The faces of Mercedes-Benz Fashion Week Australia SS 13/14

holly rose emery backstage at flannel SS1314

Mercedes-Benz Fashion Week Australia is done and dusted for another year. Who were the top showgirls - and guys? Frockwriter asked all the major Sydney booking agencies for their top models at the event and here is the result. Yes there were a couple of high profile ring ins who flew in for show exclusives - Georgia May Jagger for Camilla and Hanne Gaby Odiele for Ellery. The list of 41 names, below, includes four other internationals (Solveig Hansen, Juliette Fazekas, Alanna Whittaker and Isabelle Sauer). Interestingly, however, the list is dominated by a plethora of new local faces who have never previously appeared at the event. Some recently profiled by frockwriter, notably Kiwi Holly Rose Emery, April Tiplady and Gabby Dover. Great to see some of Australia's biggest international runway names back in town supporting the local industry and it was no surprise at all to find Nicole Pollard, Julia Nobis and Ruby Jean Wilson at the top of the list. What is perhaps surprising is to see a newcomer such as Emery also at the very top of the list, ranked by her show numbers (not including off-schedule shows from the week before). 

Showcards: Chic Management (women) - MBFWA SS13/14

grace simmons via chic management

And now to the second instalment of frockwriter's Mercedes-Benz Fashion Week Australia Spring/Summer 2013/2014 model showcards series - a preview of the models who will be doing casting rounds in Sydney over the coming weeks, in the lead up to Australia's biggest fashion runway showcase. Chic Management usually heads into the event with a major show pack and this year is no exception. 

Comeback queens - London Fashion Week Fall/Winter 2013/2014

cassi van den dungen backstage at giles FW1314 via style.com

London Fashion Week is in full swing and the ranks of the Aussie model posse have swollen – from 15 at the New York shows to at least 20 22 23 24 by our count. Who’s on deck? New to the circuit this season are Jess Gold, Eva Downey, Amanda Ware, Kye d’Arcy, Stephanie Carta, Rhianna Porter, Kaila Hart, Lola van Vorst and, perhaps the biggest surprise of all, Cassi van den Dungen, who is finally making her move on the international runways (and who changed her original plans to head straight from London to Paris on Monday after a callback from Love magazine editor - and Giles Deacon stylist -  Katie Grand). Carta, meanwhile, a Balenciaga fave five years ago, has been out of action for so long her Fashion Spot thread has not been updated in 14 months. In addition to Saturday night’s International Woolmark Prize show, she has popped up in a number of top shows, including Richard Nicoll, Antonio Berardi and L’Wren Scott. 

The circuiteers - Australian models at the Spring/Summer 2013 shows

Julia Nobis is currently enjoying something that she likes to call “fat month” – the period immediately following the gruelling ready-to-wear show season, when she winds down. Show seasons are hard work for leading models such as Nobis, who was the season’s top runway face for two consecutive seasons up until the latest shows round that finished a few weeks ago in Paris, walking in more shows than any other model. This season Nobis lost that crown - she walked in 62 shows, making her Spring/Summer 2013's third busiest showgirl, in terms of show numbers, after Tilda Lindstam (69 shows) and Ava Smith, Erjona Ala and Tian Yi (64 shows each) according to the modelwatchers at The Fashion Spot (and many thanks to TFS for its painstaking show-combing). But that's still an impressive tally. How many Australians followed in her footsteps this season? Nineteen by our calculations. And if you have been tracking the progress of Australian models on the world’s runways for the past four years via frockwriter, you’d be right in thinking that that sounds like a steep dive in numbers on the previous Spring/Summer season – a 50percent drop in fact.

The showgirls: Priscillas Model Management - MBFWA SS 12/13

amelia zadro/tommy clark via priscillas

Sadly, Mercedes-Benz Fashion Week Australia 2012 will be Nobis-less. That is, without Julia Nobis, one of the world's busiest showgirls, who is currently otherwise occupied with far more pressing matters in Europe. Regular readers will recall that Nobis broke her own show record in March, by walking in 73 shows from New York to Paris for the Fall/Winter 2012/2013 season. But the Nobis mothership - Priscillas Model Management - does have a posse of some 30 showgirls for MBFWA, including big local names such as Emma Balfour, Alice Burdeu, Ruby Jean Wilson, Lauren Brown, Bambi Northwood-Blyth and Amanda Ware; exciting new girls like Amelia Zadro (above) and some cool internationals.  

Cox plate

montana cox at chanel FW1213/getty via daylife

"Everyone you've worked with said you were ready to take on the fashion world" Australia's Next Top Model host Sarah O'Hare told Montana Cox on live television last October, after announcing the 18 year-old Melburnite as the winner of the 2011 series. Just five months later, it seems O'Hare and co may have had a point. Over the past fortnight Cox has scored some of most coveted runway jobs in the business, just adding top Paris shows Lanvin, Christian Dior, Kenzo, Mugler, Cacharel, Andrew Gn and Vanessa Bruno to a Fall/Winter 2012/2013 showlist that already included Italian luxury names Bottega Veneta, Pucci and Etro. Cox leaves Paris today after adding just one more name to that list. It's a big one (UPDATE: Chanel, see above, where Cox walked alongside compatriots Miranda Kerr, Julia Nobis, Caitlin Lomax and Rosemary Smith). Then it's straight to Charles de Gaulle airport for a flight to Melbourne, to star in Thursday night's David Jones parade which will open the L'Oréal Melbourne Fashion Festival (her only LMFF gig). Stand by to see if Cox scores an equally coveted spot on any of the Top 10 Newcomer lists that are published by various outlets at the end of the season. But just how unusual is her 'overnight success' against the broader backdrop of Tyra Banks' Top Model franchise, which was launched in the US in 2003 and is now produced independently in some 50 countries? And with Cox as its latest star, just how successful is the Australian version of the show?   

