AUSTRALIAN consumers will be forced to pay substantially more for their favourite fashion brands as a growing number of local importers reach agreements with international brands to stop selling their clothes to Australians on overseas websites or to lift their web prices.

While this will be welcome news to the country's struggling retailers, it means shoppers will no longer be able to save up to 50 per cent by buying labels from overseas.

The distributors, who typically have exclusive wholesale rights to some international brands in Australia, say they have no choice while the government refuses to lower the $1000 GST-free threshold for imported goods.

Jacki Bresic, of the International Fashion Group, last month reached an agreement with popular US denim brands Paige Denim and AG Adriano Goldschmied to prevent major international online stores, including the Amazon-owned Shopbop and Revolve, selling their jeans to customers here.