With international fashion brands making competition on the Australian high street even more intense, a new generation of home-grown brands are building fiercely loyal style tribes both online and off. But can these emerging fashion cults fend off global competition?

Australia is having a minimalist moment. Ryan Nicodemus and Joshua Fields Milburn preach the joys of owning less and living to more than 2 million readers. Now they’re going on a global tour and inspiring a host of others. So why the sudden urge to declutter?

Not all festivals are about rocking up wearing your least-loved shoes in preparation for the mud. And increasingly, organisers are pushing harder to turn festivals into lifestyle events. This couldn’t be truer for California-based Coachella, and a collaboration with H&M is emphasising this shift.

Anyone who’s seen an American college movie is familiar with the stereotypical frat boy; excessive boozing, scantily clad sorority girls and fierce camaraderie define him. It’s nostalgia for such ‘bromance’ culture which is the driving force behind San Francisco-based shorts brand Chubbies. But how did these tiny shorts manage to unite a ‘bro’-based style cult?