Air New Zealand's general manager customer experience Carrie Hurihanganui said the Qantas move had led to some discussion within her airline but it hadn't felt the need to issue any guidelines.
Staff monitored dress in lounges but there had been no issues or complaints from other guests.
Airlines are on a lounge building spree around the world to attract higher paying premium customers.
Air New Zealand said the Sydney lounge was the first with an ultra-modern design formulated in conjunction with United States-based architects, Gensler.
Feedback from the airline's high value customers was used to help design the lounge which opens to passengers tomorrow.
The 1500sqm lounge and features a mix of spaces, including a kids zone, and can cater for around 300 guests.
Air New Zealand chief sales and commercial officer Cam Wallace said the launch was an important milestone in a wider programme that would result in the airline open a number of new and refurbished lounges over the next two years, including at Auckland International Airport.
"We have been investing heavily in enhancing our customer experience.
"Airports are a key part of the customer journey and 18 months ago we embarked on a $40 million programme to redevelop several of our lounges at some of the busiest ports we fly to," said Wallace.
Glass wine wall.
The Sydney lounge features a glass wine wall allows views of the runway beyond.
Air New Zealand mobile app users will be able to order coffee directly as they enter the lounge and alerts them when it's ready to be collected from the barista.
It has a cafe where fresh food is prepared by a resident chef in a "new food theatre" or passengers can help themselves to the buffet.
The cafe features a chandelier made of 228 hand blown glass spheres which the airline says was inspired by the waves of the Australian coast.
There's a bar lounge, a dedicated quiet zone and space for business.
The kids' zone has books, interactive games and plays movies and there are large digital screens throughout the lounge which screen images of New Zealand.
Hurihanganui said the Sydney lounge took about six months to rebuild.
The new Auckland lounge is due to open in August.
New terminals at Los Angeles Airport have had new lounges costing tens of millions of dollars built and across the Tasman the battle for corporate fliers between Qantas and Virgin Australia has resulted in a big rebuilding programme there.
Full service airlines use lounges to differentiate themselves from low cost carriers.
