Frankie's gold class - LMFF 2011

Frockwriter’s last LMFF was Friday night’s L’Oréal Paris Runway 6 showcase presented by Frankie magazine. Fantastic, upbeat show featuring some great Australasian brands, from Alice McCall to Karen Walker, Kate Sylvester, Alpha60, Dhini, Limedrop and Nevenka, with cool girl styling that perfectly reflected Frankie’s fresh-faced readership, courtesy Jolyon Mason. Not to mention some new faces, notably 17 year-old Gracie Holt (above), who opened the show and walked in four other shows last week. Modelling for just three months, Holt hails from Alice Springs – making her the second great new girl to emerge from the Red Centre in five months, after 16 year-old Melissa 'MJ' Johannsen, who made an impressive debut at New York Fashion Week last month. Expect to see a lot more of both. Click (here) to see frockwriter's Posterous pic gallery shot backstage during the show. 

Because the night - LMFF 2011

Alex Perry's Spring/Summer 2011/2012 presentation was not the only glamour event at last week's L'Oréal Melbourne Fashion Festival. Although unlike Perry's show, it provided no reveal of any brand new season's offerings, the L'Oréal Paris Runway 5 show on Friday night, presented by Harpers Bazaar Australia, was nevertheless a wonderful showcase of highend PM-wear from some of Australia's most acclaimed designers: Collette Dinnigan, Toni Maticevski, Aurelio Costarella, Jayson Brunsdon, Dion Lee, Scanlan & Theodore and Willow. Here are a few shots below. Click (here) to see frockwriter's backstage portfolio shot during the show.

Boy's own - LMFF 2011

A very high percentage of the fashion on last week's runways at the L'Oréal Melbourne Fashion Festival was womenswear. But there was one menswear-dedicated show: Thursday night's Menswear Runway that was presented in tandem with GQ Australia. Oh and a local optical retailer whose name escapes us. Much to the frustration of backstage media - and, we understand, some of the organisers - nearly all photographers were kicked out at the last minute, in preparation for the arrival of VIP showpony, Helena Christensen. Celebrities often have demanding backstage riders, Christensen's apparently included no photographers and, beyond one or two interviews, no other press exposure. We understand the extent of the coverage outside of Melbourne reflected these restrictions. Click (here) to see frockwriter's Posterous pic gallery of the show.     

Juliana Forge often gets compared to Abbey Lee Kershaw

Tuesday's Kookai show looked like a million dollars thanks to a great cast headed up by the brand's current advertising face in Australia, Juliana Forge. Nineteen year-old Forge could be the next antipodian to clean up at the international show circuit, once she finally makes a serious move offshore. She has just returned from a shoot for Greek Vogue which could be a harbinger of big things to come. Here is a quick iv frockwriter grabbed with Forge backstage before the show, in which she mentions that people frequently bring up her resemblance to fellow Melburnite Abbey Lee Kershaw, now the world number five model.
   

Deep in Vogue - LMFF 2011

Second up on the L'Oréal Melbourne Fashion Festival's main runway schedule was the Vogue Australia showcase, featuring the finalists of LMFF's 2011 Designer Award: Melvin Tanaya's and Lyna Ty's three seasons old menswear brand Song for the Mute, which won the award, plus Arnsdorf, Bassike, Dress Up, Ellery, From Britten, Laurence Pasquier and Lui Hon. Styled by Vogue's Trevor Stones, it was an edgy showcase of exciting, emerging Australian design talent. And it wasn't only the new brands that attracted frockwriter's attention. Rachel Grasso (above) was also a standout. Modelling for four years and repped in Sydney by Priscilla's, the 20 year-old Perth native of Irish/Italian ancestry must have walked in front of our camera on more than one previous occasion. For some reason, we really noticed her this week.

