There's a common misconception throughout the world that the warm weather hinders fashion. On the contrary, Australia's brightest new design talent has successfully flouted the 'cultural cringe,' according to Antipodium deisgner Geoffrey J Finch and instead of the expected norm- denim shorts and printed tee- something new is indeed rising from the darkest recesses of Australian fashion. This is a movement of brash new designers who are not interested in complying with the traditional 'Australian' paradigm, and who are not likely to settle for reproducing European trends either. From Antipodium's quirky romance to Alpha 60's cult noir to Claude Maus' layered pagan folk, inspiration is coming from beyond the beach and forest, from a raw place that has so far remained hidden away, suppressed by the sunshine. Antipodium's Geoffrey, Alpha 60's Alex Cleary and Claude Maus' Rob Maniscalco chat to Dazed Digital about that Great Southern Land and its buried potential roaring into motion...

Dazed Digital: How old are you?
Antipodium: 26.
Claude Maus: 35.
Alpha 60: Alex is 34 and Georgie is 32.

DD: How long have you been designing?
Antipodium: Officially for 3 years, unofficially for as long as I can remember.
CM: 10 years ago.
A60: Clothes, for the past 6 years, but really forever. We have been making stuff since we were 
little; we had 'businesses' as kids selling all sorts of things that we made, paintings/drawings, bunches of flowers, perfume.

DD: Where are you based?
Antipodium: Shoreditch.
CM: I'm based in Melbourne, Australia.
A60: Fitzroy, Melbourne, and love it.

DD: What inspires you at the moment?
Antipodium: Friends and freaks I come across on my travels.
CM: Cold climates and indigenous cultures.
A60: Art by Rachel Whiteread and the movies My Own Private Idaho, Withnail And I and La Haine.

DD: What is your A/W 09 collection about?
Antipodium: My favourite Dolly Parton song ‘Potential New Boyfriend’ was the starting point. It’s a collection of un-selfconsciously sexy and confident wardrobe staples that can get the Antipodium lady in and out of all sorts of sticky situations.
CM: In short, it's about Nordic Paganism.
A60: It is loosely based on the theme of 'Tarzan vs IBM' which was the original name for the movie Alphaville (Jean Luc Godard 1965). We really like the idea of contrasts, and that is what this theme is all about. Its pretty amazing that back in '65 the same comparison to the big 
corporations can be made. For winter there are lots of folds, and a number of perforated things. Highlights for girls include folded/pleated silk dress and for boys the multi pocket shirt and the pleated t shirt (we like bringing in new textures for boys that are often though of being feminine, but making them wearable).

DD: How would you describe your style?
Antipodium: Tongue-in-chic.
CM: Folk/Pagan minimalism.
A60: Sophisticated quirk

DD: What is your earliest fashion memory?
Antipodium: Dressing up my pussy.
CM: Italy in 1979 when my sister and cousins went to their first night club.
A60: Our mum used to knit us matching jumpers when we were little. The first memory was a stripe jumper, mine was red and blue, and Georgies was pastel yellow and pink. Looking back they were pretty cool.

DD: What is special or unique about Australian fashion?
Antipodium: There’s a nonchalance that you can’t find anywhere else in the world. Who needs unnecessary fuss when the weather is so good?
CM: I think that our geographical distance to the rest of the world encourages a healthy spin on subjectivity.
A60: Because we are so isolated i think that we have a really unique style. We also seem to combine a whole heap of influences from around the world. Melbourne has a fairly distinctive style- layers, not much colour, understated cool.

DD: Who are your favourite designers and why?
Antipodium: I really love early Comme, Issey and Yohji at the moment...such clever construction and so comfy.
CM: Ann Demeulemeester because she has been consistently great over a period of time.
 
DD: Who do you imagine wearing your clothes?
Antipodium: Ladies with an attitude, fellas that were in the mood.
CM: Alpine peasants.
A60: Imagine the love child of Anna Karina and River Phoenix.

DD: Where do you see Australian fashion in 10 years time?
Antipodium: Being true to itself. There’s whole new generation of designers that have escaped the cultural cringe.
CM: Having greater international recognition.
A60: Certainly more all over the world. I think that there are such great things coming out of Australia that it will be stronger than ever.

DD: What's next for your label?
Antipodium: More of our No Romance club nights – it’s time for some high-kicking!
CM: Making it more easily available outside Australia.
A60: Another shop in Australia mid year, AFW in may, launch in UK mid year. 

DD: Where can we buy your collection?
Antipodium: Liberty, Harvey Nichols and Lane Crawford, Hong Kong – see our website for international independents.
CM: Online through our Melbourne boutique.
A60: www.alpha60.com.au