Trousers on the Prowl

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It's round midnight at sydney university's hallowed MacLaurin Hall, and Akira Isogawa's spring/summer 2005 collection is running over two hours late. The tardiness is as unsurprising as the trays of champagne that circulate through the 500-plus crowd - like bumper-to-bumper traffic, shows have been in a gridlock of delay since morning. Hardly surprising, either, is the gasp that finally greets Akira's creations as they weave their way through the crowd: the Sydney-based designer has been perfecting his bowerbird brand of beauty since first showing solo at Australian Fashion Week in 1998. What is surprising is that 81-year-old Max Whitehead, the original "Chesty Bonds" singlet model of the 1950s, garners the most applause, and that the star of the evening is menswear.

While Akira's bejeweled Bonds singlets, eggwhite-stiff linen suits and goatskin man-bags comprised only a sixth of his collection last week, it was a gently giant step for Australian menswear - or should that be unisex wear? "Within women's ready-to-wear collections there are limitations - how many styles can we create?" says Akira, who first showed his reconstructed Aussie male icons last year. "Designers are looking for different lines." If the recent Fashion Week in Sydney is any guide, they are increasingly looking to menswear. New labels popped up as frequently as gelled '80s hairdos while, taking a cue from international crossover stars like Jil Sander, Helmut Lang and Karen Walker, New Zealand's Zambesi joined Akira in showing its first men's line. Where once "over in the corner was a lonely little rack called menswear," notes Sydney style maven Belinda Seper, these days "it's part of the same market. The lines are blurring."

If Vivienne Westwood had her way, there'd be no line to be blurred. Last year, the British designer sent male models down the runway with prosthetic breasts under their cashmere sweaters. In Sydney, there was a more subtle shift. "So many of those traditional stereotypes have been broken down now, and men can dress with a lot more freedom," says Zambesi's Tulia Wilson. Known for strongly individual, layered looks for women, the label has cleverly adapted that staunchness for men, whether masculinizing a dark hummingbird print into a tailored French-cuffed shirt, or adding a pink collar to a vintage rugby jersey. "It's that traditional gentleman's aesthetic," says designer Dayne Johnston, "with a difference."

In contrast, Akira describes his menswear as "a feminine collection but with a masculine shape." The Kyoto-born designer fashions clothes he'd wear himself - not a bad guide, since his "Comme des Garçons meets Bonds T shirt" style recently made the Sydney Morning Herald's best-dressed list. His reversible floral-print pants might not be for everybody, but his convention-defying couture should endure. "It's perfect in the wild," he says of his hand-washable linen suit. "You don't need a Laundromat or dry cleaner."

Rising star Toni Maticevski's exquisite tea-stained organza gowns are more suited to a salon than a safari, but his collection shares something with Akira's. "I'm really inspired by menswear," he says. Maybe not with his pearl-festooned blouses, but surely with his tailored worsted-wool trousers and jackets. This year Maticevski also launched his first men's capsule collection - as elegantly attenuated as the designer's 1.93-m frame. "Menswear is like my release," he says. "I think it's cool."

You know the Zeitgeist is shifting when Nicole Kidman can don a pencil-thin suit from menswear designer du jour Hedi Slimane - or David Beckham can step out in a sarong. "Men are much more receptive to the idea of looking fashionable," says retailer Seper. "There was previously a misunderstanding that if you took an interest in yourself, your masculinity was diminished somehow, whereas now (male grooming) is accepted, in fact it's sought after."

With sequins on. When Sydney swimwear designer Nicole Zimmermann sent male models down the catwalk last week in jewel-encrusted bathers, the crowd went crazy. "With boys coming out wearing leopard-print trunks, you'll always get attention," said a spokeswoman. To their credit, the boys held their own all week.