Breakout Trends from AAFW

Whether it be patterned, brightly coloured, delicately textured or in muted tones; two, three and even four-piece sets were one of the clear highlights of this season of Sydney Fashion Week.

We spotted perfectly matching co-ords at shows by modern designers including Christopher Esber, Anna Quan and Maggie Marilyn with their ensembles showing just how easy it can be to channel sophistication.

Both the whimsical Alice McCall and youthful Romance Was Born took a slightly different route with their coordinated sets.

Pushing the boundaries with cuts, colours and textures, during their runways we saw creative crochet, metallic leather, glittering velvet and bright – almost neon coloured – co-ord pieces all make an appearance and evidently steal the show.

For experimental dressers, if co-ords aren’t your thing, try mixing up different sets and add colour coordinated accessories.

For the co-ord lovers like me, just throw a faux fur trim coat over the top of a matching duo for a fuss-free trendy and put together look – perfect for Fashion Week!

After holding the spotlight and making appearances at almost every show during Afterpay’s Australian Fashion Week, here’s hoping co-ords are the next big thing – here’s to easy dressing!

Made iconic down under by fashion powerhouses Macgraw and Zimmermann, tiered dresses and skirts seem to be having their time once again.

Both layered pieces and pieces intended for layering were another standout trend from this year’s showing at Sydney’s Afterpay Australian Fashion Week.

With frills and tiered dresses at the cornerstone of this aesthetic, throughout the shows we also saw the likes of skirts, pants, dresses, tights, shirts, jumpers – whatever it may be, being layered.

Both Romance Was Born and Alice McCall took this trend the whimsical route, designing dresses and separates dripping with soft frills in soft, silky fabrications.

For a more modern, structural take look to Erik-Yvon and Iordanes Spyridon Gogos who layered often clashing pieces on top of another for an interesting and eye-catching appeal.

Do it yourself and style softly tiered dresses and blouses with structural blazers and boots for a balanced, modern look. Even try out layering a dress over some denim or trousers for a sophisticated take on the 2000s trend.

However you do it, remember to layer up!

Modern styling and design pioneers including Raf Simons and Maison Margiela worked to bring ideas of deconstructed and unconventionally shaped apparel into the collective consciousness.

Making their own mark on unconventionally designed fashion, throughout Fashion Week, we saw both emerging and established designers play with form and function, strange strapping and odd cut outs in their collections.

With the likes of Christopher Esber and Anna Quan showing how its done in a sleek, sophisticated way, Yousef Akbar and Alice McCall played with form and unconventional cut outs in beautifully coloured fabrications.

Throwing commerciality to the wind, contemporary designers such as Mariam Seddiq, Jordan Dalah and Iordanes Spyridon Gogos created wearable art that strayed completely from design conventions.

Playing with unique and gravity defying silhouettes, sharp cutouts and unique straps and detailing, for their futuristic fashion appeal it was an absolute joy to watch these collections come down the runway.

Dip your toe into deconstructed and unconventional fashion by styling around a dress, top or co-ord set that utilises an interesting cut out or strap detailing.