St Gilda - LMFF 2011

 

So the runway shows are off and running at the L'Oréal Melbourne Fashion Festival. Headsup to any internationals unfamiliar with the event: it's an in-season runway showcase that is open to consumers. In addition to other events throughout the schedule, the naming rights sponsor operates seven multibrand runway shows down at the main venue in Melbourne's Docklands precinct, each presented in partnership with a different Australian magazine. First up last night, the Grazia show featuring Carla Zampatti, sass &  bide, Rachel Gilbert, Leona Edmiston, Tina Kalivas, Romance Was Born and Nina Maya. The styling theme was high glamour, with a mix of high ponytails, cascades of Rita Hayworth curls and ultra violet smokey eyes sported by a cast that included two Australia's Next Top Model alumni, Cassi van den Dungen and Sophie van den Akker.   

In with the new - David Jones Autumn/Winter 2011

Tuesday's David Jones show felt the same, but different, to previous years' events. There was no Mark McInnes, Colette Garnsey, Miranda Kerr or even sass & bide. With the exception of relatively recent fashion ambassador addition Kerr, all had been front-and-centre at the show for almost a decade, laying the foundations for the "house of brands" into which the department store subsequently evolved. Taking their places and for a variety of different reasons - which ranged from scandal and resignations, pregnancy and defection, all in the space of eight months - was a new management team (albeit one promoted from within) and a swag of new labels, the absolute standout of which on the night just had to be Josh Goot and his colourblocked bodycon dresses and tulip skirts and tops with wildly expressionistic graphics. Not forgetting some highly polished Australian modelling talent, that included girls who have walked for some of the world's biggest fashion brands: Nicole Trunfio, Alexandra Agoston, Myf Shepherd, Stephanie Carta, Tiah Eckhardt and Christina Carey. And some newcomers who may soon follow them. Think Rosemary Smith (above, in Josh Goot), who is off to the European shows with at least one big name in her appointment book. Click (here) for frockwriter's Posterous pic gallery of backstage shots taken before and during the show. 
 

The show goes on for David Jones... without sass & bide

 

As per David Jones' famous advertising slogan, there used to be no other department store in Australia for sass & bide. But after days of rumours, it is now confirmed that David Jones' arch rival Myer will become the brand's exclusive Australian department store partner moving forward, having just acquired a 65percent stake for A$42.25million plus a performance bonus based on fiscal 2011 sales results. David Jones, which has winter 2011 sass & bide stock on its hands and features the brand in its winter 2011 "brand book" catalogue (above), has responded with its own Australian Stock Exchange announcement this morning that it is ending its 10 year association with sass & bide following David Jones' decision not to acquire a stake. Oh and it wasn't doing very well anyway, added DJs (at least at DJs - Myer reports that sass & bide overall delivered 50percent year on year sales growth for the past two years). Noted ceo Paul Zahra, “We did the calculations and could not justify the price paid for the business, particularly given the lack of growth in our sass & bide business with sales and gross profit in FY10 at approximately FY05 levels". This is fascinating, given that David Jones gave sass & bide its prestigious finale spot in the Autumn/Winter 2010 show one year ago. What the Myer decision ultimately means for the sass & bide brand remains to be seen. Not surprisingly perhaps, the brand has been yanked altogether from tomorrow's lineup, David Jones has confirmed to frockwriter.

Lawrence of architectura: Emma Balfour tones it down for David Lawrence Autumn/Winter 2011

Adelaide-born Emma Balfour was a very big modelling name in the 1990s. Launching her career at approximately the same time as Kate Moss, Balfour helped co-pioneer modelling's 1990s "waif" trend - which helped shunt the more statuesque 1980s supermodels off their pedestal. Kate Moss went on to become a much bigger name and her career has continued unabated. After taking time off to have children and move back to Australia from London, Balfour pretty much disappeared from the fashion radar. That was until September 2008, when she attempted a career relaunch on the runways of New York Fashion Week, booked for two top ticket shows: Alexander Wang and Marc Jacobs. In the two year interim Balfour, now 41, has been clocking up a steady stream of work, including numerous advertising campaigns that girls half her age - and of course their agents - would love to be booking. In Australia, she has fronted campaigns for Willow and Mimco. Here is an exclusive preview of her latest gig: the Autumn/Winter 2011 campaign of Australian fashion chain David Lawrence. 

