Cate Blanchett and David Downton, the cover stars of Vogue Australia's 50th

vogue australia via wwd.com

Vogue Australia has just unveiled its 50th anniversary edition at a launch party in Sydney. And what a commemorative edition. The cover, make that covers – there are four - depict Australian actor Cate Blanchett, although not photographed, as is the norm with fashion publications. In a bold move by Vogue Australia, all four covers are hand-drawn by UK-based illustrator David Downton, who is well-known for his celebrity portraits - which have included Blanchett in the role of Elizabeth I - and whose fashion clients include UK Harpers Bazaar, Chanel and Harrods. Although heavily supported by art directors in the early 20th century, fashion illustration was eventually overshadowed by photography. In spite of the emergence of influential illustrators in recent decades, including the late Andy Warhol and Antonio Lopez, Ruben Toledo and latterly, LA-based newcomer Danny Roberts, fashion magazines have been reluctant to fully re-embrace illustration. The record 360-page edition, on sale August 5th, also features a 28-page editorial shot by Greg Kadel, starring Catherine McNeil and Abbey Lee Kershaw. Another story, modelled by Karlie Kloss, showcases 10 swimsuits created for the issue by Chanel, Dolce e Gabbana, Karl Lagerfeld, John Galliano for Christian Dior, Francisco Costa for Calvin Klein, Frida Giannini for Gucci, Ralph Lauren, Bally, Burberry and Max Mara.

"We don't give a shit" - Charlotte Dawson on the Cassi Facebook fallout

getty via zimbo.com

Frockwriter mentioned that ANTM Cycle 5 runnerup Cassi van den Dungen was getting a bit of a rough trot on the Facebook accounts of ANTM hosts Alex Perry and Charlotte Dawson, with both hosts engaging in some snarky banter with their Facebook followers about van den Dungen’s decision to turn down contracts with Priscillas and Elite New York. After receiving a Facebook friend request from van den Dungen moreover, Perry put the decision to accept or decline the friend request up to a vote. Well since Perry and Dawson are obviously so well-acquainted with the social networking phenomenon, they may be interested to learn that this week's ANTM posts have been discussed in at least five other web forums, including two forums of the behemoth US social networking site LiveJournal, which generates over 11million page views a day.

One of these, the celebrity gossip-skewed Oh No They Didn’t, is LiveJournal’s most popular forum and boasts over 90,000 members, who generate over 100,000 visits and 300,000 page views a day. Which, evidently, has the potential to take Perry’s and Dawson’s “semi-private” comments to their Facebook coteries, to a significantly wider audience.

One LiveJournal member who appears to have access to Perry’s Facebook account has shared some more of their vitriolic banter:


Alex Perry

"YES ITS TRUE, SHE WONT SIGN ELITE CONTRACT... WE'RE TALKING ABOUT A GIRL WITH LOW INTELLIGENCE, GOING OUT WITH A MAN TEN YEARS OLDER OF A SIMILAR IQ...THE COMBINATION IS POWERFULLY STUPID ... THE ICING ON THE IDIOT CAKE IS THAT SHE WANTS HIM TO BE HER MANAGER SO SHE DOESNT HAVE TO PAY AGENCY COMISSION (IM ASSUMING THEY WOULD ALSO HAVE AN ISSUE WITH PAYING TAX!!!) BUT CONSIDERING THAT HE DOESNT WORK, AND SHE'S TO STUPID TO, EVERYTHING MUST BE PEACHY KEEN IN SUNBURY!!!"

"SO OVER THE BOGAN...SO LAST WEEK...LETS TALK ABOUT THE GORGEOUS TAHNEE, JUST STARTED WORKING ON AN AMAZING TEN PAGE SHOOT FOR HARPERS BAZAAR OCTOBER ISSUE FEATURING TAHNEE IN ALEX PERRY... SHE WILL LOOK GOOOOOORGEOUS!!!"

"CASSIE JUST SENT ME A FRIEND REQUEST... PUBLIC VOTE PLEASE...YES? OR NO?on Tuesday"

"SO THE BOGAN WONT SIGN A CONTRACT WITH ELITE NY, AND MOVES BACK TO SUNBURY WITH THE OUT OF WORK BRICKKIE... NOW THATS WHAT I CALL A CLEVER GIRL!!!!"

Charlotte Dawson

"Apparently Cassi has signed with Tania Power (?) modelling agency and is coming to Sydney to model for Portmans. Nuff said."

"What's a Fella Hamilton? Sounds fascinating. Almost as fascinating as a Greenborough Plaza winter fashion parade. Stupid Cassi - she's really put her modelling career into a big suburban toilet."

"too true. Enough about the bogan ... she's someone elses nightmare now."

"Very kind comments .... thank you! I think Cassi's only going to end up being the poster girl for Sunbury Centrelink."

Update:

Although frockwriter has been unable to contact Perry, Dawson confirmed that these are her comments and that they were made on Perry's Facebook account.

Dawson added that she does recall Perry making the other comments, that she stands by the comments and does not see anything wrong with them.

Dawson told frockwriter, "Absolutely. I could not give a rat's ass. They're the sort of things I would say on the show. What's wrong with them being on a Facebook page? That's what I’m paid to do. I’m paid to call it as I see it.

"They’re not defamatory, they're said with humour, not vitriol, and honesty. It was a situation that I was very much involved with.

"Her boyfriend, during the live finale, was grabbing his crotch and sticking his tongue out at me. You don’t know what this girl has gone and done to evoke the ire of a lot of people.

"We don’t give a shit. We're coming from a place of personal experience and Cassi has very much frustrated and angered and disappointed a lot of people.... She's upset her family terribly, she's been a real nightmare and spat in the faces of people who supported her".

Pamela Anderson - and at least seven Oz brands - head to Auckland

getty via daylife.com

Air New Zealand Fashion Week announced its preliminary designer lineup this afternoon in Auckland. Further names are yet to be confirmed for the event, which runs from 21st–25th September at the Viaduct Harbour Marine Village. But so far the schedule looks to boast at least seven Australian names: Perth’s United Constructions and Brisbane streetwear label House of EZIS, in addition to five yet-to-be-confirmed designers who are due to take part in a Diet Coke Little Black Dress group show - along the lines of what we saw in Sydney at RAFW in early May (and as ANZFW's Pieter and Myken Stewart hinted was in the pipeline, when frockwriter bumped into them at RAFW). But by far the biggest news of today’s launch was the fact that Pamela Anderson is also heading to the event.

Yes, as incongruous as it sounds, Anderson is due to travel down to ANZFW with ex Heatherette designer Richie Rich. That is Rich pictured with Anderson above, together with transgender performer Amanda Lepore, at New York Fashion Week in February. That's Lepore on the right, for anyone who isn't sure.

Anderson is working with Rich on a new eco fashion line called Muse that is due to be unveiled the week beforehand at New York Fashion Week.

According to today's release, the line will be shown in Auckland on Friday 25th September – in what you would have to assume will be the event's closer.

What's the Anderson connection?

A New York-based fashion/celebrity publicist by the name of Brian S Long, whose clients include Nicky Hilton and who has been attending ANZFW from almost the very beginning.

Also new to the event this year is a dedicated runway showcase of eight Maori designers (Miromoda) and The Viewing Room – a special showroom from which designers will be able to showcase their ranges to buyers and press the minute they walk off the runway.

It’s a great initiative and one that Pieter Stewart first announced in WWD in May.

“It’s going to be a bit of a scheduling nightmare, but I’ll work it. I might have to stretch out the shows” Stewart told WWD. “We’ve had a few meetings with the designers to ask, ‘What do you need?’ And they’ve said, ‘We’d like to bring our entire showroom on site so we can capture the buyers while they’re there.’”

Below is the list of confirmed participating names.


Designers/brands
Adrian Hailwood / Adrian Hailwood / AUCKLAND
Andrea Moore / Andrea Moore / WELLINGTON
Annah Stretton / Annah Stretton / MORRINSVILLE
Barbara Lee / Barbara Lee / CHRISTCHURCH
Basquesse / Viviana Pannell / WELLINGTON
Cybèle / Cybèle Wiren / AUCKLAND
Chapel Design / Janelle Chapel / AUCKLAND
Emma Ford / Emma Stuart / AUCKLAND
Emma / Emma Wallace / WELLINGTON
House of EZIS / Andrzej K pytel / AUSTRALIA
Julian Danger / Amy Rose Goulding / DUNEDIN
Huffer / Dan Buckley & Steve Dunstan / AUCKLAND
ISBIM / Joshua Jang / AUCKLAND
Juliette Hogan / Juliette Hogan / AUCKLAND
Kagi / Kat Gee / AUCKLAND
Karen Walker / Karen Walker / AUCKLAND
Kate Sylvester / Kate Sylvester / AUCKLAND
Nom*D / Margarita Robertson / DUNEDIN
Oyl / Vicki Reid & Nicola Karam / WAIRARAPA
Riddle Me This / Liz Proverbs / MT MAUNGANUI
Sable & Minx / Theresa Brady / AUCKLAND
Salasai / Kirsha Whitcher / HASTINGS
Sera Lilly / Cheryl Lilly / AUCKLAND
Serena Fagence / Serena Fagence / AUCKLAND
Sheryl May / Sheryl May / GISBORNE
Stolen Girlfriends Club / Marc Moore & Dan Gosling / AUCKLAND
Tara Cunniffe / Tara Cunniffe / AUCKLAND
TCD / Caroline Marr / AUCKLAND
Trelise Cooper / Trelise Cooper / AUCKLAND
Trix & Dandy / Michael Pattison / AUCKLAND
Twentysevennames / Anjali Stewart & Rachel Easting / WELLINGTON
United Constructions / Jill Crabb & Helen Miraudo / AUSTRALIA
VonAvi / Greg & Kaz von Heraud Parker / WANAKA
Zambesi / Liz & Neville Findlay / AUCKLAND

Miromoda Designers
Wiremu Barriball / Wiremu Barriball / TITAHI BAY
Kiri Nathan / Kiri Nathan / AUCKLAND
Samara Vercoe / Samara Vercoe / NELSON
Keri Wanoa & Hemi Sungren / Keri Wanoa & Hemi Sungren / WAITARA
Tutina Pasene / Tutina Pasese / OTAKI
Shane Hansen / Shane Hansen / AUCKLAND
Bianca Walford-Collier / Bianca Walford-Collier / WELLINGTON

Diet Coke – The Little Black Dress Show
Five New Zealand and five Australian designers to be announced

In Vogue: Christina Carey

greg lotus

Christina Carey has been flying under the radar for some time. If you can call being the face of Japanese beauty giant Shiseido low profile. Still, Carey's sophisticated look - which is evocative of that of 1940s model Lisa Fonssagrives and other faces of the glory days of haute couture – has definitely taken some time to catch on. Carey’s show tally for FW0910 earlier this year, for example, embraced a mere handful of names. Well after spending four years shuttling between Paris, New York and Milan, perhaps things are about to change for the 23 year-old Melbournite. Here are three shots from a 20-page editorial spread in the upcoming August edition of Vogue Italia. Shot by Greg Lotus (with the complete editorial on his website), it stars Carey alongside Belarusian supermod Tanya Dziahileva (above L) and a third model. It is Carey’s second Vogue Italia spread this year, after Tim Walker’s Fairy Time story in February.




greg lotus

Cassi signs with Work Agency

jez smith/antm via tanya powell

It’s hard keeping up with Cassi van den Dungen. Crowned runnerup in ANTM Cycle 5 three weeks ago, she declined contracts with Priscillas and Elite New York to rejoin her childhood modelling agency in Melbourne, Tanya Powell. On Saturday she shot a first job with Portmans. Frockwriter can reveal that van den Dungen has now signed a contract with the Sydney-based Work Agency. A boutique agency that reps photographers, hair and makeup artists, stylists and 14 models, it is operated by Helena Vitolins, who reports that she signed van den Dungen 10 days ago and that Work Agency organised the Portmans gig. Vitolins also reps Nicole Bentley who shot the campaign. Vitolins reports that her biggest model names are Holly Thompson, who has shot for Vogue Australia and Siew Longhorn - who has worked for Calvin Klein Jeans, Tommy Hilfiger and, last week, The Gap. But arguably the agency’s most high profile name in any field to date is photographer Carlotta Moye, who recently shot Miranda Kerr for the cover of Australian Rolling Stone.