Australia's next top models

montana cox at bottega veneta FW1213 getty via daylife.com

So how is modelling's so-called 'Aussie invasion' going? The Fall/Winter 2012/2013 Paris shows kick off today and so far, by our count, 31 Australians have turned up on the runways of New York, London and Milan, with one notable newcomer making her mark in the latter city. That is, Australia's Next Top Model Cycle 7 winner Montana Cox (above). Fresh off the ANTM 2011 winner's podium, Cox has yet to even make an appearance at Australian Fashion Week. In her first ever runway season, however, she has already bagged five shows, including some of the most prestigious Italian luxury names: Bottega Veneta, Pucci and Etro. Frockwriter hears that the casting directors of some of the bigger Paris brands may be equally interested. ANTM Cycle 6 winner Amanda Ware was also in Milan, ditto the 2010 winner of the Girlfriend Model Search, Jemma Baines. Julia Nobis meanwhile - who of course never emerged from any modelling competitions - is up to 48 shows already this month. Will she close the Paris shows next week as the season's top catwalker for the second consecutive season? Updated lists below and a photo gallery of the showgirls of London and Milan. The NY shows are in black type; London, blue; and Milan, red.  

Amanda Ware and Jordan Coulter cover Wish

We might not have seen Amanda Ware at any Milan Fashion Week shows this week, but she booked a solid showlist at this month's New York and London Fashion Weeks. And the Australia's Next Top Model Cycle 6 winner is about to score her second cover in four months of The Australian's luxury magazine Wish - alongside Jordan Coulter, another rising local star. Here is an exclusive preview of the October Wish cover and accompanying editorial which showcases brands including Burberry, Prada and Louis Vuitton. Lensed by Pierre Toussaint, with styling by Ken Thompson. On newsstands October 7th. 

Time out London

abbey lee kershaw backstage at burberry SS12/burberry's twitpic

The Spring/Summer 2012 shows rolled on at London Fashion Week, traditionally a bit of a breather between the far bigger and busier New York and Milan schedules. The latter put further than usual strain on the London event this season, with Marc Jacobs pushing his show back by three days, prompting many models to miss LFW's first day. Further demands were made by Gucci - whose show is today - dragging many girls to Milan at the end of the week. Nevertheless, 14 Australian models did the London shows, with Abbey Lee Kershaw, Catherine McNeil and Bambi Northwood-Blyth touching down in the SS12 season for the first time. Contrary to reports that McNeil had not done a runway show for two and a half years, in fact September 2010 was the last time we saw her on the circuit. Expect to see more antipodians in Milan and Paris, where many are already positioned attending castings and fittings.

Six Australians and a Kiwi walked into a show....

richard chai SS12 backstage/sonny vandevelde

So New York Fashion Week is up and running and the so-called ‘Australasian invasion’ of its runways got off to a cracking start again on Thursday, the week's official kickoff. Six Australian models walked the Richard Chai show which, as some may recall, was opened by Aussie newbie Dempsey Stewart last season. Stewart walked Chai’s runway for the second consecutive season, flanked on this occasion by Julia Nobis, Codie Young, Ajak Deng, Rose Smith and Krystal Glynn, in her international runway debut. Joining them was New Zealand modelling sensation Emily Baker, the breakout star of the Fall/Winter 2011/2012 shows. With 26 models in the show, that's almost one third of Chai's cast hailing from the antipodes. 

Alex Perry's Cuban revolution - LMFF 2011

Could Alex Perry have started something with his Spring/Summer 2011/2012 collection unveiling last night at the L'Oréal Melbourne Fashion Festival? A consumer event showcasing in-season collections to consumers, LMFF is popular with designers because its runways present what is in store right now - with some retailers reporting 30-50percent spikes in business during the event. But a wholesale collection that is traditionally shown to buyers and press six months ahead of the season? That's usually the territory of Australian Fashion Week. In reality, Perry showed 'first summer' last night - that is, the first half of next summer's offerings. He still plans to show at RAFW in May. Perry will show 'second summer' at that event - and according to his wingman, Josh Flinn, the second collection will be a lot more elaborate. With the fashion cycle continuing to accelerate, retailers offering far more frequent product drops than ever before and the rise and rise of Resort and Pre-Fall collections internationally, perhaps it makes sense for designers to gain additional exposure via consumer events such as this, at the same time providing some real news value for the fashion media. 

