This is Australian fashion designer Emma Mulholland’s second collection ever (if you count her graduation show) and she has pulled it together like a pro. The colourful collection makes strong references to surf culture and throws in touches of rave, tribal and psychedelic influences.

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We’re buzzed about a few items in particular in the latest range from our friends at aspirational street-wear label, ZANEROBE, who we’ve been fans of since we launched Lost At E Minor back in 2005. Our faves at the moment include the Chuck Navy shorts, with rolled cuff; the Curtis Brown Sunnies, ‘with full rim metal detail in a round vintage frame’; and the Acapulco Navy Tee, with twisted side seams. Stocking fillers? Hell yeah. We’ll take them all for Christmas. ZANEROBE is hanging in the cream of stores, including Australia’s David Jones, Japan’s Barneys, the USA’s Nieman Marcus, Nordstrom and Saks. Or just get into it online.

I think it’s pretty obvious that we have one serious We Are Handsome addiction here at This Island Life Headquarters. And just when we thought it couldn’t get any worse, they have gone and added mini-dresses and leggings in alongside their signature one-pieces and string bikinis.

Their latest collection titled The Memoirs, features pieces adorned with owls, hot air balloons and even a sweet little ski chalet scene. But what we’re most excited about is their reinvention of the Arabian horse from their first collection and the mesmorising new wolf print.

The team used scale and colour to make the wolf feel warm so she would be more like a protector, rather than a hunter. Wolves don’t have a great reputation (just watch the movie Frozen) and are generally considered to be primal scavengers – but they actually have maternal skills that far outweigh those of most other animals, and that’s what inspired this print and the reason behind its name The Protector.

The artist known as Suyo, who is also the creator of the DreamPushers network, now has his designs available through the new Suyo Clothing Company. Think street art meets fashion meets controversy with an Australian twist. In his own words: ‘I don’t care whether you love or hate my art, as long as it is one or the other’.

Di$count is a strange Australian blog that is a mixture of culture and lifestyle and a fashion line that repurposes old clothes to mix and match fashions by time period and ideology.

The clothing that is produced is both meticulous and rough around the edges: well-worn but fresh, and vibrant at the same time. Oh, and there are enough studs to make a jacket bulletproof, which is always a plus. DIY fashion culture at its finest.

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Australian footwear label THE HORSE was founded upon an ethical vision of highest quality Italian leather for the fashioned gentleman, the discerning lady, and the recalcitrant youngster. Even better, they’re offering you 10 percent off until the end of September with the promo code ‘kareena’.

What to wear to my openings is always a difficult one. Should I dress-up or wear the paint stained clothing worn producing the work? This time my problem was solved quickly as I discovered the perfect dress from A Name Is A Label. Their pieces have a sculptural appearance, constructed predominantly from second-hand clothing. The label is about ethical, new-century awareness.

I heard the impressive girls behind the Newcastle art and fashion label, High Tea with Mrs Woo, talk last night. Man, they are an awesome team. These three sisters have been making beautiful, hand-sewn fashion for the past ten years: a labour of love, inspired by their environment, their love of their craft and materials, and their own unique sense of aesthetic. I walked away from their talk — organised by Renew Newcastle — inspired by the beautiful work they create each day.

This new t shirt from Australian label Das Monk was designed by Tim Laing, an illustrator working in South-East England who is currently illustrating a trilogy of novels by John Le Carre for The Folio Society.

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With beachfront houses, bath tubs overflowing with beer, old-school cruiser bikes, late night skinny dips, spring breaks in Mexico and hot Californian surfer boys, Del Playa Drive sounds like more of a lifestyle than a street. Meaning ‘the ocean’ in Spanish, Del Playa Drive is a one-mile strip in Santa Barbara and the inspiration behind hot new label, Del Playa Drive.

Now, if I spent my college years living on a notorious party street, I’m pretty sure the only thing I would come away with would be four years worth of hangovers and a vague recollection of what summer looked like. But not Teena Zerefos. In between studying film at the University of California and living on the infamous strip, Teena was sketching outfits to wear to Coachella and painting motifs that would one day adorn her designs. Now based back in Sydney, Teena is giving us a taste of Californian-surfer-girl with her collection of lightweight sun dresses, organic cotton singlets and super comfy denim cut-offs.

This is beach and festival wear at its best. And I’m speaking from personal experience. I’ve been rocking the colourful tie-dye Carmen Caftan from the Spring/Summer 2010 collection over a black bikini down at Bondi and have been stopped numerous times by girls wanting to know where it’s from. It’s by Del Playa Drive, a name you won’t be forgetting any time soon.

We’re digging the edgy graphical style of Australian streetwear label Suyo. After a great response to their first season, the controversial label have headed over to Kickstarter to expand the range for season two. If you make a pledge, you get a sneak peak at the collection and access to the range before it goes in stores or online.