Vitolins reports that van den Dungen has a lot of job options. However she declined to clarify whether or not these options are completely different, or one and the same, to those mentioned yesterday by Tanya Powell - which remains van den Dungen's mother agency.

“Her chart is full” is all Vitolins would say.

Nor would Vitolins clarify if she has had any dealings with any international agencies with regards to van den Dungen.

It does appear however that van den Dungen is unlikely to be turning up on the SS10 international runways in September and October.

“It’s far too early for that” said Vitolins. “I think it’s important that Cassi establishes herself in the Australian market and learns to model. She’s loving modelling and I think she has the potential to do very well.”

She added, “I’m a small agency. I’ve always been very much under the radar, I’m not in the Yellow Pages. It’s total management and I am very selective. It’s a very career-based agency. I don’t represent people who don’t work”.

Cassi shoots Portmans, gets cyberbullied by ANTM hosts

On Thursday frockwriter first mentioned that ANTM 2009 runnerup Cassi van den Dungen was returning to her childhood modelling agency, Tanya Powell, and had booked a first job with Portmans. The shoot took place on Saturday in Sydney and here are three shots - two of which appeared in the Herald Sun yesterday (with the hilariously provincial headline, "Forget New York, this is the big time"). This is a lookbook designed to accompany Portman's September collection and it will be primarily featured online - but also possibly on point of sale material in-store. It was shot by Nicole Bentley, who also photographed Kelsey van Mook for Portmans' August campaign. The Tanya Powell agency reports that it is currently fielding approximately 10 job offers for van den Dungen. UPDATE 29/07: Van den Dungen signs with Work Agency.

Alex Perry and Charlotte Dawson meanwhile - the two ugly step-sisters of the ANTM Cinderella machine - have both been whinging on Facebook about van den Dungen's decision not to accept the ANTM-affiliated offer of Priscillas and Elite contracts.

Perry, moreover, who noted on Facebook at one point that he is so "OVER THE BOGAN", has made quite some fuss over van den Dungen's nerve in sending him a Facebook friend request.

Perry put the decision to accept or decline the friend request up to Facebook vote and solicited the yays or nays of his follower posse. Over 60 responses ensued - most to the negative.

If you are going to berate your show's teen contestants for bitching, snarking and bullying, have the grace to follow your own example.

Talking Obama's jeans, flood pants and meggings with ABC Local Radio Queensland

getty via daylife



Radio shows often call hoping to throw light on the various fashion stories which pop up in the papers. I thought I might as well start podcasting them, as a kind of archive. Bear in mind these are usually drive time programs with general audiences – as distinct from the hardcore fashion audience that comes to this blog. It’s interesting to segue between the two. First up, last week’s chat with the State-wide Afternoons show on ABC Local Radio Queensland. The subject was the pair of baggy jeans worn by Barack Obama to the All-Star baseball game and which had been the target of quite some media ribbing the world over. The show host was also keen to talk fashion tips for guys over 40 and we moved onto high fashion runway trends from the recent SS10 shows, notably the omnipresent cropped trouser and the male harem pant. Click the player above to hear - and please bear with me as I iron out teething podcast problems.

Behind-the-scenes at Portmans

Provided by Portmans and exclusive to frockwriter, a behind-the-scenes video of the making of the Australian highstreet retailer's summer campaign. Due to appear in August online and in store, the campaign stars Canadian Kelsey van Mook and was shot by Nicole Bentley on the Wolverine set on Sydney's heritage-listed Cockatoo Island. Other faces you might recognise in the background include Claudia Navone, fashion director of Harpers Bazaar, who obviously moonlights as a stylist, Portmans creative director Nikki Hillier, hair stylist Nicholas Jurnjack and makeup artist Charlotte Blakeney.

Cassi van den Dungen pursues her model dream with Tanya Powell

tanya powell

So Cassi van den Dungen lost Australia’s Next Top Model’s 2009 crown, turned down contracts with Priscillas and Elite New York and threatened to go back to Sunbury to focus on her boyfriend’s bricklaying business. But it seems she has not given up on her modelling dream. Van den Dungen has rejoined the agency that discovered her at the age of five and repped her as a child model: Melbourne’s Tanya Powell Model Agency. Never heard of it? Tanya Powell is one of many low-profile Australian agencies that often springboard models in the smaller markets, only to then send them on to sign with larger local agencies, namely Chic Management, Priscillas, Chadwicks and Vivens. And some question the wisdom of van den Dungen’s decision to turn her back on offers from bigger players with proven track records of managing international careers.

This is certainly the case with the modelwatchers on online forums The Fashion Spot and vogue.com.au and indeed, Priscillas itself.

Unaware that van den Dungen had returned to Tanya Powell when frockwriter called this afternoon for comment, Priscillas booker Lizzi Leighton-Clark noted, "It's a shame that she's not willing to pursue a modelling cereer that goes beyond Melbourne, because obviously she has the potential to be an amazing model".

Modelling is not just about having a pretty face and long legs. It is about attitude, work ethic, momentum and, moreover, the right management.

According to Tanya Powell manager Rosetta Stefano, Tanya Powell does not have any models under contract. The agency's biggest womens' name is Cassie Gardner, in addition to television personalities Paul O’Brien, Tania Zaetta and Laura Csortan.

With Gardner's wider career now being managed by Viviens in Sydney and IMG in New York, one would hope that all is not lost for van den Dungen. And both van den Dungen and Tanya Powell should take on board the fact that, since van den Dungen is evidently not under any kind of non-compete agreement with the management agency affiliated with ANTM, ie Priscillas, every other major Australian agency that is headquartered in Sydney would be very keen to sign her up immediately.

The essential difference here however is the fact that while an unknown Gardner went from a small agency to bigger agencies, van den Dungen made a name for herself in a high-profile television competition, had offers from big agencies, but has chosen to go in the reverse direction.

Van den Dungen is booked to shoot for Portmans on Saturday – a web campaign is all Stefano could tell frockwriter, adding that she rejoined the agency immediately after the ANTM finale.

Reports Stefano, “We’re speaking to lots of different companies. She’s definitely very keen to be a model. We are doing her comp card, she went for a casting yesterday, she’s on the way. At the moment she wants to basically do as much as she can in Melbourne. If you’ve got a good product it doesn’t matter who represents her”.

“There’s a lot to be said for a place where creativity and intelligence are still valued cultural commodities” - Horacio Silva, The New York Times

On the eve of the launch of the Australians in New York Fashion Foundation, the final instalment in frockwriter’s series of mini profiles of prominent Australians working in the New York fashion media: a chat with The New York Times’ Horacio Silva. A new media specialist, Silva arrived in New York over a decade ago with Ben Widdicombe and cut straight to the jugular of the fashion business via the outrageous Chic Happens online gossip column.

Describe your current position and what the job involves.
Horacio Silva: I work as the Features Director/Online Director for T: The New York Times Style Magazine, which means I basically write, assign and edit for print and online. It’s fair to say, though, that as the T web presence continues to grow beyond all expectations, my work is increasingly online. That said, we just undertook a really interesting experiment in reverse publishing in which we are running (obviously updated) content in the ‘Sunday Styles’ section of The New York Times newspaper that has already appeared on T’s website. It's a development I’m very excited about and though it’s early days it seems to have struck a chord with readers (not all of whom I can assume already knew about T online.) I think it’s a smart way to expand the brand and get our original content out there to as many people as possible.

How difficult was it to break into the New York media environment? Briefly describe the career trajectory which led you to your current position.
I don’t know that it was any harder than breaking into media in Australia. In most countries, it’s a pretty hermetically sealed industry that takes talent, gumption, luck and contacts to break into. But like a lot of people who work in New York media, I basically just made the move and took it from there. I had worked in Australian publishing for many years – in print then online for Microsoft Australia — and my then boyfriend, Ben Widdicombe, and I wanted a change so we moved at the beginning of 1998. NYC and Hong Kong were the two options on the table at the time, but New York, which I fell in love with when I used to visit for work, was an easy choice for me.

As for my trajectory, I was lucky to have some shekels left over from my previous job so I had the luxury of feeling out the city and meeting lots of people. As a result, I was privy to a lot of fun information that wasn’t being reported and so Ben and I started a catty online column called Chic Happens on hintmag.com. That got the attention of the late Amy Spindler, who was the editor of Fashions of the Times (as T was called during her tenure) and my beloved enabler, and I just kinda stayed.

What do you know now that you dearly wish someone had told you when you first arrived in New York?
Nothing career-related. Seriously. But I would have loved a head’s up about the Thai food being pretty awful. Learn to cook it if you’re a fan and plan to move.

Best part about working and living in New York.
Mmm… the fact that you have the option to compete and do good work on a big stage holds a lot of sway for me. Because I don’t drive, being able to get around the city easily is also a plus. And there’s a lot to be said for a place where creativity and intelligence are still valued cultural commodities.

Worst part about working and living in New York.
A lot of visitors to the city complain that New Yorkers never let up about work, that you can be at a late—night bar and people still find a way to go on about their job. But I don’t mind that so much. (What am I talking about? I’m probably the worst culprit.) For me, the worst thing is really the tyranny of distance.

Where are you from in Australia and what do you most miss about it?
I was raised in Sydney. I’m a Leichhardt boy, but I lived most of my adult life in the Eastern suburbs. Of course I miss my family and friends above all else. And did I mention the Thai food?

What advice would you give young Australians hoping to break into the media/fashion/beauty businesses in New York?
Regardless of where you’re from, geographically or socio-economically, the world doesn’t owe you a single favour. So if you want it badly enough, you have to work hard for it. One thing I do remember from back when I was still working for Microsoft and-–shhhh!!!—talking to headhunters about moving to New York, is that you have to be here, no ifs or buts, so find a way. You’re wasting your time sending out resumés from Australia and expecting people to follow up. To quote the sagacious words of the New South Wales State Lottery: You’ve got to be in it to win it.




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- “THERE IS SUCH A CULTURE OF ENTITLEMENT IN NEW YORK, THE KIDS WHO WORK HARD ARE A BREATH OF FRESH AIR” – LAURA BROWN, HARPERS BAZAAR

“There is such a culture of entitlement in New York, kids who work hard are a breath of fresh air” – Laura Brown, Harpers BAZAAR

On the eve of the launch of the Australians in New York Fashion Foundation, a chat with Laura Brown. For those unfamiliar with the name, Brown is the dynamo responsible for US Harpers BAZAAR's most press-worthy “cover coups” and conceptual editorials. Highlights have included a cartoon fashion spread depicting The Simpsons guided through Paris fashion salons by Linda Evangelista, Tyra Banks posing as Michelle Obama and the first interview with Katie Holmes following her wedding to Tom Cruise, with shots styled by Victoria Beckham. With Brown now also the public face of all BAZAAR's tv appearances, including a stint as guest judge on Bravo's The Fashion Show, her television franchise is building.



