Fashion Week Australia

If you have a thing for bags and shoes, have we got a treat for you! We've painstakingly gone through our runway round-ups from Mercedes Benz Fashion Week Australia with a fine tooth comb to pick out the very best new season shoes and bags from the Spring/Summer offerings. Many local designers out-sourced their accessories to chain store brands this year, which is great news if you want to make these runway wheels yours!

Tony Bianco provided those killer lace-up boots for Alex Perry, as well the 'Cambridge' wheels for Camilla and Marc, the 'Dice' and 'Libby' heels at Ellery, the 'Lolita' pumps at Toni Maticevski, the 'Ashley' platforms at Rebecca Vallance and the ankle-strapped heels for Bec & Bridge. ASOS was all over the catwalks too, supplying Christopher Esber with his 'Hostage' heels, Talulah with their flirty tie-up sandals and We Are Handsome with their metallic 'Hackney' stilettos. And those fantastical Romance Was Born creations? They came courtesy of Shoes of Prey. It's time to let your fingers do the walking. . . 

Backstage at Mercedes-Benz Fashion Week Australia we spotted more than a few beauty trends, but we also kept a tally of the most-used products. Session stylists and makeup artists work hard and fast behind the scenes, and it's the "heroes" that become their multi-tasking, fix-all, use everywhere and on everything products. If you're wondering what your next beauty purchase might be, step this way.

Last week at POPSUGAR Beauty, we watched hundreds of models get primped and primed for the Mercedes-Benz Fashion Week Australia runways. We spoke to countless hair and makeup artists and watched everything from intricate braiding to lip gloss being applied to eyelids! But a week on, it's time to dissect the beauty trends. Skin was a major player in the backstage beauty stakes, with many designers opting for a more natural makeup look, instead playing up bone structure and shape with contouring. Dewy is out and matte skin is in, but makeup artists still used highlighters to get that "pop" on the runway. There's also some interesting part lines, sexy hair and ethereal eyes. Let's go!

We sifted throught the strongest trends and narrowed down the hottest colours from fashion week, so now it's time to get personal. Picking the ultimate look from a favourite show is like choosing between children! There was a slew of killer exits and inspired collections at MBFWA, so we've had to be ruthless to pick our absolute top ten. From Christopher Esber's roughed-up take on tailoring to Toni Maticevski's brave new look to the dreamy creations that wafted down Alice McCall's catwalk, see who made the grade. 

Who better to ask for a fashion week snapshot than front row regular, Lara Bingle? Ms B attended a plethora of big-name shows at Mercedes Benz Fashion Week Australia last week, and given her impeccable red carpet pedigree and keen interest in Aussie designers we thought she'd make the perfect guest editor for this best-looks-from-the-best-shows feature. Step inside to see Lara's top five, absolute favourite catwalk exits and how and where she intends to turn these runway looks into real-way outfits.

The sun was well and truly shining for Lisa Ho this morning. The Art Gallery of New South Wales is Lisa's home-ground during fashion week, so it's with anticipation that the industry flock to Sydney's Domain to await her Spring/Summer vision. Again, tailoring was key for Lisa's latest lineup — with a linear motif running throughout collection. Languid side-split maxi skirts, black and white graphic prints, bold horizontal stripes, contrast-panelled gowns and side-seamed day dresses kept the theme alive. Separates were a standout, with wearable but beatifully cut wrap-front and asymmetrical mini skirts, boxy bomber-style jackets and trousers in cropped and jodphur shapes looking at once polished but youthful. Her after-five options were buillt for glamour, with a capital G this season, with sparkle-dust strewn mermaid gowns — complete with cut-outs and sexy back strapping — obviously made with the red carpet in mind. But it was her simpler creations that caught our eye, and breath. Lisa is a master of modern tailoring and it's when her designs are stripped back to the bare bone that her talent truly shines.

• Colours: Navy, white, tomato and cherry reds spliced together, black and metallic midnight blue.
• Trends: Black and white, graphic prints, oversized shapes, Bermuda shorts, crop tops, minimalism, cropped trousers, asymmetrical hemlines, bold stripes, leather, and front-splits skirts.
• Key Looks: Nifty tailored short and skirt suits, sexy one piece swimwear, panelled maxi skirts and lean gowns in block colours, chinoiserie and honeycomb graphic prints, and one fabulously dramatic black eyelash-fringed gown that positively glided down the runway. 
• Accessories: Killer thick-heeled, fine strap sandals in black and nude that created chic lattice-work on the foot, and minimalist two-strap heels in navy. Slick silver, black and gold metal bands on the upper arms and fingers, worn in multiples, leant an urban edge.

Toni Maticevski really hit us for six. Even though the local designer is known for his red carpet work, he threw both the indutry and his loyal fan base a curve ball with his stripped-back and utterly modern take on special occasion dressing. His sculptural yet minimal incarnations of classic evening-wear drew audible gasps as his ladylike troupe zig-zagged their way across the floor. A lack of frivolous adornment meant that the focus stayed on the elegant 3D form of Toni's creations; beaded peplums and collars adding clergical reverence to cocktail pieces and artfully folded neoprene and bonded jersey full-skirts making the models look like couture-worthy presents, wrapped up and tied off with fine-strapped leather belts. Red carpet regulars take note: this is the stuff that makes best dressed lists — clean, unfussy design with a generous dose of 1950s glamour — the best of both worlds.