Rosemary Smith pieces together Jigsaw for Autumn/Winter 2011

Rosemary Smith has had a big year. After a slow burn in 2009, during which she shot for Harpers Bazaar Australia and Marie Claire Australia - and made it onto models.com's emerging models/creatives site, The Ones 2 Watch - this year she nabbed a Vogue Australia exclusive, which saw her featured in the August, October, November and December editions, swapped agencies (from Viviens to Chic Management) and will soon be featured in a new faces spread in V Magazine in the US. The latter was shot last month, while she attended castings for the Victoria's Secret Fashion Show. Smith wasn't cast in the latter, however she has just bagged another local ad campaign. Adding to her recent Ksubi Eyewear and Ojay campaigns, here is a first look at Smith in the Autumn/Winter 2011 campaign for another Australian high street fashion chain, Jigsaw. It sees the Daria Werbowy lookalike reunited with photographer Nicole Bentley, who shot two of the Vogue editorials. The campaign was styled by Claudia Navone and photographed in a private mansion in Bellevue Hill. After her recent turn on the David Jones runway, where Smith caught the eye of Sydney expat casting director Kannon Rajah (who just added Versace to his client list, which already includes Fendi and the Victoria's Secret Fashion Show), let's hope we see her on the international runways in 2011. 

Pawel Bednarek fronts Song for the Mute Autumn/Winter 2011

Elliot Ward-Fear isn't the only emerging Australian fashion designer with big branding ideas. Just three seasons old, Sydney menswear label Song for the Mute has recruited Polish model Pawel Bednarek for its Autumn/Winter 2011 campaign and lookbook shot by Bowen Arico in and around Wollongong. Although not as feminine as Australia's Andrej Pejic, Bednarek nevertheless definitely has the moment's popular androgynous look - as harnessed in editorials by publications such as Dazed & Confused Japan. Which suits the cool, asexual vibe of much of Song for the Mute's clothing. The brand is designed by Melvin Tanaya and Lyna Ty (below), who will take their winter collection - entitled 'Milieu' - to the upcoming Paris mens' Fall/Winter 2011/2012 fashion week (January 19-23), where they will be represented by Showroom Romeo. Song for the Mute is also among five finalists for the 2011 L'Oréal Melbourne Fashion Festival Designer Award, a competition that has previously been won by Josh Goot, Friedrich Gray, Romance Was Born and Dion Lee. The event runs from March 14-20 and as previously reported, will be attended by Dazed Group co-founder Jefferson Hack - who apparently won't just be speaking at LMFF's hugely popular Business Seminar, but may even DJ at a soiree.

Portmans signs Abbey Lee Kershaw

david jones SS1011 backstage/frockwriter

How nervous are Australian retailers about the imminent arrival of Zara early next year? Wetting their pants, some might surmise, given the news that Australian mid market fashion chain Portmans has just signed homegrown modelling superstar Abbey Lee Kershaw as its autumn/winter 2011 campaign face. As revealed by frockwriter yesterday, Kershaw was recently involved in a cycling accident, injuries from which may have precluded her involvement with Chanel's big Pre Fall 2011 runway presentation in Paris on Tuesday. Kershaw is, after all, one of Chanel's advertising faces this season. Nevertheless, she has just arrived downunder and according to our sources, will shoot the Portmans campaign in Sydney next week with Nicole Bentley. The campaign is due to roll out from January 31st through until May and we hear Kershaw will bank at least six figures for the job, minimum A$120,000. This is a large sum for a single season Australian campaign. 