Describe your current position and what the job involves.
Laura Brown: I am the Features/Special Projects Director at Harper’s BAZAAR. I book our covers, conceptualise and produce our major pop culture/fashion portfolios, run the features department, coordinate our public relations strategy and represent the magazine on television.

How difficult was it to break into the New York media environment? Briefly describe the career trajectory which led you to your current position.
I left Australian Bazaar in 2001 and turned up here a week before September 11, so it was tricky. I knew precisely two people – one at The New York Post and one at Talk magazine (RIP). But that’s all you need if you’re passionate enough about succeeding here. I freelanced for a year, became senior editor at W, then to Details, then to BAZAAR four and a half years ago.

What do you know now that you dearly wish someone had told you when you first arrived in New York?
That just because everyone speaks English, it doesn’t mean they’re just like you! That, and a complete list of reliable doctors and real estate agents.

Best part about working and living in New York.
Working with people I never thought I’d meet, and seeing your ideas manifest themselves on a global stage. At the beginning of the week, never knowing how it’s going to end. And walking past the MOMA sculpture garden every morning on the way to the office.

Worst part about working and living in New York.
The size of apartments. My shoes are fighting for their life.

Where are you from in Australia and what do you most miss about it?
I’m from Sydney. Apart from friends and family – it’s the sea air from the harbour. I feel like I exhale when I get home, and take another deep breath to last me for a year!

What prompted you to participate in the launch of the foundation and how will it operate?
It’s just really gratifying for us to build a network of Australians who are really there for each other – alongside assisting the winner of the foundation prize, selfishly it’s been so encouraging to have that bedrock of people around. And anything to increase awareness of Australian design talent in New York is always worthwhile.

What advice would you give young Australians hoping to break into the New York media/fashion/beauty business?
Work hard – and keep focussed. I really believe that if you are passionate about something, and you’re good at it, you will do well. If you follow your interests, you will meet people organically that can help you achieve your goals. Don’t expect anything – there is such a culture of entitlement in New York, that kids who work hard are a breath of fresh air! Get a visa and get on a plane – I arrived here at possibly the worst time in history, and I’m still here.

Describe your typical day at Harpers Bazaar.
Wow, there really is no such thing as a typical day at BAZAAR. It feels often like we are making a film and are all producers instead of editors. The majority of time is spent coming up with concepts for stories – both written and visual – and finding the best teams to achieve them. Then it’s a matter of putting all the puzzle pieces together to achieve the most amazing result. Nothing like coming up with a crazy idea and having Karl Lagerfeld shoot it. The rest of the day depends on whether we are shooting something (I am on set often), on deadline to ship the issue, or coordinating our PR strategy. Then there’s the TV appearances! It is certainly not dull. I think my next job will be at the U.N.


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- “DON’T LET THE RATS GET TO YOU” – COLIN BERTRAM, NY DAILY NEWS

"Don't let the rats get to you" - Colin Bertram, NY Daily News

On the eve of the launch of the Australians in New York Fashion Foundation, a chat with Colin Bertram - pictured above at CNN, following an interview with Anderson Cooper. And looking remarkably comfortable in Cooper's anchor's chair.

Describe your current position and what the job involves.
Colin Bertram: Features Editor/Assistant Managing Editor of the NY Daily News. I’m responsible for all fashion, entertainment, lifestyle, gossip and news features across the paper.

How difficult was it to break into the New York media environment? Briefly describe the career trajectory which led you to your current position.
I worked retail for Giorgio Armani both in London and then in Sydney when Club 21 brought the Armani brand to Australia. When I transitioned to freelance fashion writing I was lucky to have Marion Hume as my first editor (she was at The Australian at the time) and learned very quickly under her eye. After spending a year in New York (2000) I returned to Sydney where Kirsty Cameron (then editor in chief of In Style Australia) offered me the position of fashion news editor at the magazine. I won my green card in the lottery and moved to New York in 2004 where my first job was as an associate editor on a Sunday insert celebrity magazine for the NY Daily News – I heard about the job through a friend – and then moved into the features department a year later and then worked my way up to my current position.

What do you know now that you dearly wish someone had told you when you first arrived in New York?
Don’t let the rats (both animal and human) get to you!

Best part about working and living in New York.
For work, I love the pace. For living, it was where I met the love of my life so you can’t really beat that!

Worst part about working and living in New York.
As anywhere, working in NY has good and bad aspects and like the city itself, both are a little larger than life. The good can be truly amazing and the bad, well, it can really freak you out. Best part of living in NY is being able to get out and put it all in perspective so that when you return you see the city for the truly amazing place it is. It’s all about not getting bogged down in the day to day struggle of surviving in such a crazy place.

Where are you from in Australia and what do you most miss about it?
Grew up in Brisbane and lived in Sydney prior to moving here. I miss family and friends. And Cherry Ripes…


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- “ANYTHING IS POSSIBLE” – COLAC PICTURES PRESIDENT JULIE ANNE QUAY

"Anything is possible" - Colac Pictures president Julie Anne Quay

On the eve of the launch of the Australians in New York Fashion Foundation, here is the second in a series of chinwags with a handful of the foundation’s board members – all prominent Australians working in the New York fashion media. Here, a (sadly very brief) chat with Julie Anne Quay, who landed in New York to a job as studio manager for no less than Steven Meisel. Quay then moved on to V Magazine as executive editor and other fashion consulting roles such as casting, for clients including Marc Jacobs.


Describe your current position and what the job involves.
Julie Anne Quay: President of Colac Pictures and Jaq Inc. Colac Pictures is a film production company. The main project in development right now is the film version of Australian author Lee Tulloch's fashionable cult classic Fabulous Nobodies. Jaq Inc is a fashion production company and right now the main focus is projects for Style.com.

How difficult was it to break into the New York media environment? Briefly describe the career trajectory which led you to your current position.
I really believe you make your own luck. My first job here was with the photographer Steven Meisel as his studio manager. I was recommended by an American friend I had worked with in Australia. If I hadn’t been right for the job Steven wouldn't have hired me.

Best part about working and living in New York.
The energy - anything is possible.

Worst part about working and living in New York.
The flight home to Australia.

Where are you from in Australia and what do you most miss about it?
Melbourne. I miss my family the most.

What prompted you to launch the foundation and how will it operate?
It is very hard when you first get here. There is a culture shock, namely that everything is not what you see on television. Australians have a unique sensibility and outlook and en masse we are a powerful entity. We wanted to encourage young Australians to be proud of the heritage here and draw on that to make their path in the US and as well create a way for Australians living in Australia to get great work experience here and bring it back home.


RELATED:
- OZ FASHION EXPATS GATHER TO CELEBRATE GETTING THE HELL OUT OF HERE
- "MILK EVERY CONTACT, TAKE RISKS, WORK FOR NIX" - NY POWER PR MALCOLM CARFRAE ON GETTING A FOOT IN THE DOOR OF THE FASHION BIZ

"Milk every contact, take risks, work for nix" - New York power PR Malcolm Carfrae on getting a foot in the door of the fashion biz

Last week Frockwriter mentioned the new Australians in New York Fashion Foundation, whose mission statement is to facilitate connections for young Australians in the New York fashion and beauty businesses. A gumleaf mafia corroboree will convene tonight in the Big Apple to launch the foundation, with a number of highprofilers tipped to attend. Just how will the program work? In 2010, a foundation prize will be awarded to one Australian citizen aged 18-28 to cover travel and accommodation expenses for up to six months, with a work experience program organised. Applications open August 1, deadline is September 15, 10 finalists to be announced November 1, with a finalists dinner - apparently in Sydney - slated for late December. The winner will be announced mid January 2010. Click here for more details. In the interim, frockwriter thought we would pick the brains of a few foundation members who have made it to the top of the competitive New York fashion media market and ask their advice for industry newcomers. Here is the first of a series of Q&As: Calvin Klein's Malcolm Carfrae.

Describe your current position and what the job involves.
Malcolm Carfrae: I am the Executive Vice President of Global Communications at Calvin Klein Inc. I oversee public relations, corporate communications, celebrity services, special events and charitable initiatives for the company world-wide.

How difficult was it to break into the New York media environment? Briefly describe the career trajectory which led you to your current position.
The tough part was getting into the fashion industry in London. I worked in retail (on the shop floor) for two years until I could find a job in fashion PR there. I worked for almost nothing and earnt my keep by working seven days a week. I was lucky enough to work for a small fashion PR agency that gave me the opportunity to grow quickly. For me, getting a job in New York was the easy part, because I was head-hunted and relocated. Once in New York, it was all about hard work and initiative. I was promoted twice at Calvin Klein, and have had my current title for about a year.

What do you know now that you dearly wish someone had told you when you first arrived in New York?
Knowledge is power in New York. I hated not knowing the best place to eat, where to cut my hair, where to buy a lamp shade. I asked a lot of questions and never asked the same question twice.

Best part about working and living in New York.
It's the most professional city in the world. People are driven and very positive, very up. Fashion is taken very seriously and people are generally well paid. It's easy to get around - Manhattan is a small island and taxis are plentiful. And the beaches that are an easy drive away.... For an Australian, it's like being at home. London can't offer that.

Worst part about working and living in New York.
The distance from Europe and Australia. I can't think of another negative.

Where are you from in Australia and what do you most miss about it?
I'm from Sydney. I miss the easy sense of humor, the light and my family but after 20 years away, the sense of longing subsides.

Considering how many Australians already work in the New York media - without any specific assistance - what prompted you to launch the foundation and how will it operate?
It's true - a lot of us made it with no specific assistance but we liked the idea of combining a social networking group with a foundation that gave something back to young Australians. Maybe it will be a little easier for Australians to find work experience or jobs in New york with our support. We'd like to see the people we help taking the knowledge back to Australia. It will function as a work experience programme, not a scholarship. We'll provide the funding and the work placements for the recipients.

What advice would you give young Australians hoping to break into the New York media/fashion/beauty business?
Milk every contact you have without stalking the person. Having the right contacts gets you everywhere in New York. Take risks and do your research. Find out everything about the company you want to work for and email everyone there you can. Offer to work for free and work nights if you have to. My current executive assistant researched me so well before her job interview, she knew I wrote short stories when I was younger. And she knew the annual turn-over of our company - impressive.

Describe your typical day at Calvin Klein.
A typical day for me is answering the many emails I get overnight from Europe, Asia and Australia (before breakfast), get to the office before the deluge of emails from the US begin. Back to back meetings, usually a lunch with editors or stylists, meetings with my team to plan the next initiatives and strategize, sitting in on interviews with our designers and accompanying them to an event after work, normally two events per night or a work dinner. Home at 11 if I'm lucky.

Case closed: Jenna Sauers is Tatiana Anymodel

nikola tamindzic/jezebel


So the Tatiana mystery appears to be finally solved. In a coming-out essay on Jezebel today entitled "I am the anonymous model", New Zealander Jenna Sauers reveals that she is Tatiana Anymodel, the anonymous model behind the site's Modelslips column - as frockwriter long suspected to be the case.

