Adelaide locals reflect the city's idiosyncrasies in the clothes they wear. To celebrate the launch of the Adelaide Design Manual, we teamed up with Adelaide City Council to survey our city's abundant style and substance.

ABOVE –  Matt Huppatz is a practicing visual artist. His developed green thumb has always made us green with envy and reflects a sense of style that’s often wanting in the arid Adelaide climate. “Definitely the most interesting thing recently,” says Matt of the Adelaide aesthetic, “is the influence from Africa and South-Central Asia, those kids have brought style back to the streets of Adelaide!”

ABOVE – Natasha Kiwi is the operations manager of the Adelaide Strikers cricket team. Her day job turns into a night job too once the national competition begins and 40,000-plus fans start streaming into her workplace – Adelaide Oval. Style isn’t always on show at the Oval but Tash says that’s indicative of Adelaide’s “relaxed and simple” approach.

ABOVE – Dr Jessica Paterson is a Research Fellow at CQU’s Appleton Institute. She’s currently working on the relationship between our gut microbiome and sleep, considering how this affects our overall wellbeing. We feel that seeing Jessie with her dog Hans makes Adelaide infinitely more stylish particularly because of her sneakers and “huge bag full of books”.

ABOVE – Danni Harris has been running retail stores since she was 19. She’s currently the manager of the Naomi Murrell flagship on Ebenezer Place and has always caught our eye with her sartorial sensibility. Danni believes Adelaide’s look is a product of its environment and that, “people are driven by what they enjoy rather than trying to keep up with numerous trends, which is nice”.

ABOVE – Mel and Dean Flintoft are the founders and directors of Australian Fashion Labels. This year the fashion house expanded operations to include offices in Shanghai and Los Angeles. Mel and Dean represent the changing face of Adelaide’s economy and are actively shaping the way Australia is seen by the rest of the world – all from their hometown of Adelaide.

ABOVE – Nikki Hamdorf has worked at a senior level in the arts industry for years, developing high-level investment and a broader interest in the Adelaide aesthetic and creative culture. Nikki personifies our hopes that our city can look ever-more elegant while maintaining a humble attitude. Nikki believes, “Adelaide’s beauty is in its scale,” as well as its, “diversity, creativity, people and accessibility”.

ABOVE – Attorney General John Rau takes scrutiny in his stride. He’s used to both being peered at and talked about in the media but he’s far more interested in seeing others create a new look for Adelaide. “If we’re going to be a successful city,” says John, “we have to be embracing of change and welcoming to the people who are making it”.

ABOVE – Daniels Langeberg is the founder and director of pedal-cab business Eco-Caddy. He wants to change the way Adelaide and the world looks at urban transport. And while he’s busy moving our city he can’t help but notice Adelaide’s changing aesthetic. “Adelaide has gotten more diverse and I can’t pinpoint what defines that,” says Daniels. For him though, it’s all black everything – “it hides the grease stains”.

ABOVE – Paola Niscioli has always helped define our idea of Adelaide’s style with her fun and idiosyncratic look. Her role as Director of Marketing and Development at the Adelaide Symphony Orchestra again puts her in our spotlight. Paola doesn’t believe in a ubiquitous Adelaide look but definitely sees, “a series of tribes and each tribe has a distinctive style”.

ABOVE – Daniel To and Emma Aiston are quiet achievers. They’re award-winning product designers and the creative directors of JamFactory’s retail arm. Currently exhibiting work at the National Gallery of Victoria, they are constantly creating a new aesthetic narrative through their practice. And while they shy away from describing an Adelaide look per se, they can’t help but represent to the world what our city is all about.

ABOVE – More than any other place, the Exeter Hotel looks like Adelaide to us. And former-bartender Jordan Mutton is one of those people who make Adelaide so likeable. Even though Jordan, personally, struggles to pin-point a look that’s indigenous to our city, he does believe that the Exeter’s strong characters (on both sides of the bar) have been an influence on how he sees himself and his city.