Young guns: Thom Kerr shoots Codie Young in Elliot Ward-Fear

Last month Frockwriter mentioned that young Sydney fashion designer Elliot Ward-Fear was about to shoot an Autumn/Winter branding campaign with the upwardly mobile Sunshine Coast model Codie Young. Well here is an exclusive preview of that collaboration, which was shot last week in Brisbane. It was lensed by Thom Kerr, styled by Sarah Babcock, with hair by Shaun Casey, makeup by Becca Gilmartin and graphics courtesy Lekkur Studio. Just a reminder, again, that 22 year-old Ward-Fear only graduated from TAFE NSW's Fashion Design Studio last year and has yet to sell to a single stockist. Although privately he has sold a number of pairs of the 18cm microsuede booties that prompted three models to stumble in the group TAFE show at Rosemount Australian Fashion Week in May this year (note Ward-Fear has upped his own ankle-breaker ante with a pair of 45cm shoes for AW11, see below). And gifted one pair, together with a spectacular spiked Lucite necklace, to blogstar Bryanboy, who has been getting a lot of mileage out of both. 

Nicole Trunfio to officially replace Miranda Kerr as the face of David Jones' winter 2011 launch

vogue italia

In July, following the news that Miranda Kerr would be skipping David Jones’ Spring/Summer 2010/2011 runway showcase to enjoy her honeymoon with Orlando Bloom – amidst a deafening chorus of speculation she was three months pregnant – frockwriter predicted that Nicole Trunfio would replace Kerr as the face of the department store’s upcoming Autumn/Winter 2011 runway showcase and that Kerr would resume her official duties for the Spring/Summer launch in July 2011. So it’s official. Today’s Sunday Telegraph reports that Trunfio will “replace [Kerr] as the star of the David Jones Winter 2011 season”. Trunfio, who is also currently profiled in a video interview on the website of Vogue Italia, was flown by DJs to Sydney this week to shoot the winter catalogue. 

Behind-the-scenes at the Wish Autumn/Winter 2011 campaign shoot with Iekeliene Stange

Yesterday frockwriter mentioned that Australian fashion label Wish had nabbed Dutch supermod Iekeliene Stange for its Autumn/Winter 2011 campaign, to be shot by Australian photographer Sonny Vandevelde. Here is a sneak peek at the campaign shoot which is underway in New York right now, evidently making the most of the city's iconic Brooklyn Bridge. Stange, we understand, may be heading downunder at some stage in the not-too-distant future to promote the campaign. 

Iekeliene Stange makes a Wish

sonny vandevelde

A number of major modelling names have emerged from the Netherlands. They don't get much bigger than bombshells Lara Stone and Doutzen Kroes, for instance. Few have been as edgy, however, as Iekeliene Stange. Known for her killer cheekbones and elfin chic, Stange has worked with the world's biggest fashion names, most recently appearing on Christian Dior's Fall/Winter 2010/2011 haute couture runway in Paris. Right now, she is in New York to shoot the Autumn/Winter 2011 campaign for Australian fashion label Wish with Australian photographer Sonny Vandevelde. The duo will start work early tomorrow morning in and around the quaint, cobblestone alleyways of Brooklyn's Vinegar Hill district. That's Stange, above, leaving the Tribeca Grand Hotel earlier in the day. The hotel's second exhibition of Sonny's backstage images - many featuring Stange, his muse - is still in fact hanging. Great get for Wish. Frockwriter hears the company nabbed Stange ahead of another, much bigger, Australian outfit that was also trying to book her for its Autumn/Winter 2011 campaign. 

Inside Sabatini

Frockwriter had always wanted to visit the head office of New Zealand knitwear brand Sabatini, which showed in a group show during New Zealand Fashion Week a fortnight ago. On this NZ trip we did finally made it out to the Mt Roskill factory, about 20 minutes outside of Auckland’s CBD. Founded 57 years ago by Croatian refugees Zarko and Sonja Milich as Sonny Elegant Knitwear Ltd, this third generation family-run knitwear business is unique in Australasia. From 1967, it was also one of the original partner’s of the International Wool Secretariat’s Woolmark program (and yes, they use Australian wool - most of New Zealand's clip goes into high quality carpets and rugs). Operated today by Zarko's and Sonja’s son and daughter Tony Milich and Margie Evans-Milich and granddaughters Anja Milich and Danielle Evans-Milich, Sabatini has been likened to Italy’s Missoni clan. It’s fascinating to see the beautiful jacquards being woven on equipment that includes some quite spectacular postwar machinery. The company’s stable of brands includes Sabatini and the highend Sabatini White, which is sold around the world. 