Murder on the shop floor

racked

What is it with luxury retailers and their horror window displays? Oh yes, that's right, the worst economic downturn since the Great Depression. Frockwriter recently showed you the spooky, Re-animator-style windows at Hermes’ Australian flagship in Sydney, which depicted the skeleton of a mad scientist attempting to resuscitate a series of dead critters. This followed a 'Murder at Midnight'-themed display in the same store, which showcased a pair of bloodied scissors and detailed the lengths to which a desperate luxury enthusiast might go to get their hands on a Birkin. Well now Barneys New York has gone one better at its New York flagship. Two Expressionistic window displays feature discombobulated store mannequins that appear to be the victims of some violent crime - complete with splatters of fake blood on the glass. UPDATE 23/07: The windows have now been removed by Barneys.


racked

The windows are not located in prime position on Madison Avenue, which the store fronts, but instead a series of slightly more discreet vestibule displays.

But that has not stopped them coming to the attention of New York media blog Racked – and indeed some of the site’s readers, who don’t seem particularly impressed.

Notes one:

“You have got to be kidding. Violence against women is such a huge global and domestic problem - often culturally ingrained and acceptable - honor killings as just one well-known example. What is wrong with you? This is horrific and totally inhumane. Let's have a torture window as well - we could have waterboarding for displays of swimwear - would that excite you?”

While according to another Racked reader:

“How witty and clever! Elegantly dressed woman dying violent, bloody deaths.

How modern, how post-feminist, how curiously emblematic of the newly hip tolerance for making sport of women. What's next, a mannequin buried up to her limp neck, rocks strewn about, her chandelier earrings dangling "just so" from her lifeless frame?

This season, I will not be caught dead in...Barney's.”

The problem for Barneys – and of course many other retailers, notably at the luxury end of the market – is that shoppers won’t be caught dead inside their stores at the moment, irrespective of what they have in their window displays.

With luxury department store sales plunging, amid drastic price-slashing, the US retail shopfloor is increasingly looking like a bloodbath. So is it at all surprising that the retailers' creative departments are so keen to play out this horror scenario in their VM displays?

Although one of the last department stores to cut staff, in March, the Barneys New York department store chain has not had a ceo for the past year.

In April, the company received a US$25million cash injection from parent company Istithmar World, the Government of Dubai-owned, Dubai-based private equity company which acquired Barneys New York – and US$500million associated debt - in 2007 for US$942milllion.

Two Barneys stores are tipped to close, amidst speculation that Istithmar World may offload the retailer altogether.

The Tatiana mystery - about to be solved

nikola tamindzic

Frockwriter has had some fun over the past 12 months trying to ascertain the identity of the mysterious "Tatiana Anymodel" who writes anonymously about the modelling business - and, increasingly, general fashion - for Nick Denton's high-profile, New York-based womens' blog Jezebel. In fact we devoted five posts to the subject. Our best shot was Kiwi Jenna Sauers, even though Sauers repeatedly denied she was Tatiana, both in comments on this blog and in person, when we bumped into her at last September's New Zealand Fashion Week. Well Jezebel is about to finally unmask Tatiana. And this teaser that appears on the blog of Gawker photographer Nikola Tamindzic tells us three things: Tatiana is white, with brown hair and a rather strong jaw. Compare this shot to a portrait of Sauers that we took in Auckland after the Zambesi show (below). If it is indeed Sauers, this is a big story for New Zealand. UPDATE 22/7: CASE CLOSED - JENNA SAUERS IS TATIANA ANYMODEL.

Nicole Kidman digs in her fourth line of paparazzi defence

Much has been made of the so-called Great Wall of Sutton Forest, a 250m long, 2.5m high dirt wall erected by Nicole Kidman and Keith Urban on their Southern Highlands, NSW property Bunya Hill, ostensibly to keep the prying lenses of the paparazzi at bay from one exposed section of the property. Well frockwriter (who spends a lot of time in the region - and took this shot from the roadside) can report that the dirt wall has now been reinforced with a second, green, line of defence: a row of conifers that appears to stretch the length of the property on the western side of the front gates. Add to that the existing barbed wire boundary fence and the makings of a secondary fence in between the conifers and the dirt wall and, well, Jamie Fawcett may need to enlist the services of the 11th Panzer Division if he wants to plant any listening devices. No word on explosives being attached to any of the fortifications, but we'll keep you posted.

Sienna Miller werks it for the paps - and Scanlan & Theodore

scanlan & theodore

Sienna Miller kept the paparazzi busy over the weekend in Sydney, while she took time off from promoting Stephen Sommers' Gi Joe: The Rise of the Cobra, in which she plays a character called 'The Baroness'. Miller was spotted lunching at Catalina on Saturday and yesterday, at Bondi Icebergs. But while the paps were spotted crawling around Icebergs, trying to get good angles, according to Sydney gossip columnist Ros Reines Miller was offered the back door of Catalina, however chose to walk out the front instead. "She loves paparazzi" explained Reines on Twitter. In case you had any doubt about the role of the celeb hype factor in artificially boosting fashion trends, Melbourne-based fashion brand Scanlan & Theodore provides a good case in point. Contacted by Miller's Australian stylist, Scanlan & Theodore sent Miller three free items: a wool cashmere coat, a cardigan and a dress. Miller wore the coat yesterday and S&T is already shopping around the pap shots. Punters will obviously have to fork out $650 if they want their own.

Lock, stock and three smoking aliens

campaign brief

Super cool campaign from Sydney ad agency Kastner & Partners for Fisher Space Pens, to commemorate the 40th anniversary of the Apollo 11 moon landing. Created by Darryn Devlin and Dan Foster with photography by Sean Izzard and retouching by Cream, the campaign depicts three smartly besuited aliens, each bearing a Fisher Space Pen in their breast pocket. The tagline reads, “Civilizing space since 1968” (the year the pens were first used by NASA for Apollo 7). The Fisher Space Pen became indelibly linked with the US space program after Buzz Aldrin and Neil Armstrong used one to fix a broken switch on the lunar module, allowing them to return safely to the space capsule after their historic moon walk. Given that the aliens resemble Ozwald Boateng-outfitted gangsters from Guy Ritchie's 1998 Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels, frockwriter is not sure where civility fits into things. But interestingly, the campaign follows the release of Prada’s SFX-heavy Fall 2009/2010 lookbook (below), for which animal heads, abstract sculptures and graphic designs were Photoshopped onto the heads of several models.




campaign brief




prada FW0910 lookbook via fashionologie

The psychedelic one-piece ski suit, Mt Buller

snow blind

According to our woman on the piste, Lorraine Lock - who is embedded in the Australian Alps for the season - the buzz on the slopes is the return of the one-piece ski suit. Documented here in an eye-popping psychedelic print, the suit is teamed with a studded white belt and a black helmet. Although apparently not compulsory anywhere in Australia, helmets are promoted by the Australian Ski Areas Association - and of course to avoid any Natasha Richardson-type scenarios. Très chic but frockwriter can't help wondering..... isn't it awfully cold peeling all that off to take a pee at 1700 metres? Check out Lock's Snow Blind blog for daily updates.

Bluralism, finally a legit art movement

lindsay lohan by chrissy miller/nytimes.com

Many railed over the quality of images that were snapped by mobile phone and uploaded to Twitter at Sydney's Rosemount Australian Fashion Week in May. “Blurry”, “average” and “grainy” were terms used to slag the images off, with several parties asking the Twitterati to cease and desist. Some derided the phenomenon as “the failure of new media”. We, the new media douchebags, girded our loins and smartphones, dubbed the movement Bluralism and joked that we might one day stage an exhibition. Well, typically, New York has beaten us to it. On Wednesday, the Stephan Weiss Studio staged an exhibition of camera phone images taken by 14 artists including Cass Bird, Justin Giunta, Richard Kern, Danielle Levitt and Chrissy Miller, who were each given a Casio Exilim Mobile with which to document one week. Although one great big promo for Casio, photos taken using other mobile phone brands were also included. With New York Fashion Week eight weeks away and more and more fashion players piling onto Twitter, frockwriter wonders if any of the city's more social media-savvy types have considered aggregating the best images from the anticipated deluge of SM coverage.

Catherine McNeil shoots a heroine cover for Numéro

models.com

There might be a question mark over Sarah Stephens' exact involvement with the September Vogue Italia, but another Chic Management brunette definitely has a new page one under her belt. Catherine McNeil graces the cover of issue #105 of influential French magazine Numéro - with her brows either bleached or airbrushed to achieve fashion's increasingly popular no-brows look (the subject of a story in today's New York Times). Shot by Greg Kadel and styled by Franck Benhamou, the cover is of course another great get for McNeil who, in just two years, has risen to the world number eight position on models.com's Top 50 working models ranking. The Numéro cover emerges at the same time as McNeil's spectacular Patrick Demarchelier editorial in the August edition of German Vogue. However frockwriter can't help thinking just how cynical Numéro's "héroine" double entendre coverline is - not to mention models.com's "Heroine addict" headline on its blog entry overnight. Drugs have always been a problem in the modelling business. Earlier this week, veteran Australian model Emma Balfour slammed the fashion enablers of the 1990s "heroin chic" look for being "f***ing irresponsible". But the 40 year-old mother of two has been out of the business for some time. With last October's death of 20 year-old American model Randy Johnston and that of 27 year-old American artist and occasional model Dash Snow just four days ago - both from heroin overdoses - you have to wonder how big the current heroin problem in New York's fashion and art scene might be.

The September issue mystery

sarah stephens on set shooting vogue italia/modelfeed

Ellen Von Unwerth has already photographed Sarah Stephens twice: for the May 2008 issue of Russian Vogue and the September 2008 edition of Mixte. Now the sultry Melbourne-born brunette is about to complete a von Unwerth hat trick: an editorial for an upcoming issue of Vogue Italia. Stephens even logged shots of herself on set on Model Feed. But while any editorial in Vogue Italia is a great get for any model, mystery surrounds the cover of VI's September 2009 edition following a gossip snippet blogged by models.com’s Wayne Sterling, whose sources say the issue is “a multiple cover extravaganza” involving two blondes and “a surprisingly unique choice of a brunette”. There are, of course, lots of brunettes.

"Don't touch, it's haute couture!" - Skye Stracke turns auteur

Fantastic little video on New York mag’s The Cut blog, which provides a great insight into a model’s life backstage. Perth’s Skye Stracke was handed a video camera to cart around last week's haute couture shows in Paris and with it, she reports Alexis Mabille “fluffing up everybody for the show”, the 10.30pm-1.00am Chanel rehearsal - with a 6am call time the following morning - and sparkles at Armani. While at Chanel, Korean Daul Kim horses around with her mega pony tail and Stracke ogles the magnificent breakfast buffet traditionally put on by the Wertheimer bros at all their shows. Notes Stracke, “Doughnuts with Nutella, macaroons, brownies, croissants, fruit...”. Whether she actually ate any of it, is anybody's guess.

Frankie goes to fashionwood

givenchy SS10/wwd.com

Jethro Cave might have an edgy look, a famous dad and good connections, not to mention a Gumby earring. But the real dark horse of the Australian mens modelling scene was, as it turns out, right under our nose whilst reporting on the recent menswear season. Meet Frankie Elliss-Galati. The 19 year-old Gold Coaster was discovered by Sydney-based photographer Chris Ferguson in a Brisbane sushi bar in January. After booking jobs for Vogue Australia and Bisonte, among others, he headed to the mens Spring/Summer 2010 shows in Europe. In his first international season he walked for names including Christian Dior Homme, Givenchy, Thierry Mugler, Gucci, Roberto Cavalli, Calvin Klein, Trussardi and Tim Hamilton (which he closed) - a feat noted by models.com, which included him on its Top 10 Men’s New Faces for SS10. Not that anyone thus far appears to have been aware of his nationality.

