Emma Mulholland is undoubtedly the breakaway star from this year’s RAFW Innovators showcase. Having graduated from Ultimo TAFE just last year and undertaking internships with Romance Was Born and Dion Lee, Emma first excited us with her debut 2010 collection, Cruel Summer.

The SS11/12 collection, Queen Aurelia, is a throwback to 90’s neon surf culture, paying homage to a childhood spent on the South Coast. It’s a wild combination of clashing psychedelia-saturated prints (designed by Jesse Correy) and tribal undertones with the addition of candy raver references. Balinese friendship bracelets, Aztec patterns, the African Samburu tribe and the people of Papa New Guinea are other sources of inspiration for this unapologetically colorful collection. Macrame, fringing, sequin detail and knitwear make for a collection that is textually rich too.

The lookbook, shot by street style-come-fashion photographer Byron Spencer, employs Australia’s Next Top Model runner-up Kelsey Martinovich. Emma’s technicolor tendency also extends to a short film which correlates with the SS11/12 collection, starring model-of-the-moment Rachel Rutt and original music by Nicky Van She.

Emma is a bright young thing on the local design scene - a sentiment which is literally reflected in her bold use of a rainbow palette, making her contemporaries seem pale in comparison.