On with the shoe: Kathryn Wilson's showgirls put their best feet forward at New Zealand Fashion Week

kathryn wilson AW11 backstage/kent vaughan

A runway show dedicated exclusively to footwear is always going to be a tough call. Terry Biviano did it in 2003 and 2004 at Australian Fashion Week by teaming up with show producer extraordinaire Tony Assness, who created some of the most memorable shows that the event had ever witnessed. But while Biviano put the focus on her shoes by initially teaming the footwear with nude-coloured corsets and silk parachutes (later going over the top with horses, contortionists and bird suits, as you do), NZ's Kathryn Wilson kept her debut show dead simple by putting her girls in black leotards and dispatching them onto a raised catwalk. Precariously navigating back down the stairs in their skyscraper heels and booties - as so well documented by Kent throughout the show – there seemed to be more than a little Broadway musical going on backstage. I really couldn’t resist putting a selection of shots to some music to create this slideshow below. 

New Zealand Fashion Week (the rest)

jimmy D AW11 backstage/kent vaughan

Apologies for the delay in posting the remainder of the New Zealand Fashion Week coverage. Returned to Australia and have been otherwise occupied. So here is a series of last posts with a few bits and pieces. Just a reminder once again that frockwriter attended the event as the guest of New Zealand Fashion Week. An enormous thank-you to my partner Kent Vaughan – who provided brilliant photo backup this year, both at the shows I attended and notably, those I could not, while attending to all the backend management (and who nailed some absolute cracker shots). Thank-you also to New Zealand Fashion Week, for the very kind invitation once again, PR Anna Jobsz and our minder Tim Holmberg, lovely guy. I did a brief wrapup post of the event for Pages Digital, which you can read here. To see frockwriter’s complete coverage of the event, click on the “New Zealand Fashion Week” tag below or use the search box to the right-hand side (the new NZFW splash will also hyperlink through). There are shows covered on frockwriter's Posterous which were not reviewed on the blog. It was just too difficult to get to everything and on occasions, eg Huffer, which we did attend – a great little show and a fab way to end the week – we simply ran out of time unfortunately. Along with all the main shows already covered, new to Posterous are galleries for Huffer, Jimmy D, the NZFW retrospective show, Miramoda, Blak Luxe, Annah Stretton, Sabatini White, Kathryn Wilson and Michelle Yvette.

Fight Club - Stolen Girlfriends Club Autumn/Winter 2011

backstage at stolen girlfriends club AW11

Stolen Girlfriends Club is New Zealand’s Ksubi. Founded by surfers (Dan Gosling, Marc Moore and Luke Harwood), it’s a streetwear specialist and has a cult following back home, evidenced by the massive turnouts to its hipster magnet shows. Last night’s presentation at the Mercury Theatre, Auckland’s oldest surviving theatre built in 1910, was a case in point. Frockwriter had to negotiate a queue half way around the block to get in. Inside, platters of of jam jars awaited the post-show revellers, while in the claustrophobic backstage area, models were already drinking out of them. As they milled around, the hair & makeup team applied fresh sweet peas and cigarettes to the girls’ messed-up hair and bruisers and hickies to the guys’ eyes and necks. The theme of the show was ‘Last Night’s Party’ and the mood the SGC trio was trying to conjure was the walk of shame of a bunch of kids after a big night out. It starred a stellar Australasian cast that included top Kiwi names Dempsey Stewart, Ella Verberne and Michael Whittaker (above).