Local labels showcase their menswear in Sydney, Florence

Fair to say Australia hasn’t made a huge splash with its men’s wear before now, but perhaps that’s all about to change.

At last week’s Mercedes-Benz Fashion Week Australia there was a handful of men’s wear designers in the mix, an improvement on the merest presence in recent years. Even Dion Lee unveiled a new men’s wear line.

And next month two of the brands that showed at MBFWA — Double Rainbouu and Ten Pieces, both great examples of strong, unique lifestyle brands — will join six other labels in taking their wares to a global audience at the Pitti Immagine platform for emerging designers at the Pitti Uomo trade fair in Florence.

For the first time, the event will host Australia as its guest nation, with a dedicated pavilion for our designers, in collaboration with the Woolmark Company and with advice from the Australian Fashion Chamber.

For Pitti Immagine chief executive Raffaello Napoleone, it’s the perfect timing. “First, our goal has always been to look for something new and interesting for the international market, and for sure the growth of contemporary fashion and creativity in Australia is very interesting at this moment,” Napoleone tells Buzz.

“Second, we have had for years this program of guest country and we have invited in the last 10 years young designers from countries from Singapore to Japan to Korea to Brazil. And in my opinion, for a country like Australia that is so influential today, to have a platform like Pitti Uomo to show younger and interesting designers is a big opportunity to start really opening up other markets (to them). Until now, Australia has been, in my opinion, not so open to international opportunities, and so this is a very good opportunity.”

The other brands taking part are Strateas. Carlucci, Chris Ran Lin, Comma, Sener Besim eyewear, Ex Infinitas (last year’s men’s wear finalist in the International Woolmark Prize) and activewear brand PE Nation, which will unveil its new men’s wear line at the event.

Keen online shoppers will likely know that tonight is Vogue’s Online Shopping Night, where brands offer special deals for 12 hours only (starting at midday). And now you can shop for good.

Camilla Franks has decided to increase her philanthropic deeds for the day. Already part of the i=Change platform, in which online retailers donate $1 for every purchase made to go towards charities largely involved in female empowerment, Franks has chosen to make that $5 for the 12-hour period of VOSN.

“My dream for this company is bigger than fashion,” says Franks. “It’s about a full vision with heart that aims to rehabilitate women by providing them with skills, education, purpose and a safe community.”

For the Camilla brand, VOSN is the single biggest shopping event of the year, so Franks is hoping to donate big. In her estimation, the donations from this one night alone could be enough to provide 366 days of education for girls in Rwanda with the Akilah Institute, train 20,000 women in Bangladesh to help end child marriage with The Hunger Project, and feed 6600 Australians in crisis through Foodbank.Read more at:formal dresses online | formal wear brisbane