Fashion Briefing: Australian fashion brands are gaining a deeper foothold in the US market – Charm

Australia may be on the other side of the planet from the U.S., but Australian fashion brands are more entrenched in the country than ever before.

Independent Australian brands like swimwear brand Bydee have seen the U.S. become a key market in the last year. Meanwhile, large American conglomerates like AKA Brands and Hanesbrands are bringing their Australian brands into the U.S. market with splashy marketing campaigns, American influencer partnerships and the opening of American stores. Australian brands are also heavily represented in the buzzy new season of the American TV show “The White Lotus.” Camilla, Helen Kaminski, Alémais and Zimmermann are featured prominently in recent episodes.

It’s a fertile period for these brands, emblematic of Australia’s rising prominence in the global fashion market. Australia is the 11th wealthiest country in the world and home to 13 unicorn companies with over $1 billion in valuation, including major tech companies like Canva and Afterpay. Glossy spoke with founders of several Australian brands about how and why they’re expanding into the U.S., and what overlap exists in consumer tastes between the two markets.

Princess Polly is one of the most notable Australian exports to make waves in the U.S. The Gold Coast-founded brand is in the midst of an extensive American retail push, with a new store that just opened this week in New York City and six more planned this year. Princess Polly is also now sold in all 93 Nordstrom locations around the country.

The brand’s owner, AKA Brands, is an American company but one with deep ties to Australia and New Zealand. It also owns the Australian fashion brands Culture Kings and Petal + Pup, both of which have also opened stores in the U.S. recently. The U.S. and Australia and New Zealand make up the two biggest markets for AKA Brands, with the former representing around 65% of the company’s annual revenue and the latter making up 30%.

Princess Polly’s chief merchandising officer, Courtney Dres, lives in Queensland, Australia but travels frequently to Princess Polly’s office in Los Angeles. She told Glossy that Australia is fertile ground for apparel startups, with close access to manufacturing hubs in South Asia.

“It doesn’t feel like there’s a super structured way to succeed [in the Australian market,]” she said. “Both countries have a similar retail situation. We’re seeing the return of the mall in both markets.”

She also said that Princess Polly’s gateway into the U.S. was, as it is for many Australian brands, through the West Coast. The classic Australian aesthetic — beachy, surf-y, comfortable warm-weather wear – is a natural fit for the laidback atmosphere and temperate climate of California. Along with Princess Polly, Australian luxury brands Camilla and Bared Footwear opened their first U.S. stores in Los Angeles in the last two years.

AKA Brands isn’t the only American conglomerate highlighting its Australian subsidiaries. Hanesbrands, which owns the 100-year-old Australian underwear brand Bonds, is planning an event in New York City at the beginning of April to celebrate the brand’s official U.S. launch. The marketing around the event leans heavily into Bonds’ Australian pedigree, peppering the event invitation with Aussie slang and telling attendees to “expect bold briefs, comfy classics and a fair dinkum good time.”

Independent Australian brands are also getting in on the action. Bydee, a swim brand founded by Dessy Hairis in Sydney in 2017, has been working closely with American influencers like Megan Thee Stallion and Alix Earle and showing up at American events like Coachella. Hairis told Glossy that Bydee’s U.S. growth was organic at first, but starting in 2021, the brand started shifting paid marketing to the U.S. and seeking out American content creators and influencer partners. Now, California and New York are two of Bydee’s most important markets. Hairis also pointed to global platforms like TikTok as key methods for Australian brands to grow internationally.

“The digital landscape has also played a huge role,” she said. “With platforms like Instagram and TikTok, brands can connect with a global audience from day one, without needing traditional retail structures. This has allowed Australian labels to break through geographical barriers and resonate with customers worldwide.”

But expanding from one part of the world to another is never easy, especially at a time when U.S. policies toward other countries are changing rapidly. Tariffs and difficulty getting into the country for foreigners are just two of the many challenges facing international brands right now. But Hairis said those challenges have also been a motivating factor.

“This shift has also accelerated our plans to expand our U.S. presence, in terms of fulfillment,” she said. “We’re in the process of moving fulfillment operations to the U.S., which is an exciting next step in offering a more localized experience. This will not only help us navigate the changes in tariffs but it will also allow us to provide faster, more seamless shipping, bringing options like next-day delivery to our U.S. babes.”

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