Marcus Wainwright’s New York fashion label Rag & Bone is the latest boutique to come to Australia where it will open a store next month in Melbourne’s The Strand arcade.

Rag & Bone is known for combining English tailoring with a directional, downtown New York aesthetic. Their jeans have been available in Australia for a while, as have been some of the label’s clothing and accessories, though in limited ranges.

The fashion brand has signed a lease on the corner of Little Bourke and Elizabeth Street in a space next to other clothing retailers Acne Studios and COS.

Rag & Bone has taken a 130 square metre spot previously occupied by independent local fashion label FAT, which closed stores and went into administration a year ago.

The news come on the back of trouble stories from local retailers. Sydney suit-maker Herringbone and upmarket stablemate Rhodes & Beckett collapsed on Tuesday and high-profile labels Marcs and David Lawrence faltered under the weight of almost $30 million in debt recently.

Other new tenants in The Strand include cosmetics brand MOR and clothing retailer New Denim.

Sam Curry, ISPT’s head of retail, said new entrants like Rag & Bone were attracted by the recent success of other international retailers in Australia.

“It’s one of our top two or three brands. We want to try and grow our customer base for contemporary designers,” Mr Wu from Rag and Bone said.

There was a natural transition from Asia to Australia for retailers wanting to create a global footprint, he said.

Welcome to Australia.