Love every second of Winter in Sydney: Fashion and design

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1 Love every second of Winter in Sydney: Fashion and design Sydney's winter fashion stage, screen and star-inspired Sydney is where Australian fashion lives and breathes. At least 60 percent of the nation's fashion industry calls the city home, and the country's major fashion event, Mercedes Benz Fashion Week Australia, takes place at Carriageworks Sydney. Combining shopping heaven, creativity, emerging talent, big design names and a dash of theatre, Sydney style is always exhilarating. Sydney's Gatsby fever follow the Leo trail As the backdrop to Baz Luhrmann's highly anticipated feature film, Sydney will be gripped by Great Gatsby-fever in Discover Leo s favourite Sydney hangouts, visit the filming locations and sip away in 1920s style bars. And don't forget to shop for your Gatsby inspired look. Start your Gatsby odyssey at The Star, home to Leo and co-star Tobey Maguire during filming. They enjoyed dining at one-hatted Sokyo there, and also ate up a storm at CBD French bistro Felix, Circular Quay's Aria and Woolloomooloo Wharf's Otto. Leo also rented a waterfront property in eastern suburb Vaucluse. You can enjoy the same sweeping harbour view from secluded Milk Beach, which feels as secret as Leo's own hideout. Leo and cast-mates were often seeing browsing the Oxford Street style mile, popping into stores including The Family Jewels in Paddington. He also spent an afternoon browsing the eclectic stalls in Paddington Market. Follow his trail there and find gorgeous one-off clothes, jewellery and nick-nacks perhaps even a Gatsby-inspired accessory. Further along Oxford Street you'll find Centennial Park, where you can hire a bike and enjoy the green surrounds, as Leo often did during his Sydney stay. The movie's studio sequences were filmed at Fox Studios at Moore Park. Here, you can explore The Entertainment Quarter (EQ), with its shops, cinemas and restaurants as well as a twice-weekly farmers' market. On location, the crew shot at Rozelle's disused power station in the inner west. Rozelle and neighbouring urban village Balmain are a delightful place to while away an afternoon;

2 Darling Street, which links the two, is fashion shopping heaven, with frock queen Leona Edmiston's vintage store; hip brands at Alfie's Store, international streetwear at Sofia Londero, high end catwalk names at Art Therapi and Catherine Kelly's gorgeous hats at Embellish Atelier. The area is a magnet for market-lovers, with Balmain Markets' 140 stalls of second-hand finds and food, and Rozelle Markets, an Aladdin's cave of antiques, collectibles and curios. St Patricks College in Manly was transformed into Jay Gatsby's Long Island Mansion. Perched on the ocean side of North Head and over a century old, it's one of Sydney's most spectacular buildings (fellow movie star Nicole Kidman likes it so much she had her wedding to Keith Urban there). You can stroll in the grounds, admire sweeping Pacific views and then wander down to Manly, where an array of fabulous bars and restaurants, including Hugos Manly and Manly Wine, await. Finish your day with a cocktail at Beach Haus in Kings Cross. This cool upstairs club was Leo's favourite party spot after a day's filming. Live and breathe the Jazz Age at CBD speakeasy-style bar Palmer and Co. It's pure Gatsby, with hostesses in flapper dresses, bartenders in dapper 20s regalia, live jazz singers, a menu of prohibition cocktails and photos of bootleggers on the wall. Leo could stroll in here in costume, and he'd look right at home. For a look that channels the Gatsby girls' flapper style, take with a trip to Alannah Hill in Paddington, home of feminine, flirty attire adorned by beads and feathers; or try nearby High Tea With Mrs Woo, where pieces are inspird by cinema and nostalgia. Or there's the sweetly romantic Jiva for silk and cotton pieces with a vintage look and feel. Not far away, you can find the perfect twenties-style cloche hat or feathered fascinator at milliner Neil Grigg's pretty little boutique on William Street. Men can recreate the dapper, groomed Gatbsy look with a trip to Sydney's coolest tailor, MJ Bale at the flagship store on Queen Street Woollahra. Add a pair of elegant, handcrafted Meandher shoes, from Sydney designer Emily Cooper at men's boutique Meanwhile, Elizabeth Bay, or Andrew Taylor on William Street in Paddington also handcrafts beautiful gents' shoes. You could also search for the real deal at one of Crown Street's excellent vintage stores; try Mr Stinky s, Cream on Crown and Grandma Takes a Trip.

