SYDNEY, May 9, 2005/ FW/ --- Last Friday, the last official day of the Mercedes Australian Fashion Week calendar left space for quite a few delicious surprises.

New Generation designers Gail Sorranda with her black and white range of sexy playful volumes and mistress chic looks along with new Perth label Zanthus, who produces a mean embellished and important shoulder or two as well as Thai design surprise Jeenenun whose concept of a shopping bag that unzips into an outfit, literally stole the New Generation One show.

Australia is always exciting for discovering new treasures as well as polishing off old favourites. So what are international buyers looking for exactly?

Italian buyer Giampiero Molteni of Tessabit says they are searching for something uniquely different and Australian, something that is not a copy of the better-known European labels.

But the difficulty designing fashion in Australia goes further than coming up with a great dress.

For one, seasons are completely opposite this side of the hemisphere, and it is a major detail that most seem to forget, making Australian fashion at any rate at least six months behind the rest of the world, meaning that they show the summer collections in May when the rest have already shown between September and October the year earlier.

Secondly with a population of just over 19 million, being an island and with strict import and export laws, difficulty also lies in economics.

Though all this and more should also make for something unique and positive, especially since often creativity is born out of isolation.

Victoria Secret trend analyst Vincent Daudin who is in Australia and present at MAFW for the first time to look at what the Aussies are doing says even though Victoria Secret is exclusively a US market venture, yet available via internet, Australian lingerie and swimwear has been somewhat interesting and different to the collection shows, making it generally more sophisticated instead of following recurring themes like vintage or the hippy bohemian jet set.

Hence the importance of new talent, changing old rules and the belief that you can and will succeed in doing something for you because you love it, a little like the newest MAFW sensations, Milich & Morton.

Diary of Mercedes Australian Fashion Week Day 7:
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Millich & Morton

ARX

Flamingo Sands

Gail Sorronda

Jeenenun