With the emergence of William Street in Northbridge as a destination for hip shoppers looking for new cutting edge trends, hot designer fashion or even a bargain, Perth is coming out and supporting not just established designers, but also some great new design talent.

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Just 10 minutes walk along the William Street strip out of Perth, a range of boutique stores blend with cafes, bars and nightclubs. From Marchesi Menswear, who have been located on this strip since 1939, to newer additions like Harry Highpants and LaLa Orange, William Street has evolved into a great place to shop. If it is hot fashion that you are after by a range of great local and national young designers, then both of the two latter stores are worth a visit.

Next door to the trendy Red Teapot restaurant, LaLa Orange is owned by the talented team of Kristy Correy, Renee Glastonberry and Ros Correy and mixes vintage fashion with some great new WA designers. While currently focused primarily on women’s wear, there is an evolving men’s range in store. LaLa Orange features the labels Les Corbeaux, Bim Kinesis, Miyoko, Megan Utopia and the Vallentine Project for women and Mix’n’Cultures and the Vallentine Project for men. The store also has locally produced jewellery from Dapple Grey and Alexandra Ryan as well as the work of two local artists and a local photographer. More labels will be added as the shop expands and one of their innovative ideas is a VIP night once a month that allow people to come to the store after hours to shop, socialise, have a couple of drinks and see the ranges they have on offer.

As you make your way further along William Street, you come to Harry Highpants run by Julia Cheah and Katou Rigg. Since opening in September 2006, this store has focused on a range of cutting edge, wearable fashion from a mix of local and interstate designers.

Katou, Dena Pellano, Goldie and the fun label Romance Was Born all feature for women, whilst men have Mjolk, Alpha 60, Katou and Beat Polt to entice them.  Like Lala Orange, Harry Highpants also has a vintage section, and Julia explained that for many of their shoppers the chance to come into a store and select from a mix of new and vintage fashion was really appealing.

‘In Melbourne and Sydney now there are lots of stores that are recognising the benefit of having vintage clothing in this sort of retail environment,’ she said. ‘This really works for our customers, and there should be more of it.’

Mixed with the new and vintage fashion is a range of jewellery from talented designers from all over the country, including Alex & Chloe and Dapple Grey.

By contrast, Marchesi Menswear has been on William Street since 1939 and specialises in an amazing range of overseas brands that will keep the most label savvy punter happy. This store, run by Ian and Ray Marchesi, offers specialised service—a rarity these days—a tailoring service (there were once 18 tailors in Perth and now there are only 3!) and great ranges from suits to casual wear by labels like Versace, Dolce & Gabana, Hugo Boss, Dom Bagnato, Diesel, Firetrap, Ben Sherman and Ganton. With ties, belts, cuff links, shoes, wallets and advice on styling this shop has everything for men, be it that special outfit or something casual to wear for a night out on the town.

William Street is fast becoming an area that offers something for everyone in terms of fashion, and other fashion options include: dd by Megan Salmon, Vinnies Retro Boutique and Via Veneto shoes.

William Street is about to undergo a major transformation, with works including widening the footpaths, creating two-way traffic and making the area more people friendly. Over the coming months this metamorphosis promises to lift the strip into an even more chic shopping and dining area. Make a trip to Northbridge to check out the great stores that are springing up and support them.  After all, local small businesses need all the support that they can get.

Store details:

Lala Orange

411 William Street

Northbridge WA

Phone: (08) 9328 8630

Harry Highpants

259 William Street

Northbridge WA

Phone: (08) 9328 2635

Marchesi Menswear

238 – 242 William Street

Northbridge WA

Phone: (08) 9328 8633