ZANEROBE’S latest collection, Hall of Fame, includes pieces to suit every guy and his individual look, from Classic Sport to Premium Streetwear. To enter to win $400 worth of gear, become a ZANEROBE Facebook friend, then leave the name of the city you’re in under this post.

Australian t-shirt label, Das Monk, is on the hunt for the next visual genius to join their artist collaborative, so they’ve launched a competition to aid us in their quest. People of all nations, ages and levels of sanity are invited to enter.

All you need to do is create an artwork based on ‘DIS…’ This could be disorder, distortion, discovery. It’s open to your interpretation of any word starting with these three letters. So what’s in it for you? Fame and fortune, no doubt, with the winner’s artwork featured on a tee in their next collection, not to mention exposure on their website, joining the ranks of their stellar group of artists. A cash prize of US$400 should also raise enthusiasm, if mere recognition is not enough. Send your artwork, your chosen DIS word, and a little bit about yourself to: dis@dasmonk.com. Competition closes March 15.

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My boyfriend is your typical guy who likes wearing nice clothes, but has no patience for shopping. So when a recent shopping trip in Byron Bay went into its second hour, I knew I was heading into dangerous territory. I knew I only had about two more minutes before he’d reach his man-shopping threshold, so you can imagine my surprise when from across the store he called out: ‘babe, do you like these shorts?’ And sure enough there he was, elbow deep in a stack of brightly printed boardies by Aussie label, Toggs.

But it wasn’t until he had tried on a green floral pair and declared them to be the most comfortable board shorts he’d ever worn that I realised the sheer magnitude of the moment.

This is the guy who patched up his favourite boardies instead of throwing them out. And now here he was telling me that he absolutely had to have these shorts for summer, because they were not too tight, not too baggy, not too long and not too short – a rare combination that’s apparently almost impossible to find, even in an overcrowded market.

Choose from tropical prints with palm trees, flowers and flamingos, or work your nautical look in an array of stripes. Or follow my boyfriend’s lead and stock up for summer with one of each.

After stumbling across these beautiful images of Jessica Hart on her blog, I don’t know what’s more fabulous: her or the dresses. While we can’t get a good look at the sand-skimming number she’s wearing on the beach, we can be sure that it’s an Aussie label.

She’s on location in Hamilton Island for the MYER Spring/Summer 2010/11 catalogue shoot; but her patriotism for Australian fashion doesn’t stop there. The loose and billowing floral version is from Sydney-based designers Zimmermann, who this season are working some of the nicest florals around. And the good news is that you don’t need to be a supermodel to pull one off, because maxi dresses come in a multitude of flattering styles and prints.

The crew at Twin Cat Vintage have extended their range of clothing from vintage clothing to new designs inspired by the past. Given they’re limited edition, they still have the feeling of ‘one-of a kind’ that vintage offers.

There’s no easy way to say this, but too many blokes who care about fashion end-up looking like kids down at the beach. What looks okay when you’re a teenager just doesn’t cut it once you reach a riper age. To address this gap in the market, new Australian label The Rocks Push has launched a range of well-fitting men’s beach shorts.

These strides perform like normal board shorts, but have the look of tailored shorts. They feel great and are on fashion with today’s look. The small details of this brand really stand-out; such as the labels being made from recycled sailcloth, or the small finishing touches on each pair of shorts. Definitely a brand to watch out out for this summer Down Under.

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Terrence Towel, son of Terry the ‘mythical rogue‘ of the 1970s fashion world, has started a revival of his father’s vision in Melbourne. This Australian owned label that manufactures locally has extended the concept of the Terry Towel bucket hat to include items that make up both a summer and a winter range. The clothes are comfortable, colourful, and great if you can’t be bothered towelling down after a shower.

Plenty of fashion-PR-spam floods my inbox as we transcend into a new wardrobe season, but this week one Look Book caught my eye. New kid on the block streetwear label, One Hundred, launched this week in Brisbane with the mantra that the humble t-shirt should become an individualistic canvas.

I had stylist-envy over the fashion imagery for their first volume, The End Is Near, mainly because their concept was so simple yet clever — featuring gold spray-painted keyboards, skateboards, beer bottles and skulls as shimmering props throughout. Each design is produced in limited edition runs of 100 (hence the name) and every tee comes gift boxed and hand-numbered, making every piece a wearable collectible.

With all the endless parades of feminine frocks at this years’ Australian Fashion Week, we were bowled over by the wonderfully named Song For The Mute. Melvin Tanaya and Lyna Ty’s second menswear collection subtly breaks the rules of traditional tailoring to create brave new silhouettes. Raw, fragile shirting and delicate, draped fisherman style pants are the antithesis of the usual male uniformity. I walked away from their showcase at the MCA (Museum of Contemporary Art, Sydney) with the dream to open my wardrobe and find the entire rack at my disposal.