Although repped in Australia by Viviens, Elliss-Galati's mother agent is in fact LA-based Australian Patrick Corcoran, who, like Ferguson, is a former Chic Management booker.

At Givenchy (above), Elliss-Galati got to wear one of the more extreme studded pieces which were inspired by the proposed collaboration between Givenchy creative director Riccardo Tisci and the late Michael Jackson, for Jackson's O2 Centre concerts in London. Tisci was reportedly due to meet with Jackson about the costumes on Monday 29th June, obviously an appointment that Jackson never made.



christian dior homme SS10 (top); robert cavalli SS10/wwd.com

Where the Bisonte roam

No sign of Rachel Rutt at last week's haute couture shows in Paris. But frockwriter hears the upwardly-mobile Chic-ette is biding her time until the Spring/Summer 2010 season, which is just around the corner. Meanwhile, Rutt’s latest Australian work is about to hit: the very first advertising campaign for Australian luxury leathergoods brand Bisonte, which has just added a Chatswood store to its three store lineup in Sydney and Melbourne (with a fifth store, in Sydney's CBD, to open early 2010). The images will go into all Bisonte stores on August 1st and also a leather-bound look book. Shot by Chris Ferguson, the campaign (see below) also features Ruby Grose, Max Panichetti, Adrian Africa (Priscillas), Avril Alexander, Frankie Elliss-Galati (Viviens) and Chadwicks’ Georgie Wass – who we caught up with on live-streamed video at RAFW in May.
















all images: bisonte

Oz fashion expats gather to celebrate getting the hell out of here

americanaustralian.org

We might as well rename July 22nd 2009 Australia Day in New York. Frockwriter already mentioned Zimmermann’s presentation that night at the Empire Hotel on West 63rd Street. Now comes word of a second, much bigger, event on the same night, back downturn at a two storey loft on West 36th Street: the launch of the Australians in New York Fashion Foundation. What’s that exactly? An initiative to help young Australians gain a foothold in New York’s fashion and beauty industries. That’s right, there just aren’t enough Australians in New York already - and those who are there have really struggled to cut through. The foundation’s 11 Oz expat founding board members include Malcolm Carfrae, who is the executive vice president global communications for Calvin Klein; Julie-Anne Quay, former executive editor of V Magazine, now President of Colac Pictures; Harpers Bazaar features and special projects director Laura Brown; Elite Model Management director of development Doll Wright; The New York Daily News features editor Colin Bertram and V and V Man photo and bookings editor, Pippa Lord.

A swag of honorary board members - some of whom are tipped to turn up to the event - includes Horacio Silva, features director/online director of The New York Times’ T Magazine, Sarah Wynter, Rose Byrne, Miranda Kerr, Catherine McNeil, Abbey Lee Kershaw, Myf Shepherd, Nicole Trunfio, Skye Stracke, Jessica Hart and Lincoln Pilcher.

The foundation - which apparently has no connection to the G'Day USA program of events that take place in New York, Los Angeles etc in January each year - is designed to facilitate connections and, the website says, also scholarships, for young Australians in New York.

According to the mission statement:

"The philosophy of the Foundation is that young Australians can gain world-class, hands-on experience in New York, and return home with internationally recognized training and contacts. By opening these doors and creating this platform, the Foundation believes this will not only assist these individuals but also serve to further expand and enrich the future Australian fashion industry".

Quay's first project at Colac Pictures, meanwhile, is an adaptation of Lee Tulloch's 1989 club classic Fabulous Nobodies.

At a recent launch in New York, Tulloch noted that the novel was written as a “revenge” piece after she was fired from Harpers Bazaar Australia. Fired for being a little too fabulous for Australia, as frockwriter recalls.



americanaustralian.org

"F***ing irresponsible" - Emma Balfour weighs in on fashion's heroin chic enablers

priscillas

Frockwriter told you about Emma Balfour’s runway comeback in September at Marc Jacobs and Alexander Wang. Her appearances at RAFW in May. And her Bondi backyard. So it was with some interest that we spotted her throwing down in this interview from Sunday's The Sun Herald which has just gone online. Balfour dismisses vogue.com.au’s recent glib portrayal of her as “the face of heroin chic in the 1990s” as "boring", before telling the paper, “You know, there were girls who were junkies. And they were being propped up, and people loved their out-of-it, glazed-over thing that was happening, and it was just f---in' irresponsible. People used to find it hilarious because I was the only girl who had never tried cocaine, let alone anything else. It ... didn't apply to me. But I was thin and overworked. I know lots of people who, when they get busy, just drop weight and that's just what I was like, for more natural reasons than having a heroin habit." In handing the smack chic crown to Balfour, vogue.com.au overlooked several other '90s "superwaifs", notably Kate Moss - who, of course, is no stranger to cocaine. Balfour says that Moss has “always been quite emotionally fragile and I don't think she's been really looked after well enough, especially by herself." As for Balfour's return to the business at the age of 40, she notes: "Once the economy goes down, you need to do as many different demographics as you can and bring the old birds in who people are familiar with."

SOYA formulae

antipodium SS0910/sonny vandevelde

Project Runway is not the only fashion competition in town right now. The sixth annual Qantas Spirit of Youth Awards are still calling for entries – and not just in fashion. There is $70,000 up for grabs across seven categories, from fashion to film/animation, industrial/object design, music, photography, visual arts and visual communication. In addition to a $10,000 prize purse, each category winner scores a mentorship with an Australian creative luminary. They include Rachel Ward (film), Marc Newson (industrial/object design) and Zimmermann, this year's fashion mentor. The competition is open to Australian residents aged 30 or under at the application cutoff date: 31st July 2009. And while previous fashion winners have tended to include ready-to-wear designers, from Antipodium’s Geoffrey J Finch to Friedrich Gray’s Ben Pollitt, some may be unaware that fashion is an open SOYA category, embracing stylists, craftspeople, accessories designers and jewellers. Advice for entrants: provide as much detailed information as possible, from stockists to media coverage. Winners will be announced on November 11 at Sydney's Museum of Contemporary Art.

Olivier Zahm: Still blogging images of children... and cunnilingus

purple diary

Why oh why does Olivier Zahm continue to feel the need to post images of his daughter on his Purple Diary blog? When, interspersed among the shots of innocent little Asia Zahm out and about in - apparently very - gay Paris, the founder and perve-in-chief of PURPLE FASHION magazine insists on publishing sexually-charged images of women, shots of his own genitals and explicit sexual activities such as this: (Warning: NSFW)


purple diary

I mean vive la liberté, égalité et fraternité.

But is it in any way appropriate to drag children into it?

What say the French child welfare authorities, who have already cracked down harder than any other Europeans on the underage modelling scene?

n00bs: Strummer

At the end of the recent Creative Sydney showcase I attended, Edwina Hagon (left above) and Gina Cole came over to introduce themselves and their label Strummer. I liked their style and their SS0910 collection - particularly the sweet dresses, relaxed tailoring and these very cool peep-toe boots (below). But while Strummer has yet to deliver its second season, the twentysomething Sydney duo's fashion pedigree is impressive. They are both graduates of East Sydney TAFE, while Hagon also has a business degree from UTS and Cole, patternmaking qualifications. They met at Hussy, where Cole worked as design assistant for four and a half years, before moving on to Lover as production coordinator. Strummer already has 18 Australian stockists, including Perth's ELLE, Melbourne's Cyberia, Brisbane's Violent Green and The Grand Social, with the UK's Bespoke Boutique soon to be the first international stockist.








all images: strummer

Tallulah Morton, Model Citizen

Tallulah Morton is about to add a Nylon editorial to her modelling portfolio. We know this thanks to an iv Morton just recorded with Nylon Guys (and tks models.com for the headsup). Part of a new Nylon TV series called 'Model Citizen', the video was recorded during a recent shoot for Nylon’s denim issue, for which Morton was shot by, you guessed it, Mark Hunter. Apparently in the middle of having lunch while he recorded his piece-to-camera, Hunter is seen to be licking his fingers as he intros the video. Click here for a Morton/Cobrasnake backgrounder. The video is interesting for several reasons. It reports that Morton was discovered at the age of 11, that she harbours a secret ambition to be a monster truck driver and that she has appeared on the covers of Australian Vogue, Marie Claire and Harpers Bazaar. That’s fantastic news. If only it were true. Morton may have shot editorial for these titles but the only Australian covers that appear on her portfolio on the website of her mother agency Scene are indie titles RUSSH and Follow.

Although Morton declines to give her age to Nylon she is nevertheless shot taking a sip of something that could be beer, from a wine glass – and you have to wonder whether this shot was deliberately engineered to provoke commentary, given how much there has already been on the subject of Morton's underage drinking. For the record, Morton is 17.

It is possible that the beverage was non alcoholic.

However it is also possible Nylon serves alcohol to minors on shoots. According to sources, the same applies to at least one local indie Australasian title.

Of course it is not unheard of for models to drink on the job or for champagne to be served backstage at fashion shows.

But while we're on the subject, frockwriter would just like to point out that she has never personally witnessed models served alcohol just as they are about to step onto a runway.

Which is why we were interested to read this backstage report on IsaacLikes that Jean Paul Gaultier served "all" his models champagne “moments” before they took to the runway on Wednesday.

Gaultier’s cast included at least one minor – American Karlie Kloss.

Equally interesting was the attempt by one industry insider to shut this information down on the blog.

In a series of comments, the anonymous insider initially requested that the information be deleted, noting, of Kloss:

“She's still underage in paris and posting something like that will get her, her agency, and those at jpg all in trouble. it's happened before and VISAs have been revoked for that fact”.

All was apparently forgiven however when the blogger jumped to attention to assure the insider that the American model singled out in the anecdote, who reportedly knocked back her champagne flute a little too quickly and then burped loudly, was definitely over age.

Morton was not in the show, as some expected she might have been. Although she walked in both the Jean Paul Gaultier and Hermès Fall/Winter 0910 shows in Paris in March, Morton's last JPG haute couture show was this time last year.

According to Scene, Morton recently had her wisdom teeth removed and has taken some time off work while the swelling goes down.

Clare Venema signs with Chic

antm

So Tahnee Atkinson won Australia's Next Top Model Cycle 5. Runner up Cassi van den Dungen has reportedly been offered a contract with Elite New York. And Clare Venema? Frockwriter can reveal that the third member of ANTM's final three, who many believed should have won the series, has just been signed to Sydney's Chic Management. With Catherine McNeil, Abbey Lee Kershaw, Myf Shepherd and co on the same agency's books, Venema is in good hands. As reported by frockwriter, both Venema and Atkinson were both named state finalists in the 2008 Girlfriend Model Search competition, which is aligned with Chic, before being eliminated when it emerged that they were already signed with other agencies. According to Chic's Kathy Ward, Venema also entered the 2007 GMS. Ward says that the competition's rules have been changed this year to allow models to be listed with agencies - however they must not have done any major modelling work. Also according to Ward, Venema was obliged to leave Adelaide's Finesse agency in order to compete in ANTM. Venema will remain at school and model part-time for the moment. Noted Ward, "She’s got the height, she's got a great attitude, she's a really nice girl. And I think all these elements will make for a very successful model".

