discoThe brands to know, what Australia does best, and where to start, from Sydney skate labels to Melbourne's art-school prints.
Pick the one that looks most like you, or browse without choosing. The picks and the full list follow your choice.
Start from a brand you know. Each pairing says what's similar and what changes.
Two starting points for each style. Choose a style above to see only those.
A Sydney skate label with its own store and gallery, also sold through board shops at home and abroad. Its deck and apparel graphics run on Australian references, from Tempe's water towers to native fruit and wattle.
Start with A deck graphic, a heavy pocket tee, the workwear-leaning pants
Perth's export to the global skate aisle, founded in 2008 by childhood friends Garth Mariano and Matt Evans. Its own stockist list runs from Japan and Europe to dozens of US skate shops.
Start with Music-referencing graphic tees, denim and pleated trousers, caps
A Sydney label founded in 2010 by Melvin Tanaya and Lyna Ty, and one of the houses in the Paris fashion federation's directory. It works through fabric and process rather than print.
Start with Oversized tailoring, textured outerwear, the collaborative sneakers
Founded in Melbourne in 2000 and run as an art practice as much as a label, to the point of museum display. The NGV and Tate Modern have both acquired its work.
Start with Psychedelic print tees, knits, the graphic outerwear
An Aboriginal-led Melbourne enterprise whose slogan tees back national campaigns such as Free The Flag. It sells clothing as a way to wear a position.
Start with Slogan tees, caps, the merch tied to campaigns
A Melbourne label and social enterprise that puts all profits towards young people affected by homelessness or hardship. It runs two Melbourne stores on that model, in Fitzroy and at the Emporium centre in the CBD.
Start with Hoodies, logo tees, the upcycled REBORN pieces
Launched in Sydney in 2016 by two ex-Ksubi designers, with prints drawn in-house from ordinary Australian beaches rather than resorts. The printed shirt is the main piece, not a holiday extra.
Start with The short-sleeve Hawaiian shirts, swim shorts, matching sets
A Sydney label working in selvedge canvas and leather, from a designer who came out of R.M. Williams. It sits in the country's utility tradition rather than its surf one.
Start with The selvedge canvas Utility tote and its leather handles
Every brand here was founded in Australia or is run from there. How we decide what counts.
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Four details to look for, and why they matter.
Look for Deck series and tees with Australian places and plants in the graphics, in numbered ranges
Why it matters Ranges are numbered and runs are short, so a print you like may not come back; buy it when you see it.
Explore Pass~Port →
Look for Plain tees and hoodies carrying a slogan; Clothing The Gaps marks each design Ally Friendly or Mob Only
Why it matters The structure is the point: HoMie puts all its profits into youth programs, and Clothing The Gaps is Aboriginal-led.
Explore HoMie →
Look for Japanese fabrics at Charlton; heavyweight organic French terry and Japanese deadstock denim at Pseushi
Why it matters Song for the Mute builds each collection around fabric and process, so the cloth, not a print, is what you pay for.
Explore Song for the Mute →
Look for Prints drawn in-house from ordinary Australian beaches, and 80s and 90s souvenir graphics
Why it matters The print is the point of the garment, not a holiday extra, so pick one you would wear away from the beach too.
Explore Double Rainbouu →If you know Pass~Port and want a next step. Each step costs more and asks more of you; it isn't a ranking of quality, and you don't need to climb it in order.
Graphic tees and caps at the lowest prices here: cotton, print, low risk.
Start with One heavyweight graphic tee and a cap
Hoodies, sweats and work pants you wear weekly, from skate and social-enterprise labels.
Start with A hooded sweat and a pair of work pants
Print, colour and a recognisable house look, from art-school graphics to holiday shirts.
Start with One printed shirt or a sport-derived jacket
Fabric, construction and short runs, from Paris-shown tailoring to Japanese-made staples.
Start with One piece of outerwear or a heavy loopback hoodie
The full list Disco covers. Search, or narrow by style, category and price.
