The great Gatenby - Menswear Spring/Summer 2014

james gatenby walks fendi SS14 via style.com

The Spring/Summer 2014 menswear shows are underway in Milan, with the second London Collections: Men and Pitti Uomo events just wrapped in London and Florence, respectively. The season's Paris leg starts on Wednesday. By frockwriter’s count 11 Australian men walked the Fall/Winter 2013/2014 runways in February and March this year, including several new faces such as Nathaniel Visser, Elijah Tyedmers, Saint Laurent fave Reuben Ramacher and of course James Gatenby, the Sydney Uni science major who made his international debut opening Louis Vuitton as an exclusive. So far this season, we have spotted eight ten twelve thirteen. Not to mention one Kiwi woman - frockwriter fave Holly Rose Emery, on no less than Prada's runway, in one of a handful of women's Resort 2014 looks that were thrown into the show.

Julia Nobis and Broed Dillewaard hit high summer for Marcs

In July, frockwriter unveiled the Spring/Summer 2010/2011 ad campaign for Australian sportswear label Marcs, starring two of the hottest new local modelling stars, Julia Nobis and Broed Dillewaard. Well here is the second instalment of the campaign, for high summer, shot once again by Beau Grealy, in addition to a brand new video. Beyond the Vogue Fashion’s Night Out show on Tuesday night in New York, Nobis has yet to hit the Spring/Summer 2011 runways. But we are sure it won’t be long before she pops up.

First look: Julia Nobis and Broed Dillewaard for Marcs Spring Summer 2010/2011

In 1979, the late Marc Keighery founded Australian sportswear brand and retailer Marcs. Almost exactly two years to the day since Keighery lost his battle with cancer, frockwriter can reveal a new Marcs campaign for SS1011 - one of the best campaigns the brand has produced, if not the best. Shot by New York-based Australian photographer Beau Grealy in and around Sydney's iconic Harbour Bridge and the historic Rocks precinct, it stars two of Australia's hottest new modelling stars, Julia Nobis and Broed Dillewaard.

The (lady) boys of Spring Summer 2011

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Andrej Pejic may have only done four shows during the just-wrapped Paris menswear season, but he proved the talk of the town. Since frockwriter caught up with his news on Friday and Saturday, where hasn't he been? A spot in WWD (above), complete with the headline "Gender bender", Fairfax's WA Today and The New Zealand Herald (and The Sydney Morning Herald on July 3), while influential modelling website models.com asked on Facebook, "Andrej Pejic is getting a lot of buzz lately, do you like his look?". Profiles popped up on Pages Digital and Tokyo Dandy, with the Beauty Hunter blog asking “Is Andrej Pejic the most androgynous male model on the planet?”. On Twitter, MusaKL reported "Everyone in Paris last week kept talking about this one model from Down Under: Andrej Pejic", while Homotography noted "i keep getting asked who's the blond in these shows" and “Even professional fashion databases are mistaking Andrej Pejic for a girl!” According to photographer Antonio Barros, "he was the icon of this season".

The big question - will all this buzz translate into bigger bookings for Pejic?

Beyond the Facebook mention, the chatter did not appear to cut any mustard with models.com, which curiously left Pejic out of both its top walkers and Top 10 Newcomers lists for the SS11 menswear season.

According to his Australian mother agency Chadwicks, Pejic was already booked for one advertising campaign in Milan next week. There is as yet no update on other bookings. But frockwriter predicts we may well see him in some capacity at next week's haute couture shows in Paris. Yes, they are women's shows but men make the occasional appearance.

The New York Times' fashion critic Cathy Horyn, meanwhile, made no mention of Pejic in her review of the week, but she did seem a little perturbed by the feminisation of the collections, which featured skirt-like shorts - and even dresses at Comme des Garçons.

Noted Horyn:

"men are having a hard time, as Hanna Rosin observed in an article in the current issue of The Atlantic, its tag line, “How women are taking control — of everything.” Men are wimping out, in the example of Judd Apatow’s chronic adolescent characters, or being mowed down by Beyoncé and Lady Gaga....You sensed a little of this problem at the shows, and it was not a pretty sight".

At least two other Australian men walked the Spring/Summer 2011 runways. Priscillas has yet to confirm exact show numbers, but they report their very cool-looking Jakub Vasak walked in at least Alexander McQueen, while Broed Dillewaard nabbed Louis Vuitton, Prada and Gazzarrini.


jakub vasak at alexander mcqueen SS11/style.com


broed dillewaard at louis vuitton SS11/style.com


Below is a great little video on the boys of Paris Fashion Week just-posted by Paris-based photographer Justin Wu.

Pejic makes a very brief cameo at 1.57.