Corey Micari swaps the AFL for IMG

Nice to see one Schoolies story with a happy ending. Meet Corey Micari. The 17 year-old from Dandenong, Victoria is the 2012 winner of the MMS ['Mr and Miss Schoolies'] Model Search. Although he has no modelling experience beyond the competition and is as yet unsigned by an Australian agency, Micari has just been signed to IMG Models New York. But modelling isn't the only arena in which he has been a competitor. 

IMG Models Australia goes live

madison stubbington via IMG models australia

Ever since news broke of IMG Models’ intention to open up down under, the Australian modelling industry has been nervously awaiting further intel about precisely which direction the company plans to take in this market. First Chic Management general manager Danielle Ragenard defected to head up the new agency (she was joined on Monday this week by new senior manager Jaz Daly, ex Priscillas). Then Miranda Kerr, Nicole Trunfio, Bambi Northwood-Blyth, Bridget Malcolm and Ajak Deng jumped ship to IMG Models from their respective Sydney agencies. Now an IMG Models Australia microsite has just gone live on the IMG Models website. The bottom right-hand corner of the website of the world’s largest model agency now lists the following tabs: "NEW YORK, PARIS, LONDON, MILAN, SYDNEY".

They love a sunburnt country

melissa johannsen backstage at rodarte FW1213, vogue.it via TFS

Fashion really is having a love affair with all things Australian at the moment (and for anyone not familiar with the line in this post's title, it's borrowed from the iconic Australian poem My Country by Dorothea MacKellar). Sydney's urban beach culture was the inspiration for Michael Kors' Resort 2012 collection and in New York last week, Jeremy Scott looked to have deployed an army of Ms Fitz clones to model his Fall/Winter 2012/2013 collection. Scott said the collection was "inspired by the computer and the way information is disseminated today" and his show styling and even invitation certainly bore a striking resemblance to the work of the New York-based, Sydney expat artist, stylist and blogger. The Mulleavy sisters, meanwhile, themed their Fall/Winter 2012/2103 Rodarte collection around the "rugged Australian outback". Their cast included two Australians, Codie Young and Melissa 'MJ' Johannsen (above). Johannsen, who turned 17 yesterday, is of course more than a little au fait with Australia's Red Centre, hailing as she does from Alice Springs. Young and Johannsen were among at least 28 Australians to walk the New York Fashion Week runways last week. Below are their New York Fall/Winter 2012/2013 showlists.