With its mishmash of architectural influences, bohemian attitudes, and deep roots in the textile industry, Melbourne has long been defined by its sense of style. Visitors can tap into the city’s aesthetic sensibilities at shops packed with homegrown talent, which include everything from First Nations Australian streetwear labels to eclectic boutiques crafting bespoke jewelry. Consider beginning your explorations at The StandardX, Melbourne, a hotel located in culturally rich Fitzroy: Its retro terrazzo-floored lobby and lipstick red walls are a good match for the vintage-clothing stands that pop up on the sidewalks outside the store on weekends.
Eye-catching Glassware
In Fitzroy, the first brick-and-mortar store from housewares brand Fazeek sells playful scalloped-edge dinner plates and drinking glasses that will bring pizzazz to your table back home. Founded in 2017 by the multidisciplinary designer Jackie Fazekas, Fazeek swiftly earned a cult following for colorful handblown vases and martini glasses with striped stems. The light-flooded space also stocks less fragile souvenirs, like two-tone linen napkins and wavy candles scented with saffron, plum, or neroli.
Trend Temples
Along Flinders Lane, fashion hot spot Alpha60 occupies a secret showroom within the century-old St. Paul’s Chapter House, carrying a signature collection of monochrome basics and sharp-cut tailoring. (The shop’s name is an ode to Jean-Luc Godard’s film Alphaville, hence the massive portrait of the filmmaker that greets shoppers.) For more laid-back vibes, local designer Lucy Folk‘s showroom in nearby Windsor sells terry-cloth beachwear, chunky gold jewelry, and fringed miniskirts inspired by the coastlines of Morocco and the Balearics.
Hidden Gems
Tucked under the Gaunt’s Clock at the far end of the checkerboard-floored Royal Arcade, stamp-size Pieces of Eight shows off the work of Melbourne-based jewelery designer Melanie Katsalidis. Half of the shop’s cabinets display her bold necklaces, rings, and hoop earrings set with freshwater pearls and shimmery gemstones. The rest are reserved for a revolving lineup of contemporary local goldsmiths. For those with time and money to spare, Katsalidis also offers fully bespoke designs, and Flâner Fragrances has gender-neutral scents with global influences.
Curtin Call
In an Art Deco space that was once the Communist Party’s Victoria headquarters and a Catholic clubhouse, Curtin House is one of the city’s coolest shopping destinations: Dot Comme offers archival Comme des Garçons; Reina stocks Y2K-era Miu Miu and Gaultier; and the flagship outpost of Australian streetwear collective Pam Store sells grungy tees and distressed denim. Saloon houses a collection of indie designer pieces like printed stockings by Lei Lei Kung, winsome home goods (including 3D-printed vases from Copenhagen), and rotating art exhibitions.
Global Goods
Discreetly signposted Pan After in Collingwood is the brainchild of the mother-daughter duo Mandy and Phoebe Munro, who offer a collection of crafts and artworks sourced from their travels all over the world. Highlights include antique wedding blankets produced by the Fulani people of Mali and candy-striped shoulder bags made from recycled nylon in India. For those in the market for locally made kitchen knives and stylish French flyswatters, the Hub General Store next door stocks a bevy of chic housewares.
