Florals,along with animal print and checks are a fashion mainstay but this season designers applied their green thumbs to old-fashioned arrangements.

Alemais designer Lesleigh Jermanus has found a dedicated following with her feminine prints,but at her AFW debut she added edge. Defined poppy prints that could have been snatched from a vintage eighties couch ran rampant on a single-shouldered gown,while micro blooms softened shiny wide-legged trousers.

New Zealand import Maggie Marilyn took a sweeter approach that was a teaspoon short of saccharine,with naive pink flowers strewn across white puffer jackets,simple blouses and full-sleeved tops. By pairing the print with utility pieces any childish associations were immediately eliminated.

Nighty night

The lace nightgown is moving out of the bedroom,into restaurants and onto dance floors with designers making gothic glamour an evening staple.

With most people now sleeping in old T-shirts and flannelette pyjamas,it’s easy for carpet-skimming gowns to make the transition beneath the doona.

Sydney designer Michael Lo Sordo’s delicate lace gowns,in a show devoted to Parisian glamour,were perfect for draping over slinky slips. His peer Anna Quan simplified things by confining lace to the trim of the bust line and daring slits on black silk dresses. No slip required.

The brown end of town

Since thetelevision seriesSuccession returned with Shiv,played by Australian actor Sarah Snook,wearing a brown pantsuit,the drab colour has received an image promotion.

Designer Bianca Spender,who knows a lot about belonging to a powerful dynasty as the daughter of Carla Zampatti and sister of politician Allegra Spender,exhausted brown in draped dresses and wide-legged pants. It was a relaxed single-breasted blazer with sloping shoulders worn over shorts made for any heir-apparent,that became a fashion family favourite.

In a show that attempted to tick off most trends,Acler’s light-brown suit stood out with its relaxed silhouette. You would never see Shiv in one of their puffy pink mini-dresses,but the character could rule the world in this slouchy suit.

If you prefer your suits cinched,model Emily Gurr turned up at the Bondi Born show in a tailored number from Scanlan Theodore,worn with an unbuttoned blue shirt. The fitted result was veryCharlie’s Angels but not everyone wants to be in the boardroom.

Leather trench

In fashion many clothes take a village,but the number of leather trenches seen at Australian Fashion Week will take a cow.

Melbourne designer Christian Kimber,who specialises in menswear,turned the heads of many women with a toffee leather trench coat worn over trousers. The collar was popped in the style of model Maggie Tabberer. There was a softness to the silhouette that made you scared to look at the price tag.

Michael Lo Sordo and Nadia Bartel at Henne went for boxier silhouettes that called to mind Balenciaga,Berlin and Robert Palmer video clips from the eighties.

Influencer Olivia Molly Rogers showed that the look doesn’t always have to be buttoned up,wearing a trench from high street brand Kookai over a fitted dress at the Joslin show. The stiffer silhouette suggested a less confronting price tag.

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