3 Addams Family chic Hit musical The Addams Family, playing now at Capitol Theatre, has sparked a wave of Morticia-chic. With the new, glammer version of Mrs Addams on the Sydney stage, the perfect Little Black Dress is a winter must-have. Sydney's frock queens have it covered especially Leona Edmiston, who specialises in Morticia-style, curve-hugging dresses made for heels and va-voom make-up. She has stores in Paddington, Westfields Sydney and Chatswood and a vintage store in Balmain. Or seek out some goth-glam in Enmore, in Sydney's inner west, home of edgy, dramatic and kooky style. Browse at spooky-fabulous stores such as Le Cabinet des Curiosities, where you can source black Morticia-style gowns and handcrafted jewellery in out-there styles (try a skeleton hand pendant). Fabulous fabrics Behind every gorgeous garment is a great fabric and Sydney has more on offer than ever before. Join the fashion designers poring over beautiful textures and colours. Tessuti Fabrics elevates cloth to high art. It lures sewing obsessives with unique patterns, a large range of haberdashery and fine fabrics sourced from local and international designers. Big fashion design names often start here when planning collections. Fabric Store is new to Surry Hills and has a strong focus on natural fibres and includes Japanese cotton shirtings, silk chiffons and georgettes, woollens, linens and satins, as well as specialty pieces like New Zealand merino knits. Sourcing fabrics from both local and international designers as well as sampling. The stock is continually changing and is peppered with treasures that you may see one day but will be gone the next. Cloth Fabric is a small independent fabric store in Darlinghurst, where Julie Paterson and her team offer handmade, sustainable contemporary screenprinted textiles. They work with natural fabrics; mainly hemp and linen and inspiration comes from nature and the Australian landscape. And in Chippendale, Sydney's emerging design hub, there's Fabric Muse, another exciting addition. It offers a variety of imported fabrics from Italy and the rest of the world and there's always something unique to be found with unrepeatable genuine designer end-rolls and unique, eye-catching textures and prints. At Bird Textiles in Surry Hills, Rachel Bending has created a range of luzxury eco-products based around her exquisite textile designs which are hand printed, using water-based dyes.

4 Cool collectives Alongside the big names and variety of boutiques in Sydney, there's a thriving underground and alternative fashion scene where creativity often has a conscience. Check out The Social Outfit in their creative workshop space, exhibition site and pop-up shop in The Rocks. This collective utilises excess fabric from the fashion industry, to two seasons of clothing a year, designed and produced. By refugee communities. Clothing designed by The Social Studio will be stocked at The Social Outfit s pop-up store. The artist-run initiative GAFFA has transformed a three-storey heritage listed building in the CBD into a series of spaces for design and retail, with a permanent contemporary jewellery store showcasing new talent. Emerging fashion designers take up short term residencies to create and sell in GAFFA's ground-floor Arcade Projects. Fashion with a cocktail It's the perfect combination: the latest looks and the latest drinks with a hit of music and food. For the cooler months Sydney bars have hit on the idea of bringing retail therapy indoors. Look out for the Fashion Markets at The Winery in Surry Hills on the last Saturday afternoon every month; local boutiques, stylists and vintage stores set up shop on the top floor of this popular wine and dine haunt. On Fridays CBD bar and nightclub The Spice Cellar's Musical Threads blends Mediterranean tapas, cocktail treats, a pop-up fashion stall from cutting edge designers, and the latest DJ house sounds. You can browse the clothes, shop at discount prices, then sit down to a delicious five-course series of 'art on a plate' dishes by chef Daniel Brown. Share your Winter in Sydney experiences on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram. Facebook: Like and tag Sydney Australia Twitter: Instagram: For more information on things to see and do this Winter in Sydney and for a full listing of Sydney events go to sydney.com/destinations/sydney/sydney-in-winter/love-every-second Plus download the NEW Official Sydney smartphone app.

5 Media contacts: Elissa Tyrrell, A/Executive Manager, Media and Public Relations , +61 (0) , elissa.tyrrell@dnsw.com.au Hannah Le Coic, Senior Publicist , +61 (0) , Hannah.lecoic@dnsw.com.au Marsha Rodrom, Destination Publicist , +61 (0) , marsha.rodrom@dnsw.com.au