As anyone who has had even a glance at Facebook or Instagram recently will know, most of Australia seems to be headed overseas on holidays – to sunny, far-flung destinations.

The sheer number of international travellers means that luggage and lost luggage is proving to be a nightmare.

On both my recent trips, one to Europe and one to Fiji, I deliberated very carefully about what to pack, as I didn’t want to be dragging things to the other side of the world that I wasn’t going to wear.

The ideal would be to have carry-on luggage only, but I’m still perfecting that.

The one piece that proved to be a winner in both a city and a tropical location was a simple black ankle-length silk caftan (mine was by Brisbane designer Chelsea De Luca). It’s a very chic solution for evening, worn with a pair of sandals and hoop earrings, and also works well for day, as you can pop it over a swimsuit at the pool or beach.

It weighed nothing and can be rinsed, and drip dried overnight. Perhaps if I just had a couple more in different colours, I may have solved the carry-on-only dilemma.

Accessories

An accessories trend I’m really loving is raffia and straw: Woven bags, totes and sandals that have a beautiful, casual elegance about them.

They are the perfect summer holiday look as they are dressy, but not too serious. A woven tote or basket with leather handles even looked right at home in Paris, day and night.

The common misconception is that Paris is very dressy, which is certainly something you would think when you glance at social media and influencers dressed to the nines, preening and pouting in an outdoor café while wearing some lavish get-up. But there is, in fact, a very cool, effortless style in the streets that’s more about jeans and T-shirts and leather sandals a la Jane Birkin.

Style icon Ines de la Fressange has always recommended wearing makeup with your jeans and T-shirt, no makeup with your evening dress at night. So chic.

Haute couture is back

Haute couture has really taken centre stage in the fashion world nowadays.

In the past it was small and very rarefied shows for an extremely elite customer, but now the fashion houses have leaned in to haute couture and promote their $100,000-plus outfits via lavish destinations, such as the Valentino show on the Spanish Steps in Rome last week.

Nicole Kidman embraced haute couture at Balenciaga’s salon event. Photo: Getty

Strange little pieces of avant-garde theatre put on for the rich and famous, like Balenciaga’s salon event that featured Nicole Kidman wearing what looked like a roll of aluminium foil, the ubiquitous Kim Kardashian modelling – dead eyed and expressionless – and dresses that didn’t fit through the door.

Dolce and Gabbana Alta Moda combined what looked like Roman centurions from Cinecitta Central Casting with a voluptuous Mariah Carey and bemused Helen Mirren.

Seemingly anything goes at the pointy end of fashion if you can get the clicks.