[frockwriter]: Victoria's Secret gives Australian models the cold shoulder

Thursday, November 11, 2010

Victoria's Secret gives Australian models the cold shoulder

manik mercian for victoria's secret/getty via daylife

Since Miranda Kerr first touched down in the multimillion dollar extravaganza that is the Victoria’s Secret Fashion Show in 2006, there has been a steady trickle of Australian faces onto its runway. In 2008, Kerr was joined by Abbey Lee Kershaw and Sarah Stephens. Last year, the Aussie VS triumvirate was comprised of Kerr, Kershaw and Elyse Taylor. No surprise that at seven months pregnant, Kerr is out of action at this year’s event. But what is perhaps surprising is that there are no other Australian models in this year’s show – the first taping of which has just occurred in New York, with another show imminent. Not even Kershaw, who is ranked by models.com as the world number five and who some believed was locked in. Frockwriter can confirm that Kershaw did not do the show. Her Sydney and New York agencies have been unusually quiet on matters VS in the leadup to this year's event - and given that all the Australians in the show to date have been from their stable, that's understandable. All Chic Management would say this morning was that Kershaw was "very busy" with other matters.

According to our casting sources, Elyse Taylor, Jessica Hart and newcomer Rosemary Smith all made it through to the final casting call.

But that still leaves a slew of other Australians working on the show, notably in show production and casting, Kannon Rajah and of course jeweller Jenny Mercian, who has worked on the show for the past six years - and who designs under the brand name Manik Mercian.

Mercian took with her to New York four spectacular new Swarovski crystal “showstoppers” worth approximately A$100,000 each that were created for this year's show, in addition to a selection of other jewellery, including pieces from her Sahani ready-to-wear line.

Three of her showpieces are pictured here in images 1 to 5 from the top of this page, including the black crystal-encrusted skirt, one-shouldered shrug and gladiatrix-like cuff pictured on Candice Swanepoel, (top, with two different views, below). “I have honed in my patternmaking skills learnt at uni, one look I’ve completely sewn and solded - it involves fabrics and jewels” Mercian told me two weeks ago.

Kerr is not the only contracted Victoria's Secret Angel on maternity leave – so is Doutzen Kroes.

The show starred the other remaining Angels, including Alessandra Ambrosio, Adriana Lima, Chanel Iman, Lily Aldridge, Rose Huntington-Whitely, Swanepoel and Erin Heatherton. Joining them was a cast of headliners who included Lily Donaldson, Magdalena Frackowiak, Anja Rubik, Liu Wen and Karolina Kurkova. The models shared the runway with performers Katy Perry and Akon.

And yes of course, the models - and even Perry - wore the show's signature OTT outfits, including various sets of angel wings, all styled by Charlotte Stockdale – who also has Australian connections, being the wife of Australian industrial designer Marc Newson.

The show will be broadcast on CBS on November 30.