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TOP LEFT: Wayne Cooper. TOP RIGHT: Akira Isogawa. INSET: Akira Isogawa, the designer himself. ABOVE AND LEFT: Leona Edmiston.

   By far the best Australian show during the week belonged to Akira Isogawa. Known for his breath­takingly beautiful fabrics and construction, Akira did not disappoint.
   His beautiful silks, cottons and linens had been draped, folded and pleated into organically sculpted pieces that were decorated with sparkly beads, jewels and gold sequins. Known for his gorgeous fabrications he also created a glorious tie-dye and floral printed silk in shades of bottle green, russet and inky blue which he had crafted into blouson tops and sweet mini dresses. In a first, Akira injected bold shots of colour, fuschia pink and hot mustard into his collection.
   Another first was the début of his full menswear collection. Equally as beautiful as his womenswear, this featured plain white singlets studded with gold sequins, low-slung cream trousers and kimono print shirts.
   Dress designer Leona Edmiston also offered an alternative to the endless parade of satin parachute pants and mesh singlets by sending an army of models out in very pretty and flirty frocks that echoed the sweetness of the 1950s and will be perfect for a hot summer’s day.
   While she chose not to stage a show and held an exhibit instead, New Zealand-born, New York-based designer Rebecca Taylor was another of the week’s finest.
   Her sexy but sweet range of kittenish pieces in soft dusky mauve, chocolate brown, a gorgeous black, white and pink floral pattern designed by Taylor herself, baby blue, and pink and black was simply delightful with many of the garments decorated with butterflies or sparkly sequins. Taylor definitely knows how to make clothes to make a girl feel girly.

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