Move over ANTM, the latest Priscillas star is footy royalty Emily Trimble-Thompson

Well Australia’s Next Top Model might be over for another year, but before Cycle 5 winner Tahnee Atkinson starts the rounds under contract to Priscillas Model Management, the agency has a new breakout star. Eighteen year-old Emily Trimble-Thompson appears on page one of US fashion ‘bible’ Womens Wear Daily today, a shot taken during Jean Paul Gaultier’s haute couture show in Paris overnight. With just a few lowkey RAFW shows and editorials for RUSSH and Grazia, the Melburnian redhead has so far been under the radar in Australia. But things may be about to change. Although Trimble-Thompson did walk at the haute couture this time last year, she has just moved to Paris, where she has been signed with Ford, in addition to London’s Storm agency. Beyond yesterday’s JPG score, upcoming work includes an editorial in Dutch ELLE. Trimble-Thompson is the daughter of the late Australian rules "superstar" Len Thompson, who was best-known for his career with the Collingwood Magpies. Perhaps his daughter may follow suit in the modelling biz.

Jean Paul Gaultier sponsored by ice creams - New York mag mistakes them for condoms

style.com


Well so far this week at the Paris haute couture shows we have seen Christian Dior downsize its usual big bucks runway spectacle to a low-key presentation in the rooms above the Dior shop – and hack off half the outfits to send models out in their underwear. Christian Lacroix present what may have been his very last collection, after declaring bankruptcy. And now on the closing day of the haute couture schedule, the pièce de GFC résistance: Jean Paul Gaultier's show not only appears to have been sponsored by Streets’ Magnum ice creams, he actually walked down the runway to take his bow holding one. And if that wasn’t absurd enough, then this just-posted report in New York magazine’s The Cut blog, provides the following, hilarious, coda. Evidently Magnum ice creams are not well-known in the US. Because when The Times of London Tweeted that Magnums were being handed out to showgoers – New York magazine assumed The Times was talking about “Magnum condoms".

And didn’t seem to think much of it really. Even though a condom brand sponsoring a presentation of six figure ballgowns isn’t, well, something you see every day. Particularly when it's not your garden variety condom, but a brand of extra-large frangers that are marketed by Trojan.

Things aren’t quite that bad yet but who knows what the Spring/Summer 2010 Ready to Wear season will bring.

Ready-to-wear is one matter. That is, mass-produced, off-the-rack clothes that you can buy in boutiques and department stores.

By the same token however, up until now, you never saw much sponsorship collateral at shows in the big fashion cities - as distinct from RAFW in Sydney and London Fashion Week, where the brands are much smaller. This is because, presumably, the companies behind the big brands a/have the marketing budgets to spend on fashion shows and moreover b/consider that additional sponsorship collateral would only serve to undermine their branding.

Haute couture is a little different.

To begin with, the sample collections are far more expensive to produce. These are hand-crafted, often heavily-embellished garments that will be sold on a made-to-measure basis only. The more elaborate dresses - for example, Erica Packer's Christian Dior haute couture wedding dress - involve hundreds of hours of handwork. Hence the six figure price tags.

With money no object and, theoretically, no practical/commercial restraints on a couturier's imagination, haute couture is supposed to represent the absolute "dream" or essence of French fashion.

Yes, there are super-rich clients who can afford it and who keep the business going (as mentioned on Monday, Chanel reports that 2008 was a record year for its couture division). However haute couture is essentially an image proposition: a glamorous, and terribly expensive, loss leader that is used to promote the more lucrative volume divisions, ie the ready-to-wear, the accessories and of course, the far more accessible fragrances and beauty products.

But while the former president of the ice cream division of Unilever now runs one of the world's biggest luxury conglomerates - Gucci Group's Robert Polet - so far not even Gucci, which is ready-to-wear only, has considered aligning itself with ice creams.

You have to wonder what the very image-conscious Paris shows organising body, the Chambre Syndicale de la haute couture Parisienne, thinks about Gaultier's flagrant Magnum sponsorship - and whether it enhances the image of the struggling haute couture industry, or in fact cheapens it.

Moreover, what does Hermès think about it?

Not only is Gaultier creative director at the French luxury leathergoods brand, last year Hermès increased its stake in Gaultier's own company from 35-45percent. If Gaultier is flush with funds, why did he seek assistance from Streets?

Click here to see the Jean Paul Gaultier collection, which included the week’s omipresent power shoulders, trench coats – including a nifty trench bodysuit – bodycon, fur, Sydney native Alexandra Agoston-O’Connor in a pair of croc overalls and Melbourne native Emily Trimble in a mullet version of the trench. That is, miniskirt at the front, party at the back - a trend also witnessed at Chanel. Given that it means less ultra-expensive, hand-embellished haute couture fabric overall for the dresses in question, perhaps we can also blame this trend on the economic climate.

New York Mag, pls see below for some Magnum comparisons.

A Magnum ice cream:


wikimedia

Not to be confused with a Magnum condom:


allcondoms.com

Lady GaGa finally goes a little gaga in Malta

La Toya Jackson can be forgiven for the dramatic face-shading fedora she wore to her brother's memorial. But overnight there has been some discussion of this press conference in Malta, to which Lady GaGa rocked up wearing what has been described by some as a "gimp" mask, a reference to the S&M subculture. Given that this video was published on the blog of the performer's stylist mate Nicola Formichetti, one assumes Formichetti shoulders some responsibility. The mask was authored by Paris-based designer Vilsbol de Arce - who accessorised one entire collection with similar headgear. But while it's not unheard of for a designer to mask models for a runway show (hello, Martin Margiela?) and might work in video vignettes, the practice does not seem terribly conducive to the concept of a press conference, the whole point of which is communication with your audience - as opposed to portraying yourself as Hannibal Lecter. While some ridicule Lady GaGa's idiosyncratic costume choices, frockwriter may have to agree with them for once. There is a fine line between flamboyance and freak show and on this occasion, Lady GaGa appears to have crossed it.

United in grief - and Versace

getty via daylife


It's a family that has spent 40 years in the spotlight. And yet these are the images that may remain the most deeply-etched in our minds of the Jackson clan: young, old, black, white, high-profile, low-profile - and, in the case of Michael Jackson’s children, finally unmasked before the world - as all were united in grief onstage at LA's Staples Center, following the two-hour celebration of the life of their fallen brother, father and son. And as it emerges, the entire family was dressed in custom-made Versace. With extraordinary media coverage of the event – which, in online terms alone, saw a web traffic surge of 30 percent and broke Yahoo and Facebook records - it was a powerful brand statement for the Italian luxury brand. But just what was the Versace/Jackson connection?


getty via daylife

In Style, which broke the news, reported that Janet Jackson made a personal request to Donatella Versace , “as a tribute to one of her brother’s favorite designers, the late Gianni Versace” - who died on July 15, 1997, coincidentally, also at the age of 50.

Versace dressed many celebrities both on and off the stage and to be sure, Michael ‘King of Bling’ Jackson would have been right up Versace’s flashy, and often trash-glam, alley.

But after doing a little digging frockwriter was fascinated to learn that the celebrity trajectory of the Versace brand – which has embraced the biggest names in showbusiness, from Elton John to Madonna – appears to have in fact originated with Jackson.

According to a 2003 story in WWD, Gianni Versace’s very first celebrity tie-in was in 1983, when he outfitted Jackson and Paul McCartney for the video of their Say Say Say duet (below).

Jackson himself never appeared in any Versace campaigns – as has Madonna.

However in 1996, Jackson’s ex-wife Lisa Marie Presley was shot by Mario Testino for Atelier Versace and Versace Jeans Couture campaigns.

The chic styling of the Jackson clan at yesterday's memorial may have reminded some fashionwatchers of an editorial spread called Silent that was shot by Steven Meisel for the August 2008 edition of Vogue Italia (see slideshow below).

A tribute to the late Yves Saint Laurent who had died two months earlier, the story was set in a graveyard at a fictitious funeral and featured a cast of "grieving" models, including 1980s icon - and Gianni Versace fave - Linda Evangelista.

Two of the models, coincidentally, wore a beret and wide-brimmed fedora, not unlike those worn yesterday by Janet and Latoya Jackson.

Silent by Steven Meisel (Vogue Italy, August 2008)

View more documents from aulaitt.

Tahnee delivers a body blow to the boganista

So Tahnee Atkinson has won Cycle 5 of Australia’s Next Top Model. That’s the terribly pretty, buxom, ANTM contestant who was once snarkily referred to as “fat” by another – long since jettisoned - ANTM contestant. Congratulations are of course due to Atkinson. But frockwriter gets the feeling she may not be the only one a little nonplussed by the result. After all, before the final ad break, Cassi ‘boganista’ van den Dungen was ahead by four votes to three with, significantly, votes from photographer Russell James, model agent Priscilla Leighton-Clarke, designer Alex Perry and Harpers Bazaar Australia fashion director Claudia Navone – the four members of the panel most closely-connected to the fashion business. “The public got you over the line Tahnee” noted host and co-executive producer Sarah Murdoch after making the announcement. It would be interesting to see the vote tally. Because in spite of the purported surge in popularity for Atkinson, heading into the competition those involved made no secret of their aspirations for the series. UPDATE 9/7: According to Murdoch's Twitter feed Atkinson received 82.5percent of the public vote. UPDATE 11/7: However in an opinion piece in The Daily Telegraph, Murdoch claimed Atkinson received 87percent of the vote and added, "in the end I just couldn't trust that Cassi would best represent the show and what I stand for". It should be noted that the Murdoch family-controlled News Corporation owns The Daily Telegraph and has a 25percent stake in Foxtel, which owns the Australian ANTM franchise.

Murdoch sits on the federal government's newly-formed body image advisory board, which has its second meeting, coincidentally, today.

At the ANTM auditions in late 2008, Murdoch told one newspaper:

“I am really pushing for a plus-size model this series because I am a big believer in healthy body types and encouraging girls to be the right body type”.

Oh July 1, Charlotte Dawson told The Daily Telegraph:

“I’d love to see someone like Tahnee win the competition on the body image thing.... size 10 with ample bosom and sexy bottom … if she won it would be sending a nice message out there”.

And look it’s probably just mere coincidence, and not related to ANTM at all, but when one local writer heading to last night’s live broadcast Tweeted mid afternoon yesterday that she was “going to i/v a model” - as distinct from two models - you wondered if the result may have already been in the can, hours before the voting had concluded. (UPDATE 9/7: According to sources, the interview was with Cycle 4 winner Demelza Reveley).






On the show, Atkinson herself made a play for the body image vote when she noted, “I have a body that teenage girls can relate to”.

Well that’s fine, but frockwriter can’t help thinking that the only way an “average” teenage girl would be able to relate to Atkinson's impressive figure would be by way of a boob job.

Teenage girls from relatively disadvantaged backgrounds, who are in need of orthodontics and some emotional stability, on the other hand, like van den Dungen - whose freight worker mother has admitted she was so cash-strapped at one point, her family lived on a staple diet of potatoes for four months – might well better relate to the “boganista” who turned into a butterfly.

While both girls are tall, van den Dungen, unlike Atkinson, has impossibly long, gazelle-like limbs, a long torso and small breasts.

Atkinson’s figure would be better suited to swimwear or lingerie – even if a photographer who actually works for Victoria’s Secret and Sports Illustrated, ie Russell James, did not think to give her his vote.

Already at RAFW, when van den Dungen and Clare Venema booked more shows than Atkinson, it was abundantly clear that even Australian fashion designers, who are known for casting much larger models than their European counterparts, did not think Atkinson was the right look for their shows.

