Australian Fashion Week Glamour

A model showcases a design by Aurelio Costarella on the catwalk on the first day of Rosemount Australian Fashion Week Spring/Summer 2010/11. (Ian Waldie/Getty Images)

The Australian Fashion Week, sponsored by Rosemount wines, is on show in Sydney this week, with more than 100 designers and 63 different shows. While smaller groups like local collective the Australian Fashion Exchange and overseas collective brand Urban Outfitters, will be jostling for attention it is the big brand labels, like Lisa Ho, Ginger & Smart, Camilla, Bassike and Aurelio Costarella, that will get most of the media coverage.

Lisa Ho opened the show for the third year in a row with exquisite Indigenous model Samantha Harris taking the limelight on the catwalk. It was however West Australian, Aurelio Costarella, that set eyes aglow and tongues wagging in the opening days. Ray Costarella made history in 2007 when he listed his Costarella Design Limited on the Australian Stock Exchange, a first for an individual Australian fashion designer.

Aurelio Costarella is famous for evening wear and did not disappoint this week, presenting dresses, long and flowing in silk organza, feminine and beautifully cut with delicate beading. “It was amazing,” could be heard whispered through the audience after the event.