New faces: Grace Simmons

Australia’s Next Top Model is back in the news with this morning’s announcement that former Miss Universe Jennifer Hawkins is the new host for Cycle 8, which commences production in January. But while AusNTM has proven to be the most successful NTM franchise in the world in terms of springboarding international modelling careers – from Alice Burdeu to Amanda Ware and Montana Cox – the Girlfriend Model Search remains Australia's most successful modelling competition overall. Alumni include Abbey Lee Kershaw, Catherine McNeil, Alyssa Sutherland, Pania Rose, Jemma Baines and Chrystal Copland. Grace Simmons is the latest GMS inductee.

Miss J is the belle of the Derby

getty via daylife

Derby Day is in full swing but at time of posting, not a whole heap of fashion coverage was forthcoming either from the mainstream media or the real-time crew. In the interim, here are a few shots from Getty. Most adhered to the traditional black and white dress code of the first day of the week-long Melbourne Cup Carnival, the highlight of which is of course Tuesday's Melbourne Cup. Great effort by America's Next Top Model model mentor J Alexander - aka "Miss J" - who topped his smart black suit with a fabulous black-and-white, Cecil Beaton-inspired headpiece that looked like it was straight off the Royal Ascot set from My Fair Lady. Alexander is part of a posse of international celebs who will descend on Flemington Racecourse over the next week. Others expected include Sarah Jessica Parker, Joan Collins and Kim Kardashian. Dita von Teese, who is in town to spruik her new Muse dress collection at David Jones, bucked Derby Day's dress code with a scarlet red ensemble from her own collection:

Jennifer Hawkins puts the Love into Lovable with an Uncle Terry-style "porn star" campaign

Lots of buzz yesterday over the launch of Lovable’s new Love Colour collection down on Bondi Beach. The new lingerie collection is based around sorbet colours and so Lovable ambassador Jennifer Hawkins and a gaggle of lingerie-clad models doled out ice creams - and lingerie - from a Mr Whippy van. Most interesting of all: the set of campaign images that was released online overnight and which according to Lovable, will appear in next week’s editions of Grazia, Cosmopolitan and Shop Til You Drop magazines. Conceived by Sydney-based Studio Woo and lensed by Australian fashion photographer Simon Lekias, the shots depict the former Miss Universe horsing around with a blueberry milkshake, a watermelon wedge and an ice cream cone filled with lemon sorbet. It’s the way Hawkins is holding the cone that grabs your attention. The cone is not far from her mouth, her mouth is wide open and sorbet is dripping down her arm. The Lovable press release describes the images as “cheekily suggestive”. Everyone to whom frockwriter showed the shots this afternoon concurred they are highly suggestive: of notorious American photographer Terry Richardson. And we all know what Richardson would be suggesting the cone and the white sorbet would be in this scenario. Warning NSFW photos.

A chat with Jennifer Hawkins at Myer

A (very brief) chat I had last night with Myer face and former Miss Universe, Jennifer Hawkins. We did the interview in Hawkins' private green room area and look, I'm not quite sure what it is with model green rooms and lights, but after recording Miranda Kerr's interstate press conference in her backstage green room after the David Jones show on August 4 - in near darkness - at one point, one of Hawkins' minders helpfully stood right in front of the only light that we had at our disposal. Only to then have the light disconnected altogether.