A Melbourne design duo who built their brand from Paris rather than home have won a prestigious national design award.
Designers Peter Strateas and Mario-Luca Carlucci will pocket $10,000 and jet off to New York after their Tiffany & Co National Designer Award win at the Melbourne Fashion Festival.
The pair have been showing their sleek, tailored creations in Paris since 2012.
"Our aesthetic and design approach was a little bit more European, so we thought that we'd try there first," Carlucci said.
Their label Strateas.Carlucci is stocked across Europe, the US, Asia and the Middle East.
Strateas and Carlucci will show their fourth collection, called Pyrite, at the festival's Miss Vogue show on Tuesday evening.
Pyrite is a natural mineral usually found in cubic clusters.
"We have taken that idea of form within form and building that around the human body, so it's quite sculptural and architectural," Carlucci said.
Both the men's and women's Pyrite collections are black, white and grey, featuring tailored pants, jackets, cropped jackets and luxurious overcoats.
* Tiffany & Co. National Designer Award Finalists:
LABEL: Strateas.Carlucci (Vic) winner
DESIGNERS: Mario-Luca Carlucci and Peter Strateas
LOOK: Sleek, tailored
LABEL: Livia Arena (Vic)
DESIGNER: Livia Arena
LOOK: Understated and relaxed
LABEL: Haryono Setiadi (NSW)
DESIGNER: Haryono Setiadi
LOOK: Graphic, painterly
LABEL: Christina Exie (Vic)
DESIGNER: Christine Exie
LOOK: Minimalist, futuristic
LABEL: Pageant (Vic)
DESIGNERS: Amanda Cumming and Kate Reynolds
LOOK: Sports luxe
LABEL: bul (Vic)
DESIGNER: Virginia Martin
LOOK: Streamlined, elegant
