I'm not too proud to admit it: Gregor was right.

Going Under: Pt 1

I'm not too proud to admit it: Gregor was right. Back when I was just beginning to discover now widely popular labels like Shakuhachi, Something Else and The Cassette Society, he was already fully immersed in the burgeoning Australian fashion scene. Of course, his interest followed a slightly darker aesthetic, influenced by the designs of Gareth Moody.

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When Moody (of Ksubi/Tsubi fame) launched Chronicles of Never, he god-fathered a movement that put Australia at the center of the cult fashion scene. In the years since CON's rise to success waves of labels with neo-cubist influences have cropped up down under. The spawn of this movement share a few identifying characteristics: A post-apocalyptic desert aesthetic (think Beyond Thunderdome, with less leather); a favored palette of black and white; and logos marked by clean lines and geometric shapes (specifically, triangles).

While the aptly-named Moody remains king of the scene, Gregor and I found a few up-and-coming designers that promise to take high rank among the underground elite. I recommend learning these now, before the rest of this hemisphere catches on.

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Trimapee

Looks like: High style at 3:00am, three quarters of a bottle down

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Melbourne based duo Peter Strateas and Mario-Luca Carlucci launched Trimapee as a menswear line in 2005 and have grown to encompass women's wear and accessories. The line shows influences of Carlucci's background in industrial design and the pair's previous work as sculptural artists.

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Emma Rea

Looks like: What would become of Tinkerbell if Peter Pan's lost boys overdosed on the Cure and pixie dust were a downer

The Brisbane designer creates draped and layered feminine looks that maintain tomboy attitude for her namesake women's label launched in 2008.

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Make Sean Famous

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Looks like: A math professor with a criminal record

Korean-born and Brisbane-raised designer Sean Barker put his education in Graphics and Arts to work launching a men's wear and t-shirt line in 2009. With each season the line has evolved toward a more refined silhouette - recently going so far as to embrace the occasional pattern or color (gasp!) - while maintaining traces of the original influences. It's apocalyptic casual wear meets dark Euro prep.

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Of course, we'd be remiss if we left you with these amazing garments but neglected the proper hardware to accessorize. Check back later this week for Part 2 with Gregor's top picks in jewelry lines.