Australian Designers Like Macgraw: The Closest Alternatives

Macgraw occupies a specific corner of Australian fashion: hand drawn prints, theatrical volume, Sydney made, and a sense of humour that most occasion labels do not risk. If you are looking for something adjacent, the useful question is which part of Macgraw you are trying to replace. The print? The volume? The tailoring? Different labels answer each one.

Here are the closest Australian alternatives, with what each one actually shares.

If you want the hand drawn print: Alemais

Alemais is the nearest thing to a direct swap. Like Macgraw it builds collections around original artwork rather than bought in prints, and it commissions artists to make them. The difference is temperature. Alemais runs warmer and more bohemian, with a resort leaning that Macgraw does not have. Macgraw’s prints are drawn tighter and sit on more structured shapes. If you love the Porcelain print you will find Alemais familiar; if you love the Circa 72 suiting you will not.

If you want the theatre: Romance Was Born

Romance Was Born was founded by Anna Plunkett and Luke Sales in 2005, and it is the other Sydney label that treats a garment as a place to put an idea. It goes considerably further than Macgraw does, into costume and collaboration and outright maximalism. Where Macgraw keeps a ruffle attached to a wearable dress, Romance Was Born will let the ruffle win. Buy it when you want the piece to be the event.

If you want the romance at scale: Zimmermann

Zimmermann was founded by sisters Nicky and Simone Zimmermann in 1991, and it is the obvious comparison and the least precise one. The shared ground is real: florals, femininity, Australian origin, an occasion wardrobe. But Zimmermann is a global house with a resort and swim business, and its prints are styled to sell in volume. Macgraw is a two collection a year studio where one of the founders still draws every motif. You are choosing between polish and authorship.

If you want the occasion dress: Aje and Alex Perry

Aje shares the Sydney address and the textural instinct, with more emphasis on sculptural cotton and linen than on print. It is the better call for a summer wedding guest dress that is not a floral. Alex Perry covers the other end entirely: red carpet glamour, clean lines, no whimsy at all. Choose Perry when the event is formal and you want to be taken seriously rather than noticed for a print.

If you want the tailoring: Camilla and Marc, Carla Zampatti

The Circa 72 suit is arguably the most useful thing Macgraw makes, and the two labels that do tailoring better are both Australian. Camilla and Marc is the minimal option, built for a working wardrobe with none of the crest jacquard playfulness. Carla Zampatti carries fifty years of Australian tailoring heritage and cuts a sharper jacket. Neither will give you a cat print blazer.

If you want the drama in a plain fabric: Maticevski

Maticevski gets its impact from construction rather than surface. Where Macgraw puts the idea into a print, Maticevski puts it into a seam and a sculpted hem, usually in a solid colour. It is the right alternative for someone who loves Macgraw’s volume and finds the prints too much.

Quick comparison

So which one

If you came to Macgraw for the prints, start with Alemais. If you came for the volume and the wit, Romance Was Born. If you came for the Circa 72 suiting and want a plainer version, Camilla and Marc. And if what you actually wanted was more Macgraw, the range is at Macgraw on Luxury Shoes .

Read who is Macgraw for the label’s background, how to wear Macgraw prints for the styling, and browse designer dresses across all of these labels.