Ah, the fashion industry, that cabal of fascists that is directly – and of course single-handedly - responsible for all the world’s body dismorphia, mental health and obesity issues.

For those who may be disappointed in last night’s ANTM result, it is well worth remembering that two of Australia’s most successful models – Gemma Ward and Myf Shepherd – were both rejects from Australian reality television shows. And that with, moreover, the right management and attitude, van den Dungen could go on to a successful career. It would have been nice to see her win something in her life, for a change - but ultimately she doesn’t need the ANTM crown.

But there remains one other major difference between van den Dungen and Atkinson that may have been overlooked, at least by some.

Unlike Atkinson – and indeed, Venema, who was eliminated from the Cycle 5 competition in the last week - van den Dungen was not a state finalist in the 2008 Girlfriend Model Search competition.

Although both were announced as state finalists in July last year, Atkinson and Venema mysteriously disappeared from the 2008 GMS competition after frockwriter looked into the rules of the competition and discovered that contestants who had already worked professionally, or were repped by agencies, were ineligible to enter.

After being alerted to the fact that both girls were with agencies and that according to her agency Scene, Atkinson, for one, had definitely done professional work, a Pacific Magazines representative told frockwriter that any finalists found to be in breach of the terms and conditions would be disqualified.

A number of parties appear to be asking the same question about Atkinson’s and Venema’s eligibility for ANTM – the rules of which do not, inconveniently, appear to be listed on the ANTM website.

On Monday, one website accused the ANTM producers of “hiding” Atkinson's and Venema's modelling experience.

Frockwriter spoke to Foxtel publicist Jamie Campbell yesterday to attempt to clarify the matter.

Is it against the ANTM rules for contestants to have previously been involved with a national modelling competition?

No, according to Campbell, who added that the rules only stipulate that contestants must not have modelled before. Campbell denied there was any veracity to an Adelaide Advertiser story from January 2008 which reported that Venema had been signed by IMG.

Campbell told frockwriter:

“We don’t allow girls who have been repped by another agency or who have modelled. None of girls have a current contract with any competition or modelling agency. That they’ve done some previous small time modelling isn’t an issue. Clare did not have a contract despite what was written. Tahnee did not have a contract with any agency”.

No pants - and no Australian models - at Christian Dior

Well the haute couture shows are off and running in Paris. The biggest show of Day One was of course Christian Dior. It was not staged in a large venue as usual, but instead the salons above the flagship Avenue Montaigne boutique, as Dior himself would have shown his collections in the years after he founded his maison in 1946. As for the collection, you could call it Bar meets burlesque. For day, Dior’s trademark wasp-waisted peplum Bar jacket was teamed with voluminous skirts, many transparent, or else nothing at all in the bottoms department, save for silky knickers, tap shorts or foundation pink corsetry. Creative director John Galliano said he had been inspired by 1950s images of Dior with his half-dressed mannequins. The inspiration might have been vintage, but thanks to Lady GaGa, the no-pants look had a distinctly modern edge. The corsetry theme played out into the magnificent eveningwear, with nude corsets underpinned by extravagant, heavily-embellished tulle crinolines. Although Chanel reports 2008 was a record year for its couture, Dior’s smaller venue seemed an obvious nod to the economic climate. As did the smaller cast: 35 girls, compared with 39 at the January show and 44 one year ago. And for the first time in several years, this Dior show did not feature a single Australian model. Given her longstanding relationship with Galliano, this must have been disappointing for Alexandra Agoston-O’Connor, who nevertheless scored two smaller shows yesterday: Georges Hobeika and Alexis Mabille. She was joined in the latter by Perth’s Skye Stracke.

Some mothers do 'ave 'em - fashion careers

dailymail.co.uk

Collette Dinnigan has been the subject of quite some online coverage of late - and it reveals rather a lot about her latterday role as a working mother. In the past month alone this has included two profiles on British Vogue's website vogue.com and a Q&A on Fairfax’s Essential Baby, which describes itself as the largest online parenting community - and one of the largest women's communities – in Australia. On the subject of Estella, Dinnigan’s four year-old daughter with former partner Richard Wilkins, who Dinnigan is raising as a single mother, Essential Baby asks a number of probing questions. These include what Dinnigan plans to serve Estella for dinner that night (grilled salmon fillet with broccoli), where she feels she excels as a mother (“nurturing and embracing Estella’s individuality & creativity”) and in which areas Dinnigan feels that she is guilty of motherhood fail (“bedtime & discipline”).

Vogue.com’s June 10 diary meanwhile, revealed that Dinnigan’s day starts at 6.30am and finishes 16 hours later.

In between - in addition to running a global fashion company - Dinnigan says she gets Estella up and ready for school, has breakfast with Estella, makes Estella’s lunch, drops Estella at school en route to the office – and returns home at 6.30pm to “relieve” a nanny, who has presumably picked Estella up from school. Dinnigan then prepares Estella for "bed and story time".

Dinnigan’s work day does not however finish at 6.30pm because she is at it again from 9.00pm, making calls to the UK and Europe in their office hours and also vetting emails and signing off on paperwork that needs to be done. As indeed would anyone who is running any kind of international business.

No, it’s not a timetable for the faint-hearted – or those who would prefer a 9-5 job working for someone else, a weekly pay cheque, including weekends, holidays, sick pay, superannuation – and now in Australia, paid maternity leave (from January 2011). All paid for by the employer who, of course, is obligated by law to pay all of this, irrespective of whether or not they have themselves actually been paid.

But it’s a path chosen by those who are prepared to work their guts out, often against extremely difficult odds and business pressures, currency fluctuations, bad timing, bad luck, bad weather, ripoff merchants - not to mention crappy show reviews - in the dream of building a business, a brand or a body of work.

Which is why I found myself doing a double-take after reading the following question from Essential Baby general manager – and apparently chief Australian Mommy Nazi - Melina Cruikshank:

“Have there been times when you’ve considered giving up your work to become a full time mum?”

Dinnigan may have also been taken aback by the question, because she skirts the issue with the following answer:

“I'm always exhausted at the end of designing a collection so often I don't know if I have it in me to do another. But I always find some inspiration somewhere to do it again”.

Of course, many female professionals have talked about the challenges involved in juggling careers with motherhood. In the fashion arena, many manage to combine both.

Perhaps there was no greater illustration of these challenges than when Phoebe Philo, the former creative director of French luxury brand Chloé, quit the high-profile brand in 2006 at the peak of her success, in order to focus on her family.

Three years later, Philo is back at work and has just unveiled her first collection for rival French luxury brand Céline.

Philo was of course merely an employee at Chloé, not the owner of the Chloé business. And you have to wonder if Chloé had been her own label, whether she would have made the same decision.

Stella McCartney on the other hand - who Philo succeeded at Chloé, when McCartney was lured over by Gucci Group to launch her eponymous label in 2001 - has had three children in quick succession, with no interruption to her design schedule.

There is something incredibly condescending about asking a successful businesswoman such as Dinnigan whether she would throw in her fashion business in order to concentrate on being a stay-at-home mum. Firstly, it implies that there is nothing serious, or important, about Dinnigan's business. At the very least, it directly employs a number of people, from Dinnigan's office staff to sales consultants in her three standalone boutiques in Australia and London.

Secondly, Dinnigan's savings notwithstanding, it implies there is someone waiting in the wings to support her when she is no longer bringing home the bacon - and presumably, a man.

And, moreover, as suggested by one fashion industry working mother whose opinion I just canvassed - who described the question as “insulting” - you just can't imagine the same question being asked of a man.

Coincidentally, on Essential Baby's masterlist of 20 ‘Mum In Profile’ interviews of working mothers, this question was only asked of the four business owners on the list: designers Dinnigan and Fiona Scanlan, beauty entrepreneur Natalie Bloom and Merino Kids founder and ceo Amie Nilsson (and author Kathy Lette).

The other interviewees were mostly television and radio presenters and entertainment figures (the tv/radio component of which would obviously be network employees).

While all those asked the question by Essential Baby reply firmly in the negative, Bloom and Scanlan do hint that they have entertained fleeting moments of giving it all away.

However when Scanlan says she has occasionally considered swapping her business for the stay-at-home mum option, she is referring to her four year-old childrenswear label BIG by Fiona Scanlan.

As distinct from Scanlan & Theodore, the fashion brand she co-founded with Gary Theodore in Melbourne in 1987 – and which Scanlan did abandon in 2002, in order to concentrate on her family and leave it to Theodore.

While BIG by Fiona Scanlan has been successful, Scanlan’s profile as a fashion designer has definitely waned since her departure from Scanlan & Theodore. Already well en route to becoming one of Australia’s most influential designer labels prior to her departure, the brand has since gone on to emerge as a powerful monobrand retailer.

In her March 4 Q&A with Essential Baby Scanlan implied that she launched a childrenswear label because of a non-compete clause with Theodore.

Talking about the pressures of raising a family while designing fulltime, Scanlan told Essential Baby:

“Scanlan & Theodore was started without children and then children came along. I always had the feeling that children remained second in that world. Nobody had children at work and there was an expectation that you were to be available whenever was required and that is very difficult to maintain long term – organised or not….Children don’t fit into boxes or time frames and so work really has to have some sort of malleability to it. I ended up feeling rushed, frayed and the feeling I wasn’t doing anything particularly well”.

On March 3 2008, the host of ABC Radio’s Talking Heads program, Peter Thompson, managed to get a lot more out of Dinnigan than Essential Baby.

Thompson talked to Dinnigan about the pressures of being at the top of her profession. Dinnigan replied that there is a cost - but that is not less time with Estella.

Dinnigan noted:

“There's definitely a price to pay. I think there's more loneliness”.

Of the business pressures in general Dinnigan told Thompson,

“There are days where I most definitely, definitely, can leave it behind”.

On motherhood and what ultimately drives – and creatively satisifies - her, Dinnigan noted:

“I was exceptionally driven, you know, up until having my daughter. My priorities have changed. And I sometimes think I've lost it but then having more time I can see ideas... I just can't leave it alone. Even to go on holiday to stay in a hotel, it's just not right. I can't help myself, I have to pull back and just relax and not worry about it, so then think "Will I do my own hotel?"

Now we are one: a moment of reflection

Frockwriter launched a year ago today. And as I noted in the very first entry on July 4 2008, embarking on an independent blog on Independence Day, following two years of paid blogging for mainstream media outlets, seemed rather appropriate. In that first post, I said that I found the prospect of doing an indie blog a little daunting. I still do. What can I tell you about the past twelve months? That - as with every other blogger I personally know - I have pumped an enormous amount of time and energy into this blog. That roughly 200,000 visitors checked into it, generating approximately 400,000 page impressions. That roughly one fifth of those page impressions were generated within the last month by almost 40,000 absolute unique visitors. So the pace is picking up. Bad time to pack it all in, then. I have contemplated doing so on more than one occasion.

Your interest keeps me going. Thanks for the clicks, tips, links, comments and feedback.

In addition to those mentioned in my Christmas thank-you who have linked to FW in their blogrolls, posts and stories, a couple of new additions.

Frockwriter is now listed on the blogrolls of The New York Times’ The Moment and Fashionologie. In addition to this regular blogroll link, Fashionologie also links regularly to frockwriter’s stories. Given that Fashionologie is, in my opinion, one of the fastest fashion blogs in the world – if not the fastest - I feel particularly honoured. And realise that the links stop when you fail to deliver news.