Song for the Mute$$$$$Sydney avant-garde label by Lyna Ty and Melvin Tanaya, known for fabric-led oversized tailoring and its ongoing adidas Originals collaboration.Fabric-led design · Jackets · SydneyProfile →
Butter Goods$$Perth skate and streetwear label founded in 2008, known for music-referencing graphic tees, corduroy pants and a supported skate team.Skate & club graphics · Hoodies & sweatshirts · PerthProfile →
Pass~Port$Independent Sydney skateboard label making decks and workwear-leaning apparel with Australian suburban and civic graphic references.Skate & club graphics · Hoodies & sweatshirts · SydneyProfile →
Double Rainbouu$$Sydney unisex resort label built on loose, boldly printed Hawaiian shirts, founded in 2016 by ex-Ksubi designers Mikey Nolan and Toby Jones.Print & resort · Shirts & overshirts · SydneyProfile →
Haulier$$$$Sydney label by ex-R.M. Williams designer Jeremy Hershan, known for Portugal-made selvedge canvas utility totes and travel-inspired unisex ready-to-wear.Fabric-led design · Tops · SydneyProfile →
Perks and Mini$$$Melbourne-founded independent label and studio making graphics-led, psychedelic menswear and womenswear, with retail stores in Melbourne and Sydney.Print & resort · Hoodies & sweatshirts · MelbourneProfile →
Clothing The Gaps$Aboriginal-led Melbourne social enterprise selling slogan tees and merch that fund First Nations health, education and advocacy work through its foundation.Social-enterprise streetwear · Hoodies & sweatshirts · MelbourneProfile →
HoMie$$Melbourne streetwear label and social enterprise donating all profits to programs for young people facing homelessness or hardship.Social-enterprise streetwear · Hoodies & sweatshirts · MelbourneProfile →
Pseushi$$$Sydney all-genders label by Wesley Chiang making slow-made hoodies, crews and tees in high-end fabrics with bold graphic detailing.Fabric-led design · Sweaters & knitwear · SydneyProfile →
Charlton$$$Australian menswear label designed in Australia and made in Japan, producing limited runs of functional staples in premium Japanese fabrics.Fabric-led design · Shirts & overshirts · SydneyProfile →
Earls Collection$$Sydney menswear label founded in 2018 by ex-NRL player Lewi Brown, reworking sporting heritage into relaxed knitwear, sweats and baggy separates.Sweats & sport heritage · T-shirts & graphic tees · SydneyProfile →
Alto Clothing Co.$Small independent Sydney streetwear label and creative collective releasing limited-edition graphic apparel alongside DJ mixes.Skate & club graphics · Hoodies & sweatshirts · SydneyProfile →A brand makes this guide if it was founded in Australia or is based in Australia today, and we say which; where the clothes are sewn does not decide it.
Being an Australian brand is not the same as being Australian-made. Of this list, only Pseushi's data specifies local production — Wesley Chiang works through a close network of Sydney makers and specialists. Charlton designs in Australia but manufactures in Japan, and Haulier's Utility tote is handcrafted in Portugal. For everything else, check the individual product page before assuming domestic manufacture.
Self-Care Originals has closed its retail brand after five-plus years; the founder, Rachael Akhidenor, now runs Self Care Wellbeing as a workplace wellbeing consultancy. Its slogan tees and printed Mental Wellbeing Tools still circulate second-hand. The other 15 brands are active.
Pass~Port, Clothing The Gaps and Alto Clothing Co. are the lowest-priced, and HoMie and Pelvis are close behind. Pass~Port's tees, hoodies and canvas workpants come with the widest international skate-shop distribution of the group.
It is the most expensive label on this page, and the money goes into fabric development — rediscovered mill techniques, treated and washed finishes on oversized tailoring, quilted outerwear and heavy knits. If you want the aesthetic for less, the ongoing adidas Originals collaboration is the cheaper route in.
Most sell direct from their own sites, and several have physical stores: Song for the Mute in central Sydney, Haulier and Earls Collection in Paddington, Perks And Mini in Melbourne and Sydney, Clothing The Gaps in Brunswick and Northcote, HoMie at Emporium Melbourne, and South.St at Chadstone. Wider stockists include SSENSE, Mytheresa and David Jones for Haulier; Net-a-Porter, Selfridges and SSENSE for Double Rainbouu; and Chinatown Country Club, Maplestore and The Lair for Pseushi. disco is a directory — it doesn't sell anything, so buy from the brands or those retailers.
How we chose: every brand here is in Disco's directory, placed by where it was founded or is based today. Styles, picks and pairings are editorial, drafted from the catalog and published sources; researched, not wear-tested.
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