Add Dempsey Stewart to the Aussie posse of Fall/Winter 2011/2012

richard chai FW1112/style.com

This time last week frockwriter mentioned that a contingent of Australian models was readying to take to New York Fashion Week's runways in what could be the biggest antipodian season to date. And after day one, it looks like they're off to a cracking start. We didn't include Perth's Dempsey Stewart in that mix, but with a cover story on WWD yesterday (below) and the prestigious opening slot of Richard Chai's show (above), it's a little hard to ignore her. Chai in fact cast four Australians in his show: Codie Young, making her international runway debut, together with Julia Nobis and Ajak Deng. Later in the day Young not only opened, but closed the Wayne show (below). ANTM Cycle 6 winner Amanda Ware, meanwhile, made her OS debut in Wes Gordon's presentation. Saturday sees the arrival of two hot Aussie men - including, as reported, Jack Vanderhart, as an exclusive for the Calvin Klein Collection mens show. And it's only the first weekend of the season. 

Australia's next top models plot a New York Fashion Week takeover

elite via models.com

As far as frockwriter can ascertain, there is not a single Australian designer due to show during New York Fashion Week's Fall/Winter 2011 season, which officially kicks off on February 10th. Kit Willow Podgornik will shoot her Fall/Winter 2011/2012 lookbook in New York on February 9th, but that's a private event. This is a big change, of course, compared to five years ago, when up to seven Australian labels were showing their wares there. But this does not mean that there won't be any Australians on New York's runways. In fact, FW1112 is shaping up to be a bumper season for antipodian models in The Big Apple. The world number 5, Abbey Lee Kershaw, won't be among them, however, as she will skip New York Fashion Week this season. Although due to head to Milan and Paris, prior to those legs Kershaw will be tied up in London with a "personal music project" [telling her mother agency, Chic Management, this will involve a performance with "my band" - read Our Mountain, the band of Kershaw's boyfriend Matthew Hutchinson, with whom Kershaw has previously performed on stage). 

Amanda Ware gets her bouffant on for Nicola Finetti Pre Fall 2011/2012

Since being crowned runnerup to Australia's Next Top Model Cycle 6 in September - and then moments later, in dramatic fashion, named as the competition's real winner - Amanda Ware has yet to make her entree onto the international fashion market. That could change after next week, should Ware hit the runways of New York Fashion Week's Fall/Winter 2011/2012 season, which kicks off on February 10. In New York right now for castings, Ware has a better than even chance of getting noticed. Not just thanks to the ANTM win, but also inadvertently thanks to ANTM host Sarah O'Hare, news of whose live tv gaffe in announcing the wrong winner spread swiftly around the world, giving the show far more attention than it usually garners. Good timing then for Australian fashion designer Nicola Finetti in nabbing the still under-the-radar Ware for his Pre Fall 2011/2012 campaign and lookbook. Here is an exclusive preview of both below.

"We had this great idea that we wouldn’t use a card" - Sarah Murdoch on the ANTM fiasco

screen cap/ACA

Belated congratulations to Amanda Ware, the – eventual - winner of Australia’s Next Top Model Cycle 6. On July 16, after the series launch, frockwriter did say that our money was on Ware. Of this year’s field, she looked to have the most international potential - one of the reasons, presumably, that the show’s producers reportedly wanted her to win the series so badly. Or at least that’s what Edwina McCann, the editor of ANTM partner Harpers Bazaar Australia claimed on Nine Network's Today show this morning. McCann - who, once upon a time, was Murdoch's personal stylist - said the show's producers left the voting lines open in the hope that Ware might “get over the line”. Of course the main ANTM topic of conversation today was not Ware’s win per se – but rather the debacle of last night’s finale, at the climax of which anchor Sarah Murdoch declared Kelsey Martinovich the winner. Only to announce moments later, ashen-faced, that a terrible mistake had been made and that Ware was in fact the winner. But not before the pyrotechnics had fired and Martinovich had delivered her victory speech. Total ballsup in other words. What really went down is anybody’s guess, with numerous theories and explanations offered. Murdoch finally broke her silence on Nine's prime time current affairs show A Current Affair earlier this evening, interviewed - very sympathetically - by her former Today show colleague, Karl Stefanovic.

Valley girls

Had a bit of a manic Tuesday. Flew to Brisbane to moderate and talk at a fashion seminar convened by the Metropolitan South Institute of TAFE. The panel included sass & bide’s operations manager Stephen Carter, who regaled the room with details of the brand’s manufacturing logistics, quality control, what designers Heidi Middleton and Sarah-Jane Clarke look for in hiring and the revelation that the latter prefer to move on to new designs, rather than repeat best-sellers in-season. Also on the panel: Brisbane-based Subfusco designer Joshua Scacheri, Ethical Clothing Australia’s Emer Diviney and Molly Williams, agent Jess Meester, Hot Tuna founder Jo Meldrum and Bright Bots designer Jodi Baker. Dashed from TAFE straight to Scacheri’s boutique in hip Brisbane fashion hood Fortitude Valley, where who should be waiting but surviving Australia’s Next Top Model Cycle 6 contestants Kathryn Lyons and Amanda Ware, together with ANTM model mentor Josh Flinn.