Presented by Vogue, Tuesday night at the L'Oreal Melbourne Fashion Festival was a fun and very cutting edge showcase of the autumn/winter '10 collections from some of Australia's best designers.

Romance Was Born:
Kicking off the evening with Dolly Parton's 9-5 and model of the moment Samantha Harris in a short, red knit dress. Romance Was Born's latest collection looked amazing on the runway - full of beading, sequins, big, sharp shoulders, ruffles, gems, paint splattered and galaxy printed pants and bold colour. '80s business looked as good as Dolly sounded.

Wall Street inspired (or perhaps in anticipation of Wall Street 2: Money Never Sleeps?), each of the models walked the runway with Greenbacks poking out of here, there and everywhere, it was a fun touch from, easily the funnest label in Australian fashion at the moment.

Want to buy: the sheer black blazer.

ELLERY:
A sophisticated collection that involved lace, leather, silk and jersey  with some rather sexy asymmetric tops, knee highs boots, and soft shapes.

The mostly pale hues were inspired by human anatomy, "icy blue and black death, raspberry blood and tan bandages".

Want to buy: the pale pink shorts and blazer combo.

Friedrich Gray:
Cut-outs, prints of rock formations and the lone male look on the runway. A lot of black, some amazing knits and very sleek, very sharp trench to finish their show.  

If I was taller I would want to buy: the Balmain-esque shredded knit dress.

ANT!PODIUM:
Designer Geoffrey J Finch went all the way to remote Geraldton, Western Australia to meet Aboriginal artists who inspired his Ab-Fab collection. Their were bright socks, extravagant scarves and a lot of leg. The natural colours were accented with a poppin' pinky-red along with the odd knitted gecko, which adorned the models like fur.

It inspired me to: branch out with my shoe/sock combinations this winter.

Gary Bigeni:
The collection was strong, yet simple. There were long dresses, high waisted pants, light colours and soft materials.

It reminded me: that there's a lot of dignity in minimal.

Arnsdorf:
One of my favourites of the evening (and it didn't hurt that the song the models walked to was 'Home').

Burgundy blazers, peachy pant-suits, buttoned up shirts and delicate blouses.  Designer Jade Sarita Arnott said, "It's a complete wardrobe that could be taken to a new city and offer solutions for any occasion or situation."

What I learnt: nothing belongs in my suitcase more than this.

Dion Lee:
His collection How to Be Invisible looked even more phenomenal on the runway than it did in his very lovely lookbook. A lot of white, cut-outs, pleats and futuristic, metal detailing made for some smokin' android-esque models.

What I want Annie to buy: basically, all of it.

NB: Later that night Dion Lee won the 2010 Woolmark Design Award. Congratulations, you boy genius, you!

Therese Rawsthorne:
Patterned, asymmetric dresses, lingerie inspired details, sheer tops and flowing trenches, made for a sexy and modern collection that was complemented very nicely by Elke accessories.

What I liked: the very intimate detailing.

Who was there:
Refinery29, in Australia for a series of presentations on all things 'online'. Our Twitter friends @Limedrop_Label, @Comeback_Kid, @LadyMelbourne and @Fashion_Hayley. Also, Ruby Rose! And she was looking every bit the picture of prom, wearing a very fetch blue dress that she teamed with blue hair, blue devil horns and lace fingerless gloves.