history is everywhere: the metal ring on every pair nods to his grandfather’s pocket watch, while the scribbled back-pocket stitch was lifted from repairs on his own worn-out jeans. Fifteen-plus years on, Neuw still makes some of the best denim to come out of Melbourne.
1013 High Street, Armadale
397 Brunswick Street, Fitzroy
169 Smith Street, Fitzroy
207 Chapel Street, Prahran
Par Moi
Par Moi was built by Ashiya Omundsen as a rejection of the fashion cycle she had already lived through once. There are no seasonal collections here. Instead, Ashiya works from deadstock and surplus fabrics, releasing pieces individually when they are ready and making them in tiny runs or to order from Melbourne. Everything is designed, drafted, cut and sewn locally, which gives the clothes a directness that suits the name: Par Moi translates to “by me”. The result is slow fashion in the most literal sense, shaped by whatever fabric Ashiya finds next rather than a calendar telling her what should come next.
JXS the Label
JXS the Label began with founder Jasling Chin wanting better staples for a petite frame, but the Melbourne brand has grown into something sharper than a basics line. Leather skirts and mini dresses now sit beside sheer layers, pared-back tailoring and close-cut separates, with each collection designed to move easily between work, dinner and whatever comes after. JXS releases one signature collection each year rather than chasing a constant drop cycle, keeps production runs small, and designs, packs and sends every piece from its Melbourne studio.
There is still a clean, city-ready thread running through it all, just with a little more bite than the early wardrobe-essentials brief suggested.
Studio Katie Gray
Studio Katie Gray has a softness to it without ever tipping into sweetness. The Collingwood label plays with gathered bamboo, low-slung trousers, off-shoulder tops, capris and draped dresses in olive, wine, chocolate and onyx, all designed to move closely with the body. Katie makes some pieces to order herself, while others are produced in small runs by Melbourne makers, keeping the whole operation close to home. The current Of Gentle Origin collection sharpens that language further, pairing fluid shapes with just enough oddness in the proportion to stop things feeling too pretty.
BEST
BEST has grown well beyond its original life as Best Jumpers. Dylan Best founded the Melbourne label in 2018 after studying at Parsons and working in New York, and the influence still shows in the relaxed tailoring, strong outerwear and clean sportswear references running through each collection. Japanese and European fabrics do much of the heavy lifting, while denim, leather and easy suiting have pushed the brand firmly into full ready-to-wear. The 2023 National Designer Award win was a turning point, but its Fitzroy flagship still feels like the clearest expression of what BEST does best: Melbourne clothes for Melbourne weather, with just enough New York in the cut.
90 Gertrude Street, Fitzroy
Frequently Asked Questions
Some of the best Melbourne fashion brands include A.Emery, Permanent Vacation, Kloke, Viktoria & Woods, Henne, Emily Watson, All is a Gentle Spring, E Nolan, HoMie and Caves Collect. Melbourne’s fashion scene stretches from established womenswear and denim to independent designers, locally made tailoring, streetwear and experimental labels.
Several labels in this guide still make all or significant parts of their collections in Melbourne. Caves Collect produces its clothing, knitwear and leather goods locally, while Permanent Vacation, SISTER Studios, Par Moi, Emily Watson and E Nolan all work closely with Melbourne makers or produce from their own local studios. All is a Gentle Spring also works with independent Melbourne workshops.
For smaller independent labels, start with Emily Watson, All is a Gentle Spring, Lucinda Babi, Perple Women, Girl Clumsy, Studio Katie Gray, Permanent Vacation and Par Moi. Each has a distinctive design language rather than simply following the wider Australian fashion cycle.
Fitzroy, Collingwood and Armadale are particularly good neighbourhoods for shopping Melbourne designers. Gertrude Street and Brunswick Street carry several local labels, while High Street in Armadale has become another major fashion strip. Individual destinations worth seeking out include Caves Collect at Abbotsford Convent, BEST on Gertrude Street and All is a Gentle Spring’s appointment-only CBD showroom.
Melbourne fashion is known for independent design, strong tailoring, local production and a willingness to get a little strange with proportion, texture and styling. The city moves easily between restrained wardrobe pieces and highly experimental fashion, with small studios and locally made collections still playing a major role in its identity.
In the mood to shop now you’ve got your fashion fix from the best Melbourne labels and brands? Take a look at Melbourne’s best consignment stores, or find a bargain at one of Melbourne’s clothing markets.