Last week, Tina Brown’s The Daily Beast linked to two of FW‘s menswear posts within the one story, with BlackBook picking up a third. I have not traditionally written a great deal about menswear, but I must admit, I quite enjoy it. In terms of a runway season, it’s a lot easier to cover than the behemoth women’s version. There is also a sentimental factor there in that my late father – who died when I was a toddler, and who I never knew – was a menswear manufacturer.

Having show coverage linked by mainstream outlets when you’re not even covering an event on the ground, demonstrates just what role the online community could potentially play in runway reportage. As a former tv news/current affairs researcher/producer, I know only too well that you can have teams out in the field, who are often less au fait with the global overview of an event than those back at the HQ, simply because they may be too close to the action and unable to see the wood for the trees.

In twelve months, together with other blogger mates, I have covered eight major fashion events: two ready-to-wear womens' seasons, two menswear seasons, one haute couture week, Swim Fashion Week, New Zealand Fashion Week and RAFW.

Each time, we all learn better ways of covering them.

I have been on the ground in the four fashion cities and yes, I do miss being there. But it’s an interesting challenge to cover remotely for an online audience, especially with the advent of Twitter, which has played such a huge role in runway reportage this year. Participating in the RAFW component of that was exciting – complete with all the accompanying controversy.

I look forward to the next seasons. I also look forward to introducing new elements to the coverage. This year I experimented with Qik live streaming video and also Cover It Live - later hooking up with Matt 'Imelda' Jordan and Bryanboy for some live runway show coverage, which proved to be a lot of fun.

As for the content, it’s still a work in progress. When I look at the top 15 most popular posts of the year, model stories account for the greater percentage. Sure, that’s partly because there have been so many of them. Also up there however is the Michelle Obama dress controversy – when I had the good fortune to catch that nascent brouhaha and found myself being linked by US and UK media outlets. This was only after, I should note, Paul Hayes asked me to ID the dress - and I set about locating the designer.

For some reason I was surprised to also see the RAFW schedule thread in the top 15 posts – which suggests that it proved to be a valuable resource for the local fashion community.

Not everyone has liked everything on here. Of course that’s only to be expected.

More than one has complained that there are too many model stories.

Some have complained that there is way too much gossip. Others, that there isn't enough of it.

Some have slammed my journalism - others have praised it.

One party threatened physical intimidation.

You can't please everyone. And you certainly can't dish it out, as they say, without expecting some of it to come back. You have to weigh the pros with the cons. The good, with the bad. Try to not to take yourself too seriously. Develop a thick skin. Listen to both your audience - and your news judgment.

To my partner, family and friends, thanks for the support and encouragement.

To my comrades, strength and honour guys, onwards and upwards.

To my detractors, you are perfectly entitled to your opinions. And it's those opinions which keep the dialogue moving.

To my readers, once again, thank-you for checking in.

Jamming with Jackson: Orianthi Panagaris, the ultimate rock chick

uvouch.com

Millions have watched the AEG video of Michael Jackson's final rehearsal, shot two days before his death. Well it now emerges that the blonde guitarist who jammed with Jackson in the clip (below) is in fact an Australian – 24 year-old Orianthi Panagaris. Born in Adelaide, Panagaris picked up the acoustic guitar at six, the electric guitar at 11, by 15 was writing and performing - and has been described by The New York Times as a Carlos Santana protégé. The pair met - and jammed - while Santana was touring Australia and the following quote from Santana appears on Panagaris’ MySpace page: “If I was going to pass the baton to somebody, she would be my first choice”.

Signed with 19 Recordings/Geffen Records and currently recording an album in LA, Panagaris says she has also jammed with Prince and toured with Steve Vai. In February she performed on stage with Carrie Underwood at the Grammys.

Panagaris' big Jackson gig might have just evaporated, but frockwriter predicts it won’t be long before she is no longer an unknown outside music circles (just try a Google News search on her full name - nada, at time of writing). And all thanks to Jackson, whose last moments as a performer she had the extraordinary privilege to share.

On July 3, Panagaris noted on Twitter:

“looking back on some wonderful memories and feeling really sad, MJ was ready and was taken far too soon,he was such a wonderful person.r.i.p”

first video blog

White Sands headed to the Miami runway - but Zimmermann bypasses IMG for New York

white sands

It’s July, it must be time for the world’s biggest bikini show. Yep, the Swimwear Association of Florida’s SwimShow runs from July 18-21 at the Miami Beach Convention Center and as usual, a swarm of local swimwear brands is heading to it. At least 13 Antipodian brands are listed in the lineup, from Anna & Boy to Camilla, Tigerlily, Jets, Seafolly and Zimmermann. With 350 exhibitors, 2000 swimwear lines, 2000 US buyers - and buyers from 50 other markets - Miami is the place to be for anyone in the swimwear biz. Separate to this event - which takes a traditional trade show booth format - IMG runs a smaller, glitzier runway showcase called Mercedes-Benz Fashion Week Swim at Miami’s Raleigh Hotel. This year it runs from July 15-19 and on July 18 at 8pm, Leah Madden’s White Sands will become the second Australian brand after Zimmermann to appear on IMG’s runway. Interestingly, after two consecutive years showing at both the SwimShow and IMG's event, this year Zimmermann is ditching IMG's schedule and heading straight from the Miami Beach Convention Centre to New York for an independent presentation at the Empire Hotel on July 22. Then again, Zimmermann has already invested in two IMG FASHION Asia Pacific events this year: February's inaugural Swim Fashion Week and May's RAFW.

Tom and Suri cruise into Myer - and a Twitter storm

hot30 twitpic

Well Australian department stores Myer and David Jones might have abysmal Web 1.0 websites – and snub indie bloggers when it comes to their fashion shows. But it’s never too late to embrace social media and it looks like Myer is off to a flying start. Overnight the net has been abuzz with news that Tom Cruise shopped at Myer Melbourne yesterday with daughter Suri in tow. And furthermore, that he purchased a lipgloss from Australian beauty brand Bloom. How do we know? Well checking Twitter Search – and online time stamps – the news was first broken on Twitter by "Court Robbo" at approximately 5.23pm, noting, “Have only lovely things to say about Tom and Suri Cruise ...who i just met in myer melbourne!” We don’t know much about Court Robbo, other than the fact that he/she both follows, and is followed by, people with advertising industry connections. At the same time, Miranda Malaniuk chimed in on Twitter with the following observation: “Tom Cruise spotted shopping at Myer. Bought a $15 stick horse from toys. On sale. Tightarse.."

One hour later, Myer’s official Twitter feed retweeted (re-posted) both Tweets.

One hour after that, Bloom cosmetics provided the following information by Twitter:

“News just in - TOM CRUISE buys Lip Gloss Amore from Myer Melbourne. EXCITING”

At exactly the same time that Bloom was Tweeting, Hot30 Countdown - the 2Day FM radio program hosted weeknights from 7-10pm by Tim Lee and Carla “Biggzy” Bignasca, and yes out of Sydney – posted the following on its Twitter feed:

“Tom Cruise & Suri shopping at Myer!”

The Tweet was accompanied by the above image of Cruise and daughter with, conveniently, a Myer shopping bag. The shot looks to have been taken from a cameraphone.

Within minutes, Australia blogger Helen Lee spotted the Bloom Tweet and penned a blog post about Cruise’s lip gloss purchase on her Sassybella blog.

Two hours later, at 9.25pm, The Melbourne Herald Sun reported that Cruise and Suri were in Myer, but that Suri had merely "played" with Bloom's products.

Lee might be in Sydney, but evidently her intel is better than The Herald Sun's.

Apart from numerous other Cruise/Myer/Bloom tweets and retweets, overnight New York magazine’s The Cut blog picked up on the Sassybella story and off it went across the net – until Marie Claire Australia and sundry other locals got to work this morning to discover that it was news.

All up, a great PR get for both Myer and Bloom. While the normally reclusive Cruise may feel a little played – and soiled.

It's a great example of how marketers are using social media to flog their products.

But just how well are they using it? Is Court Robbo, for example, connected to Myer advertising in any way? And did Myer supply the photo?

According to a 2Day FM spokeswoman, the shot of Cruise was emailed to the station by a Melbourne woman called "Marie" from Pascoe Vale, Victoria. She received a prize for emailing the photo.

The spokeswoman noted, “They spoke to her on air, she sounded like she was in her early 20s”.

The listener had originally phoned in to 2Day FM’s Melbourne affiliate, Fox FM, which has been running a competition to find Tom Cruise.

The spokeswoman said she was unaware of any connection between the listener and Myer - but confirmed that Myer is an advertiser with 2DayFM and, she assumes, nationally as well.

Hands on: The tactile photographic oeuvre of Posh and Becks

You’ve got to hand it to Giorgio Armani. His runway collections don’t thrill like they used to, but his advertising campaigns sure do. Notably, those for his underwear. Just released, this latest Emporio Armani underwear campaign featuring husband-and-wife mod team Victoria and David Beckham. No, it’s not the first time the duo has modelled together. In fact it's the second time they have done it for Armani. And the Beckhams, who celebrate their 10 year wedding anniversary tomorrow, continue to provide compelling evidence that sexual magnetism does not have to evaporate from long-term relationships - at least not when the cameras are rolling. Over the past six years they have posed for a steamy oeuvre of images for, among others, Vogue Italia Sport magazine, their own Intimately fragrance - and not forgetting Steven Klein's Beckham ahem, spread, for the August 2007 edition of W. In so many of the images (below), they can't keep their hands off each other - or indeed, themselves.




steven klein for w/thebosh.com


just jared


vogue italia sport/thebosh.com

Josh Sparks up Thom Browne

thom browne FW0809/nytimes

According to WWD, 35 year-old Australian Josh Sparks has just been appointed the president and CEO of one of America's most high profile designer menswear brands, Thom Browne. Menswear is a change of pace for Sparks who, some may recall, was once the ceo of Australia’s own sass & bide. Indeed, as has been reported pretty much in every US story about Sparks in the interim, during his tenure from 2002-2006, he took sass & bide's sales from $4million to $30million (US$ we assume). Curiously, no mention ever seems to be made of US retailer complaints to the Australian press in 2006, about the brand's performance and management in the US market.

Post sass & bide, Sparks headed to New York, where he founded the Rockwood Consulting Group, aimed at the younger end of the designer fashion market.

While at RCG, Sparks launched Imitation, a diffusion line for Tara Subkoff’s edgy Imitation of Christ brand.

In October 2007, Sparks bought both of Subkoff’s brands for a reported US$2.5million. Then in December last year, he closed them down - along with RCG.

Sparks then headed to HL Group as vice president, administering business and branding advice to clients including Thom Browne, who, WWD reports, has just sold a minority stake to the Japan-based Cross Company.

No word on whether or not Sparks will instruct Browne to tone down his trademark runway theatrics. But let’s hope not.

Kelvin Ho and co in WWD FAST

Click here to download the latest edition of WWD's youth-skewed sportswear mag FAST (you will need Adobe Reader v 9). My Australian content includes a full-page feature on how Kelvin Ho became Australia's premier independent fashion retail architect, designing 13 boutiques for sass & bide and Belinda Seper, with other clients including Willow, Fleur Wood and Terry Biviano (p 28). There are also mini profiles on Chic Management's Kate Budrodeen (p 14), Hotel Bondi Swim (p 22) and Gideon sneakers (p 58) - together with the latest data from the best arbiters of Oz youth stats, LifeLounge.